A question. How close do you have to be to pour boiling water on a nest? Sounds a little close to me. Also, if you pour it and it splashes, well......

By the time they get angry it is too late. Of course it will splash, but yellowjackets generally live in the ground, so what is the issue exactly? Usually it is in the grass or some dirt somewhere.

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The other option is a trap, which works well if you have time.

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Wow -- I can't imagine 50 stings.

I never had a reaction to the occasional sting until I got hit about 7 times by some ground hornets while cutting my lawn. Immediate reaction was relentless, severe itching from the top of my scalp to the soles of my feet. I first reasoned I was having a panic attack from the stings. Stripped off my clothes and hit the shower. Hot water made the itching worse. My wife stood outside the shower giggling because of my misery.

Then the skin on my cheeks started to get taught. I told her I must be having a reaction and we needed to go to the ER. She sobered up a bit and said, "Sure, but let me throw a load of laundry in the washer before we go." I told her NFW and we needed to go NOW. Have to admit it was kind of fun having her race down the interstate at 100 MPH on the way to the nearest ER about 8 miles away.

Never had trouble breathing, but my tongue swelled and I was having trouble talking. Breathing problems were clearly the next phase if I hadn't headed for professional help. Three shots in the arse (cortisone, Benadryl and epinephrine, I believe) and I was back to normal in remarkable time. Have to carry an EpiPen with me wherever I go now just in case.

Found the nest in the ground the next day and killed it with a judicious amount of hornet spray.

Sorry you got mauled. I've recently sold a van for scrap, and in cleaning it out, I was stung in the front of my neck by a red wasp... Hateful critters with a nasty sting... the swelling was impressive. diddnt interfear with breating or swallowing. so I played Quasi-modo for a few days...

My mid-50's BIL was stung just after he got out of his swimming pool which he had been cleaning. A minute or so later he collapsed and was having a hard time breathing. Luckily his wife walked by, saw him and called the ambulance which probably saved his life. If he'd still been in the pool, it's likely he would have drowned. He'd never had any adverse reactions to stings previously in his life. Now he carries an epi pen.

First time I ever got stung, I was running thru the woods as a kid and ducked under a tree with a nest in it. Got stung right on the eyeball. God that hurt. Couldn't figure out how people tolerated stings. But now all stings seem minor by comparison.

I don't think these stings were as bad per sting as much of what I've read about on the topic. These are small wasps. I just retrieved the sample dead one I gathered and it's 3/8" from stinger to nose. My iPhone has a handy photo blowup feature. Above was mentioned half-dollar-coin sized wasps. I've seen big ones and these were not them. I do seem to have good resistance - no swelling - but the pain was noticeable big time and over a broad area. My arms still itch a bit I swear and I really hope it won't be in my head for a long time.

http://s20.postimg.org/nk6hu5cd9/wasps_2_003.jpg

http://s20.postimg.org/gsg2randp/wasps_2_004.jpg