Local wasp information

Wasp control in Texas

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

Wasps in Texas: what to know

Around Texas

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 Texas: what the public record shows

Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which wasps actually live in Texas, 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 4,000 workers

Southern yellowjacket colony size (Texas A&M)

Texas nests can be as large as any in the country.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

6 ft across

Perennial southern yellowjacket nest size reported in Texas and other southern states

Multi-year colonies in wall voids or ground are a professional-only removal.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

1-1/2 to two inches in length

Cicada killer body length (Texas A&M)

The huge summer wasp digging in lawns is nearly harmless and is not a hornet.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

Wasp species recorded in Texas

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…
Southern yellowjacket (Vespula squamosa) — Texas A&M: 'Colonies can contain up to 4,000 workers', 'In Texas, some colonies can survive for several years and continue to grow', and southern colonies '6 ft across' have bee…
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…
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 Texas

Texas A&M: 'In Texas, some colonies can survive for several years and continue to grow'; reproductive cells are built 'Late in the summer'. Cicada killers are 'One of the signs of summer in Texas'.

Southern yellowjacket nests 'are most often underground, but occasionally are found in wall voids and indoors' (Texas A&M). Eastern yellowjacket is 'generally found in eastern Texas'.

Rules that apply in Texas

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: Southern Yellowjackets - Field Guide to Common Texas Insects; Texas A&M AgriLife Extension; CDC MMWR; Yellowjackets and Hornets, Vespula and Dolichovespula spp. (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Vespidae); Baldfaced Hornet; Yellowjackets and Other Social Wasps (Pest Notes). Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources

Explore Texas cities

Abilene

Humid Subtropical · suburban setting

Wasp control in Texas

Wasps in Texas: what to know

Around Texas

What to note

A useful next step

Wasps in Texas: what the public record shows

Wasp species recorded in Texas

When wasps are busiest in Texas

Rules that apply in Texas

For context, nationally

Explore Texas cities

Abilene

Amarillo

Arlington

Austin

Brownsville

Carrollton

Corpus Christi

Dallas

Denton

El Paso

Fort Worth

Frisco

Garland

Galveston

Odessa

Houston

San Antonio

Plano

Laredo

Lubbock

Ask about wasp control in Texas