Yes, this happens every summer. Mailboxes are dry, enclosed cavities with overhead surfaces to build on, and they go undisturbed for most of the day.
When you check the mailbox, the worst you probably expect to find are bills. Wasps, somehow, manage to be worse. But make no mistake: paper wasps can and often do build their open and umbrella-shaped nests underneath and sometimes inside mailboxes.
Wasp queens start alone in the spring, and that’s when they begin building their nests. The nests are small papery discs that are easy to miss even if you look for them. Workers emerge through early summer, and by August, a mailbox colony can easily hold a few dozen wasps.
When it comes to checking the mail, you probably only open the mailbox once a day. And you almost certainly reach in without looking, sometimes in low light. Paper wasps are not particularly aggressive, but the appearance of a giant hand coming to take down their nest (or so they imagine) can provoke them.
If wasps are a problem around your mailbox, what you can do is start opening the box and stepping to the side immediately after. Look up at the roof before reaching in. If you see wasps coming in and out of the mailbox on a warm afternoon, that’s a sign you already have a sizable wasp nest. A small gray disc on a stalk is a sign that you have a wasp nest getting built.
If the nest is small, you can likely remove it on your own and wipe down the surface. For an established nest, or if you or anyone in your household is allergic to stings, it’s better to call a professional. Whatever you do, though, don’t spray upward into a mailbox with your face at the opening.
If wasps are nesting around your mailbox or your home, Mosquito Squad of Metro Detroit can help. Mosquito Squad locates and removes stinging insect nests and treats the spots where they build. This will help you protect your family from nests you reach into without looking.
