Ahhhh… summer! For the most part, it’s the most popular time of year since it promises warmth, greenery, and ideally lots of sunshine, but that’s not all it brings…
Although I tend to agree that there aren’t many bad things about summer, there are a few things that I would do away with if I were granted supernatural abilities in the future.
Before you say anything, let me say that I am fully aware of the ecosystem’s importance to wasps, and no, I wouldn’t really wipe out a species because I personally dread them, but I think we can all agree that few things have the same power to spoil a BBQ, ruin a garden party, or, in my case at least, send people running for cover as they do.
Fortunately, I don’t work in a field where I frequently come into touch with hornets, wasps, or other stinging insects. For this reason, I frequently give mail carriers some thought.
Recently, a Reddit thread that brought attention to the problems experienced by mail carriers due to wasp infestation garnered popularity.
Evidently, yellowjackets are especially problematic since they frequently construct their nests inside mailboxes.
According to the aforementioned post, wasps looking to construct a new home may find mailboxes to be a very excellent structure.
Wasps value these qualities in a possible home: they are protected, concealed from the outside world, and have warmth at night.
Right now, this would be all right. Unless it were for the fact that someone’s duty it is to regularly communicate with said mailboxes.
The mail carrier revealed in a Reddit post that they frequently encounter mailboxes that are wasps’ nests, which causes them to get stung whenever they accidentally put their hand inside the box to carry the mail.
You say, “A hazard that comes with the job”? Indeed, but that does not imply that it must be.
As a matter of fact, there’s a clever trick that may be used to ward off wasps, and it just calls for using a scented dryer sheet!
Weasels are discouraged from claiming a mailbox to construct a nest by the smell of the dryer sheet.
That being said, here’s what you should be doing right now:
Step 1: Choose a scented dryer sheet. Scent is everything in this situation, so pick one that smells good.
Step 2: Secure the sheet inside your mailbox with tape.
Step 3: Make sure you swap out the dryer sheet on a regular basis to prevent the smell from fading too much for practical use.