Around Iowa
Conditions vary across the state. Choose your city below, then describe what’s happening around your home or business.
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Local wasp information
Wasp control in Iowa
Learn what to look for around your property, explore your city, and ask about an inspection or a quote.
Wasps in Iowa: what to know
What to note
Where you see wasps, how long it has been going on, and anything you’ve already tried are the most useful details to mention.
A useful next step
Ask about an inspection, what treatment would involve, and whether follow-up visits are included. You don’t need to identify the problem yourself before getting in touch.
Local research
Wasps in Iowa: what the public record shows
Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which wasps actually live in Iowa, when they are busiest, and what the state figures look like. Everything below links to the agency or university page it came from.
Wasp species recorded in Iowa
- Bald-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) — Penn State: 'found in most of the 48 contiguous states and D.C., throughout Canada and in Alaska'; actually an aerial yellowjacket that builds the football-shaped gray paper nes…
- European paper wasp (Polistes dominula) — Penn State: 'first reported in 1978 around Boston', now 'coast to coast ... although they are apparently less common in the Southeast and Great Plains'; nests in 'eaves of struc…
- Native paper wasps (Polistes spp. (e.g., P. fuscatus, P. apachus, P. exclamans)) — Open umbrella-shaped nests under eaves, porch ceilings and railings. UC IPM: paper wasp colonies 'vary between 15 to 200 individuals'; Penn State: queens 'establish nests in May…
When wasps are busiest in Iowa
Queens emerge in April–May, colonies peak August–October, and workers die at the first hard frosts; only new queens overwinter (OSU, Penn State, UMN).
Bald-faced hornet range per Penn State covers most of the 48 contiguous states and D.C.
Rules that apply in Iowa
For context, nationally
Sources: CDC MMWR; Baldfaced Hornet; European Paper Wasp; Yellowjackets and Other Social Wasps (Pest Notes). Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources
Explore Iowa cities
Ames
Humid Continental · suburban setting
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Ankeny
Humid Continental · suburban setting
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Cedar Falls
Humid Continental · suburban setting
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Cedar Rapids
Humid Continental · urban setting
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Council Bluffs
Humid Continental · urban setting
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Davenport
Humid Continental · urban setting
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Des Moines
Humid Continental · urban setting
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Dubuque
Humid Continental · suburban setting
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Iowa City
Humid Continental · urban setting
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Marion
Humid Continental · suburban setting
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Sioux City
Humid Continental · urban setting
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Urbandale
Humid Continental · suburban setting
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Waterloo
Humid Continental · urban setting
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West Des Moines
Humid Continental · suburban setting
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Fort Dodge
Humid Continental · rural setting
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