Who knew? It works!

We were at a summer evening party a couple of years ago. The purpose of the party was to welcome a new staff member to the group my wife works with. Unfortunately, he didn’t last long, but the dinner was lovely.

As we sat down for dinner, I noticed a small bowl with some cloves floating in what turned out to be white vinegar. Puzzled, I went through a mental list of possible reasons as to why the bowls would be on the table. I even dipped my finger in (carefully) and gave it a quick sniff to see what it was.

I was flummoxed.

Finger bath of some sort? Even though dinner was a buffet and there wasn’t any seafood or artichokes, or even bacon. (all of which you can eat with your hands)

Did you dip your bread into it? I couldn’t quite wrap my mind around that one.

We asked the server – she said, “Oh, it’s for the wasps. They hate the smell of cloves.”

I couldn’t believe it. I’m allergic to wasp stings and they seem to love me more than anyone else. I had never heard of this.

Dinner was delightful. No wasps of any consequence.

I tried it at home the next time we ate outside. We always have a few yellow jackets buzzing around our dinner. In a couple of minutes they seemed to have just sort of… disappeared.

Amazing. A few cloves in a bowl with a bit of vinegar or water. Worked like a charm.