You can play games, and lose, or get can of wasp killer and be done with it.

Here they build "paper" nests--sure they're yellow jackets? I leave mine alone cuz they are hard workers. Try a vinegar soaked rag around a stick (maybe several) stuck where you don't want them.

Around here, we call those 'ground hornets' and you're right, the nest is just going to get bigger and bigger, and by august/september, it will look like Chicago O'Hare with wasps landing and taking off.

I'd use a can of wasp spray, asap.

Soapy water at night

While the nest is still small, you can flood them out

Launched my attack at dusk tonight. 8 ft ground rod, duck tape and a water hose. Rammed the end in and ran. Left the water running for about 30 minutes. About 15-20 buzzing around outside the hole and they were not happy. Turned the off water for about 3 minutes hoping some would go to investigate and hit them again for about 5 more minutes.

Will recon tomorrow.

glad you didnt take the irresponsible way by using poison. good job

I've heard you can get rid of a nest pretty easily, and without chemicals, so long as you know where the opening(s) is. Bees dont have big brains, when they leave the nest they fly up toward the light. If you press a clear glass bowl over the opening and press the edges into the soil, the bees will just fly up and hit the glass bowl for a few days until they die. Apparently, most often, they dont wise up and just start digging around the edges. The ones outside the bowl will just buzz around trying to get in until they give up the ghost too.
And they need to eat a lot to stay alive, so it doesnt take long for them to expire.
Maybe that's worth a shot if they rebuild after the flood.

Negative on water. Bees still at it. Going to have to try another solution

I came across these on another site, there are different combos you can put inside, the comments/reviews seem helpful

http://completegarden.wordpress.com/2008/09/11/bee-safe-wasp-trap-how-to-make-your-own-for-free/

http://www.prairiestory.com/2010/09/homemade-wasp-trap.html

Yellow jackets are cavity nesters and they are the most aggressive northern bee species and are very defensive near their nest. In my yard they most often make nests in chipmunk holes. Last year there were no less than 4 yellow jacket nests that I identified on my property, 3 in chipmunk holes and 1 in the dryer vent (which has since been caulked).

Last year I was stung 3 times on the legs, while mowing the front lawn because I kept forgetting there was a nest in the middle of the grass. If the nest is out of the way, I live and let live, but I did spray the hole in the lawn, and hornet spray did not work. The glass bowl idea sounds interesting.

Brought home a can of wasp spray but my wife shut me down. Guess it is best because one of the main ingredient is a neurotoxin to bees. Probably not good to have our vegi plants any where near that.

The trap and soap I think will take to long. I have no doubt the soap will kill bees if it gets on them.

Here is what I am thinking.. About a cup of antiseptic alcohol. Down the hole. Let it sit for about 5 minutes and ignite it.

Have no idea if the alcohol will have any knockdown power for them but I am counting on the heat from the fire to destroy the inner nest.

Down here with it right now 16 oz of alcohol, all went in then lit it. Kind of disappointed, no woosh just a slow burn. Which I guess is better, sigh.

Bees left will not go back in. We'll see how round 2 goes.

Should just keep flooding it every day til they're gone/dead. If that doesn't work, the bowl trick. Or vice versa

I just nuked a baseball-sized nest under the porch railing, where we sit in the evenings.

The BH was dead against wasp sprays, until our son was stung by several dozen wasps when he kicked a soccer ball into the bush containing the nest.

Now, not so much.

Latest: looking good. Still a few bees trying to buzz around the opening but do not appear to be going in. Not much going on with it, sure not active like it was. Half dozen or so causalities laying around the opening.

I made and put a bottle trap close to the opening to round them up I hope. Mello Yellow.

BTW far as I can tell from google rubbing alcohol burns at about 120 degrees at 100% alcohol mine was 90%.But I'm not sure on that. Also when I dumped the alcohol down the opening not a single bee came out. That was nice I was halfway expecting a black cloud of bees and had my evacuation route planed out. Run Forrest, run!

Are these bees or wasps, they are NOT the same thing.

Wasp: link below

Here is a link that might be useful: Wiki

If you can't get to the actual nest, spraying won't really help. (That includes underground, or a nest in a wall where the entrance is just a little crack.)

I once had such a nest in my house. Caulked the hole. The y'jackets just started showing up inside the house, looking for another escape route. Took a long time to kill them all off that way.

A neighbor had a y'jacket nest in his house. So we set up a shop vac at the entrance hole. Let it run all day. Sucked up every yellowjacket that that came out or came back from foraging. At the end of the day we shut off the shop vac. Pulled off the hose and quickly sprayed wasp spray inside to kill the collection. Next day, no activity at the nest at all. Caulked the hole and never saw any more.

They are gone.

I have a nest of yellow jackets in my yard and got stung badly. This is how I got rid of them. I first got a can of spray and sprayed the whole area. Then I got a flashlight red tinted and waited until dark. They say those jackets will be in bed 1 hour after dark but don't believe it because I got stung again however I did mangage to pour a hot water mixture of vinegar and soap down the hole, covered with a clear bowl. I left the bowl on for 5-6 days then went back and spray any that got out. Waited a few more days. Then took the bowl off and sprayed down the hole. I am now free of them.

We have a small canopy over our front door and I noticed a small nest forming. It is a favorite place for flying insects to build a nest. Often it has been wasps, but this year, it was yellow jackets. There is a perennial bed 5ft from the front door. It had not gotten very big yet, less than 6 inches across, my husband just knocked it down with a yardstick and managed to get off without a sting.

I anticipate every year there is going to be a nest there, but I was watchful in the spring. This nest started in July and by then I wasn't paying attention. I wonder if there is something organic I can coat the surface of, in those corners where they always start that might discourage them from building? Vinegar? Soap? A spray of garlic/red pepper that would hopefully dry on the surface? But I would imagine it would diminish it's effect in a short amount of time.

For others who might want to know:

The 'Poison Free' brand of organic wasp spray is more effective than Raid, in my experience.

It's just mint oil, soap, and water in a handy can that shoots out about 12 feet. The wasps fall down dead instantly and don't attack you (unlike with Raid). Mint is a neurotoxin, too, so bee careful and judicious.