Quite a few years ago my parents had one in their yard about twice the size of a basketball (yeah, it was HUGE). In our area (maybe your’s as well, I don’t know) there’s a service that will come and take them away for free. Something about using the wasps to make an anti-venom.
I would suggest you look for something like that.
Anyways, what they did…wait until dusk when all the wasps are ‘home’ and not buzzing around the outside, put on a bee suit (I think, maybe they didn’t use one). Then they approached the nest with a big heavy paper bag, slipped it over the nest and snapped/cut the branch it was attached to. All in all, I think it took them about 10 minutes from the time they got there until they left, no spray, no poison, just a paper bag and steady hand.
Shoot it with a paintball gun and then run like hell!! Worked with the one at my friend’s house.
Ye gods. Jackmanii is absolutely right. Get someone in ASAP, or you might find yourself getting fatally stung.
I was going to report that I’ve had good experiences with the foaming bug bomber cans of spray such as were mentioned by Crafter_Man. I waited til just after sunset, and started spraying the nest. None of the wasps made it out, and when I went to knock it down the next morning there was no activity.
But, having Jackmanni highlight something in your OP that I missed: that you’ve already become sensitized to the sting of this particular bug - the risks are just too high. Go with the six-pack to have a friend do the spraying for you. If that doesn’t work, go with professionals. Please.
whistlepig–what is your status?
The nest’s status?
Your easily-stung heinie’s status?
What is yer quest?
What is yer favorite col…just post already!!
What ever is done make sure the grubs are dead. you don’t need them hatching.
I’ve heard that if you know of a person who likes river fishing, you can give one a call as the grubs are highly sought after.
I’m with Ms. Pumpkin. I want to know about **Kalhoun’s **12 ft tall honeycomb full o’ bees in her wall.
I know nothing about hornets or wasps except to call in pest control.
Bees aren’t hornets. If they were making honeycombs, they were indeed bees. Bees aren’t particularly aggressive towards humans. Hornets, wasps, and yellow jackets, on the other hand, are. Those critters don’t make honeycombs.
I would run in circles screaming when I found it. Then I’d call a professional. No way I’d mess with a big wasp nest.
I did take out a very very small one once. I laughed like an insane woman while I sprayed. “Die, you little bastards, die!” was my battle cry.
Foaming long range sprays, as you can find in garden and hardware stores, are really amazingly effective. If you have a clear shot, you’ll kill the wasps quickly and efficiently. I’d still recommend waiting until it’s dark and cool, just in case, but those sprays work as advertised. I wouldn’t bother hiring someone to do something an off the shelf product does just as well.
If you’re looking for something a little more exciting than the dull “foam spray solution”, but less exhilarating than the rubber band method mentioned above, try this:
1)Get an old cotton floor mop and soak the mop part in diesel fuel. (NOT gasoline, diesel fuel)
2)Set mop on fire and thrust it repeatedly against the nest, being careful not to set house on fire.
3)The hornets will fly out, the fire will burn their wings off and they’ll fall to the ground. Stomp on them at your own pace, but be sure that one doesn’t crawl up your shoe and onto your leg.
Have fun!
My recommendation?
No, do not do this. This will get your stung very badly and do nothing about the hornet problem.
Do not do this, either. This will get you stung, set your house on fire and get you arrested. You will earn a page in the next Darwin Awards book, however.
Spoilsport! It’s fun, it works, and in eight or ten times doing this I’ve only had to put out one house-fire, suffered only two stings and never been arrested.
Did I say it’s FUN?
I dunno. I did the flaming cloth on stick to a large (basketball-sized) nest at a young age and it was 100% successful and 100% without negative consequence. And it was beautiful: hundreds of wasps flying out of the nest on fire at night…then dropping to the ground before smoldering out. Like a slow motion fireworks starburst, it was.
Some areas of the country have something called Vector Control who take care of things like wasp nests, killer bees, etc.
Wimps! Have a friend tie your hands behind your back then batter the nest to death with your face! Do NOT wear a shirt! The hornets will be so startled by your effrontery that they will only sting your face a couple of dozen times. Take some before and after photos, always good for a laugh!
Some of the methods on this thread remind me of that TV ad where the two guys were trying to get rid of the hornet’s nest by one guy clipping the tether while the other one waited below with a garbage can and a lid.
You can guess how THAT turned out. 
Thus, I agree: do NOT try to do ANY do-it-yourself methods with an allergy in the mix.