Tick risk in Wapello County, Iowa
Wapello County covers 7 towns. CDC reports too few cases here to publish a county Lyme rate, but each town still has a daily score built from local weather, habitat, and season. Pick your town below for today's reading.
Highest and lowest tick risk in Wapello County
Peak-season modeled risk. Tick risk is local, even within one county.
At the summer peak, tick risk across Wapello County runs from Ottumwa (moderate) at the high end to Blakesburg (low) at the low end. The difference is habitat: forest cover across the county ranges from 22% to 44%, and more forest and woodland edge means more places ticks can quest for a host.
- OttumwaModerate risk
- EldonModerate risk
- ChillicotheLow risk
- KirkvilleLow risk
- AgencyLow risk
Tick species in Wapello County
CDC county surveillance (established or reported)
- Deer tickEstablished
- American dog tickEstablished
- Lone star tickReported
- Gulf Coast tickNot established
Established in this county for the deer tick, the main Lyme carrier. “Not established” means no CDC surveillance record for Wapello County, not that a town is tick free. Source: CDC tick surveillance (ArboNET Tick Module), 2025.
Diseases found in local ticks
No CDC tick-testing records for Wapello County. That is a surveillance gap, not a sign these diseases are absent. Lyme and other tickborne illnesses occur across the region.
Tick control in Wapello County, IA
Professional tick control across Wapello County usually means a barrier treatment along the lawn edge, leaf litter, stone walls, and shady borders where ticks wait for a host, applied two to four times a season by a licensed pest control company. It is the single most effective way to cut tick numbers in the part of the yard your family actually uses, and it matters most in Wapello County's more wooded towns.
How much does tick control cost in Wapello County?
Most Wapello County homeowners pay about $100 to $200 per visit for professional tick spraying, or roughly $350 to $600 for a full season of barrier treatments, depending on lot size and how wooded the property is. Quotes are free, so it costs nothing to get a real number for your yard.
From a vetted local tick exterminator serving Wapello County. No cost, no obligation.
Common questions about ticks in Wapello County
Which towns in Wapello County have the highest tick risk?
At the summer peak, Ottumwa carries the highest modeled tick risk in Wapello County, followed by Eldon, Chillicothe, Kirkville, Agency. Risk tracks how wooded a town is: forest cover across Wapello County ranges from 22% to 44%, and the more forest and woodland edge a town has, the more habitat ticks have to quest from. Blakesburg sits at the low end. Every town has its own daily score, so check the one nearest you.
What ticks live in Wapello County?
CDC surveillance records 2 established tick species in Wapello County: Deer tick, American dog tick. The blacklegged (deer) tick is the main carrier of Lyme disease in the Northeast. "Not established" for a species means there is no CDC surveillance record for the county, not that the tick is absent.
Is Lyme disease common in Wapello County?
CDC reports too few cases in Wapello County to publish a stable county Lyme rate, which is common in rural or low-population counties. That does not mean the risk is zero: Lyme and other tickborne illnesses occur across the Northeast.
All towns in Wapello County
Tick risk is local. Pick the town nearest you.