The yellow jacket wasps in the ground can be dealt with using a clear bowl and some dirt. In the evening (when they are dormant), place the clear bowl over the entrance, and seal the edges with the dirt. Be sure that there is still plenty of clear glass/plastic. With the clear 'window' area, they will keep trying to get out, but if it is fully covered, they will be motivated to dig a new entrance/exit hole. After about 3 days, there will be no activity.
The vacuum method is useful when they are in a building. Use a strong shop-vac. Mount the hose a few inches from the outlet, and turn it on for an hour each day. If you turn it on more than that, they'll learn to avoid it. This took about a week to terminate the hive.
I've done both, but only reluctantly when they are a real hazard (minimize cruelty; these aren't quick deaths). The nest will die out anyway in the autumn, except for the queen and then it will move for the next year.
Went on a wasp jihad as a teenager. Waited til dusk, hit all the nests with bug spray, used a stick to knock'em into coffee cans, added gasoline and torched'em up. Oddly satisfying.
The vacuum method is useful when they are in a building. Use a strong shop-vac. Mount the hose a few inches from the outlet, and turn it on for an hour each day. If you turn it on more than that, they'll learn to avoid it. This took about a week to terminate the hive.
I've done both, but only reluctantly when they are a real hazard (minimize cruelty; these aren't quick deaths). The nest will die out anyway in the autumn, except for the queen and then it will move for the next year.