What It Means If You Find A Dryer Sheet In Your Mailbox

Summertime is finally here, and that means sunshine, warm weather, flowers in full bloom, and of course, insects. We live on a small farm, and I’ve never experienced so many bees, mosquitoes, and flies in my life. Wasps are the ones I really try to stay away from as I’m mildly allergic. You can bet your friendly neighborhood mail carrier is also trying their best to stay away from stinging insects.

Why Wasps Love Mailboxes

A mail carrier made a post on Reddit explaining how wasps (and especially yellowjackets) love to make nests inside of mailboxes. While the temperatures are hot during the day, evenings can still get quite chilly. The inside of your mailbox provides a safe, protected, and cozy home for wasps of all kinds.

A Hidden Danger for Mail Carriers

The mail carrier went on to explain that oftentimes, multiple wasps will be hanging out at the back of a mailbox, unbeknownst to your mail carriers. When they reach their hand inside the mailbox to deliver your mail, these wasps become aggravated and will often sting. This particular mail carrier was stung on 10 separate instances delivering mail one summer.

A Simple Trick to Keep Wasps Away

So, what can be done about this? Well, mail carriers have found that wasps absolutely hate the scent of dryer sheets. As a preventative measure, they will sometimes stick a dryer sheet in the back of your mailbox to prevent wasps from making a nest there. So if you see a dryer sheet there, leave it be! The mail carrier notes this should be used as a preventative measure only, and an existing nest likely won’t be deterred by a dryer sheet. As long as the dryer sheet is very scented, it should do the trick in terms of prevention. If you notice the sheet losing its scent, consider replacing it with a fresh one. Let’s help protect our hardworking mail carriers this summer!