Local wasp information

Wasp control in Minnesota

Learn what to look for around your property, explore your city, and ask about an inspection or a quote.

Wasps in Minnesota: what to know

Around Minnesota

Conditions vary across the state. Choose your city below, then describe what’s happening around your home or business.

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 Minnesota: what the public record shows

Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which wasps actually live in Minnesota, when they are busiest, and what the state figures look like. Everything below links to the agency or university page it came from.

up to approximately 5,000 wasps

Peak yellowjacket nest size in Minnesota (UMN)

Late-August nests in Minnesota walls and ground are at maximum size.

University of Minnesota Extension

about 100 wasps

Maximum paper wasp nest size (UMN)

Paper wasp nests are small; yellowjacket nests are the large problem.

University of Minnesota Extension

Wasp species recorded in Minnesota

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 Minnesota

UMN: 'Yellowjacket populations peak during late summer'; 'Queens are the only members of the colony that survive the winter'; nests die when 'freezing temperatures (usually in the mid-to-upper 20s °F) kill the old queen and the workers'.

UMN: yellowjackets 'range from 3/8 to 5/8 inch long', baldfaced hornets 'about 7/8 inch long', paper wasps '1/2 to 1 inch long'.

Rules that apply in Minnesota

For context, nationally

788 — Deaths from hornet, wasp, and bee stings, 2011–2021 (US). CDC MMWR
72 deaths per year — Average annual sting deaths, 2011–2021 (US). CDC MMWR

Sources: University of Minnesota Extension; 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 Minnesota cities

Blaine

Humid Continental · suburban setting

Wasp control in Minnesota

Wasps in Minnesota: what to know

Around Minnesota

What to note

A useful next step

Wasps in Minnesota: what the public record shows

Wasp species recorded in Minnesota

When wasps are busiest in Minnesota

Rules that apply in Minnesota

For context, nationally

Explore Minnesota cities

Blaine

Bloomington

Brooklyn Park

Burnsville

Coon Rapids

Duluth

Eagan

Eden Prairie

Lakeville

Mankato

Maple Grove

Minneapolis

Moorhead

Plymouth

Rochester

Saint Paul

St. Cloud

Woodbury

Richfield

Ask about wasp control in Minnesota