Was mowing a neighbor grass today and ran over what was probably an eastern yellow jacket nest. I was stung three times. Once on my left ankle. Once on my left hand as I swatted my left ankle. And once on my upper lip. Ouch. My lip has swollen up silly and feels like I have been shot with Novocaine but still hurts. I won't mow that section any more. Anyone have a flamethrower I can borrow?
Soapy water down the hole. Bee keeper suit recommended.
I berkeleying hate these things. Got stung 20+ times at about 4 following dad around doing yard work. He was trimming the hedges and whacking them with a rake to get the clippings out, that looked like fun...too bad I whacked the nest. I still have a vague memory of the world being sideways( dad grabbed me around the waist and started running with me on his hip wiping yellow jackets off as he ran). It’s been on ever since, I get stung an you’re all getting wasted!
Pro tip: wait until after dark when they’re all back in the nest to wipe them out. Do it in daylight and the stragglers will be pissed and sting anything they can find.
Oh yeah. berkeley those tiny berkeleyers right off. We're also getting into European Murder Hornet season here in rural Maryland. I have 4 brand new cans of spray in my shop. I grab 'em two at a time. Waste those motherberkeleyers like they ain't no thang!
The Asian giant hornet is back in my area, AKA Murder Hornets. They first appeared a few miles from where I used to live. Oddly, they first showed up shortly after my friends imported a few cars from a region ripe with them. Probably a coincidence, right?
If you haven't seen the murder Hornets, look them up, berkeleyers are goddam massive and can puncture a bee suit.
In reply to volvoclearinghouse :
I go in two fisted and heat the cans up in hot water first to raise the pressure! 
The bald faced big bastards ( white and black) are way more aggressive, on those hit the entry hole with a can and then punch the upper nest with a two foot length of 1/2” copper tube or conduit and spray into the nest through the tube.
Got hauled to the hospital in the meat wagon three years ago because of my encounter. Anaphylacic shock was setting in. Asked the EMT after the miracle injection how many bites I had... he responded, "We don't try to count them, the coroner will." Sick ambulance humor. 
Now I carry an Epi-pen.
Yellowjackets will literally kill me if I get stung by them anymore. Needless to say, I fully support any and all efforts to exterminate them.
+1 on doing it at dusk. I had a nest in the siding by my front door once. I got a pleasant surprise when they climbed out and just like walked around waiting for me to kill them
My best idea was when they were in the yard and I went at them with starting fluid and a lighter.
Two weeks ago my FIL hit a nest and got hit 25+ stings. I walk in and wife on phone with the first details.
As he is 85 years old I suggest we take him in to get checked. He disagreed then was really glad as he suffered for 36+ hours.
Coincidentally, my neighbor came over several nights ago and mentioned that his wife had been stung a few times and almost needed to go to the hospital. He had heard of my experiences taking out nests and asked my advice. We walked over to his place and stood on the porch where we overlooked a slightly neglected, mulched flower bed. From our vantage point almost directly over the nest we could see the yellowjackets coming and going and easily pinpointed the hole in the ground they were using as an entrance/exit. I'd say it was a pretty big nest, as there was a nearly constant stream of jackets coming and going. I suggested he wait until dark, then locate the hole with a flashlight and shoot an entire can of Wasp and Hornet killer into the nest. I even offered to hold the flashlight for him. Being US Army, retired, he declined my help and had already finished the job when I texted him later that evening to see if he had hit the target yet.
Here's another thread from a few years back. Sad that the pics are gone.
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/fun-with-yellow-jackets/36292/page3/
I got stung on the side of the nose when me and my buddy stopped at a gas station to air up after a track day at the FIRM. We had to use the air hose in the back by the semi diesel pumps and they had a nest somewhere.
Little SOB hit me right in the side of the nose, causing my nose to swell up and my eyes to water. It was real fun driving the 2.5 hours back home.
berkeley those berkeleyers!
Friend asks me to give him a hand clearing some brush. He has an old trailer that already has a bunch on it. Any time we touch the trailer a few come out and sting him. We get this brilliant idea: hitch it up to the suburban, stop alongside the highway, whack the trailer -- when they come out looking for a fight you drive off and leave them!
We're giving ourselves high fives after the first hit and run when I see one on his back-- too late, it's pumping. And another.
We try it a couple more times anyway. get to the city brush dump and trying to unload it fast he gets hit a few more times. Very tough individual who has handled a lot in his lifetime, is now whimpering and tearing up. We take the still loaded trailer back home and sanitize it all with a propane roofing torch. Turns out we had been hitting at the servants' quarters. There was a huge nest 3 feet aft we had no idea about.
all in all he got stung about 25 times and I didn't get it once. I have tons of allergies so I credit it to the Good Lord knowing they would have off'ed me that day.
We made a crater in my yard growing up. I was poking a hole with a stick and got attacked. So my dad poured 12 gallons of kerosene before it started coming out of the hole, and no more nest.
I'm not overly affected by bee stings, but I do have quite a reaction. Not an allergic reaction, I mean screaming like a little girl and running around reaction. It's funny.
Yeah, yellow jackets are miserable creatures. My initial reaction is swelling, but man, there is nothing that itches more than a yellow jacket sting a few days later. Unbearable.
If you can afford to wait and the nest is on the ground, a glass bowl over the top of the nest will take care of it. They tire themselves out trying to get to the sky and eventually die, (and don't look for another way out). Takes 3-4 days and you'll have a nice crispy pile.
For the in ground berkers, I always did a few gallons of gas followed by a match if there wasn't anything too flammable nearby. 100% success rate. Cooks them or suffocates the .
2nd on the gas but I wouldn't light it off. Boiling or hot water works also.
Never seen hornets but we have several varieties of wasp here - some hurt more than others!
I find looking for the nests most successful at dawn or dusk, something about the low sun I think. I have had a lot of success with Carbaryl powder, spread it round the entrance and they take it inside on their wings. Petrol works well for vertical holes - a two litre soda bottle is just the right size to keep them and the fumes escaping. I only tried lighting one once and it was certainly exciting with gazillions of scorched wasps erupting skywards seeking revenge ...
My son got hit 8 times on the ankles the other day. Urgent care gave him steroids and he puts Bacitracin to ease pain on each one. Went back later but can't find the entrance. They are a PITA.
Us Southerners rub our Copenhagen on the stings and get another beer.
And to think I was laughing about this picture just the other day.
And I will have to remember about the soapy water for the nest.
I will use it AFTER the flamethrower.
Last week I was 'introduced' to the eastern wasps western cousins. Had a small pile of weeds at the side of the house I had left for a couple of weeks until I had a full load to haul away. Little E36 M3s had decided to take up residence, but didn't announce themselves until I had taken a couple of pitchforks full off the pile.
stukndapast's hand looked a lot like mine, plus I had the added joy of bites on my elbow, neck, and ankle.
Every one of them is dead now.
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