Do Dryer Sheets in Mailboxes Really Protect Against These Pests?

You may have seen an article making its rounds across the internet this week about dryer sheets being placed in mailboxes. Is this really a thing? Where did it come from? Fox 5 says the story actually comes from a post on Reddit, and it has it do with keeping away insects like yellow jackets.

In that post, a postal worker said that during the warmer months stinging insects. like wasps and yellow jackets. can hang out in the back of customers' mailboxes. The worker went on to say that they've been stung numerous times just by placing their hands into the mailboxes, not knowing one of those nasty creatures was hanging around in there.

If I’m really unlucky, they will have made their nest at the very back of the box so I wind up sticking my hand in not knowing they are there. We all know how temperamental these little insects are and merely existing in their presence is enough to piss them off.

The postal worker later stressed that this was a preventative measure, and that a few dryer sheets wouldn't necessarily ward off a huge hive. Some other Reddit users said they'd give the trick a try to see if it works. One food service employee said that they have even put dryer sheets under the tablecloths at the restaurant they worked at to keep pests away.

But is this all true? A simple search around the internet brings you to a number of sites and blogs that appear to back up the sheets' repellant powers against such things as wasps, mice, spiders, and other unwanted gusts. Some other websites come up indecisive on the claim. Snopes currently has the claim marked as being unproven.

But have any of you ever noticed this at your home? Have postal workers and mail carriers been using the measure to keep these insects away all this time? If you work for these services yourself, have you tried it? Or is this just all another dubious story that spreads across the internet but turns out to be a hoax? Share your stories.