Around Kentucky
Conditions vary across the state. Choose your city below, then describe what’s happening around your home or business.
← All locations
Local wasp information
Wasp control in Kentucky
Learn what to look for around your property, explore your city, and ask about an inspection or a quote.
Wasps in Kentucky: 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 Kentucky: what the public record shows
Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which wasps actually live in Kentucky, when they are busiest, and what the state figures look like. Everything below links to the agency or university page it came from.
about 225,000 emergency room visits and as many as 100 deaths per year
US ER visits and deaths from stinging-insect allergic reactions (UK EntFact)
Kentucky's extension guidance frames wasp control as a medical-safety issue.
University of Kentucky EntomologyWasp species recorded in Kentucky
- Eastern yellowjacket (Vespula maculifrons) — UF/IFAS lists it with the southern yellowjacket as Florida's two yellowjackets; OSU lists it for Ohio; Texas A&M notes it is 'generally found in eastern Texas'. Ground nests 9.5…
- 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 hornet (Vespa crabro) — Penn State: 'first detected in the 1840s', 'well established in the eastern United States', 'first reported from Arkansas in 1999'; workers 'up to an inch (25 mm) long', nests '…
- 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…
When wasps are busiest in Kentucky
UK: 'During late summer/early fall, yellowjacket colonies are nearing maturity and huge numbers of workers are out foraging'; 'In Kentucky and other states with cold winters, wasp, hornet and yellowjacket colonies die off naturally once the weather turns cold'.
UK EntFact: treat hornet nests at night, 'wait at least 3-4 days before removing the nest'; 'abandoned nests are not reused and soon disintegrate'.
Rules that apply in Kentucky
For context, nationally
Sources: University of Kentucky Entomology; CDC MMWR; Yellowjackets and Hornets, Vespula and Dolichovespula spp. (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Vespidae); Baldfaced Hornet; European Hornet; European Paper Wasp. Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources
Explore Kentucky cities
Bowling Green
Humid Subtropical · suburban setting
Read the local guide →
Covington
Humid Subtropical · urban setting
Read the local guide →
Elizabethtown
Humid Subtropical · rural setting
Read the local guide →
Florence
Humid Subtropical · suburban setting
Read the local guide →
Frankfort
Humid Subtropical · suburban setting
Read the local guide →
Georgetown
Humid Subtropical · suburban setting
Read the local guide →
Henderson
Humid Subtropical · rural setting
Read the local guide →
Hopkinsville
Humid Subtropical · rural setting
Read the local guide →
Lexington
Humid Subtropical · urban setting
Read the local guide →
Louisville
Humid Subtropical · urban setting
Read the local guide →
Nicholasville
Humid Subtropical · suburban setting
Read the local guide →
Owensboro
Humid Subtropical · suburban setting
Read the local guide →
Paducah
Humid Subtropical · suburban setting
Read the local guide →
Richmond
Humid Subtropical · rural setting
Read the local guide →