Does a Dryer Sheet Keep Bees and Wasps Away From Your Mailbox?

Many people are putting dryer sheets in their mailboxes, and if you don't have one in yours, here's why you should put one in there this summer.

How often have you gone out to your mailbox during the summer, only to find it to be surrounded by wasps or bees? It's even worse when you find them inside your mailbox. Talk about an unwanted surprise in the mail! It never fails, each summer, that I find the area around my mailbox to be wasp and bee central. Let's be honest, those jerks are the devil. They won't hesitate to sting you, and I think we all know that it doesn't feel pleasant. That's why I make sure to grab a dryer sheet once those pests start coming around in the summer.

Why Do People Put Dryer Sheets in Their Mailbox?

Wasps, bees, and yellowjackets strongly dislike strong aromas. This is why scented dryer sheets placed in your mailbox are used as a preventative measure to help keep your mailbox from being a home to these little boogers. Now, this is a preventative measure here. So if you find a large nest in your mailbox, do yourself and your mail carrier a favor by getting rid of it ASAP. After you do that, be sure to place a scented dryer sheet in your mailbox to help make sure other wasps and yellowjackets keep out. Apparently, this will also keep ants out too!

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You'll want to switch it out when you notice the scent is no longer fresh and strong.  A single dryer sheet will keep its scent for one to two weeks, according to Reader's Digest. As far as what kind of scented dryer sheet works best, any scented dryer sheet should do the trick. The Bounce Original Scent has always worked just fine for me. I first learned about this trick from a mail carrier on Reddit who shared a little secret of the trade when it comes to wasps, bees, and yellowjackets who are attracted to your mailbox. To avoid having these insects build their nests in your mailbox, mail carriers will sometimes place scented dryer sheets in there. So, there's a good possibility that you might randomly find a dryer sheet in your mailbox that you didn't put in there. It's best to just leave it there for your safety and theirs.

Does a Dryer Sheet in Your Mailbox Actually Work?

According to Reader's Digest:

According to anecdotal evidence, yes! While scientists are a little more tentative, they say the idea has some merit. “It has never been studied, so we can’t definitively say, but it’s perfectly possible it works,” says Lewis Bartlett, PhD, an assistant professor of entomology in the Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia. “The dryer sheets may work a little bit like mothballs, which definitely work for this purpose!”

Plus, I can tell you from personal experience that once I put that dryer sheet in my mailbox each summer, I don't have any problems with bees or wasps going near it. This hack has been a game changer for my family.

DIY Wasp Hack

Oh, and if you have a problem with wasps hanging out around the door of your house, there's a random little hack that will deter them from hanging out in your yard uninvited. All you need brown paper bag, a handful of those plastic bags that you have stored in a cabinet somewhere that you probably won't ever use, and some string. You can learn more about this by clicking here.