Yellowjackets nest in the ground. 2005, with its dreadul drought here, near Chicago was a banner year for them. My dad asked me to eradicate a nest right next to his back door, and I (very reluctantly) agreed. A can of Raid flying insect spray later, my dad and I had both been stung mutiple times, and those yellowjacket were VERY riled up, defending their nest.  Don't try this at home, kids. Yellowjackets don't have barbs on their stingers like honeybees. They'll grab onto your clothing and just keep stinging you until you get the picture and swat them to the ground - and it takes a healthy swat, too, kinda like deer flies. The stings were very painful, too, and itched and burned for days afterwards.

Oh, and the yellowjackets just kept coming back from the field, and the Raid killed many of them but did not penetrate the nest. So our little exercise was for naught. The nest lived on and prospered for the rest of the summer. So there!