Through most of the year Yellowjackets, a type of wasp, are pretty much benign.  Unfortunately they are one of the few creatures on earth besides us who can sense their own demise.   Come October they know that winter will mean the end of them and they go on a mad rampage.  They eat their own young, destroy their nests, and go out to sting anything they can before they bite the dust.  Today they're after me.  So far I've killed two and winged one with my floppy Jungle hat.  Normally I leave them alone and they reciprocate but this time of year they are an evil insect.  A lot of species of bees and wasps don't hurt me much but I must be at least partially allergic to Yellowjacket stings.  The effected area will sting and itch like mad for a very long time.  Then over the course of the next week or so the skin around the sting site will die and peel off.  When Yellowjackets come buzzing around me this time of year I go into the full attack mode.  I'm praying I don't get stung today right before bowling.

Not a huge fan of wasps, yellowjackets etc. While they dont rate as low on my list as the "what-the-hell-is-the-purpose-of-that" bugs like ticks and mosquitos, (who Im convinced exist solely to make life a little less enjoyable), they are definitely annoying.

For the most part Im live and let live but any wasps around my house are terminated with extreme prejudice. Think Ill have ro give that ammonia trick a shot, never heard of that one.

A pan of ammonia is likely to drive away pretty much EVERYTHING !

When I used to work for cable TV we would often come across Yellowjacket nests in our pedestals and lock boxes.  We were issued cans of BeeBopper to deal with them. This was effective but you'd have to first discover the nest and run for your life back to your truck.  There is nothing more comical than a cable guy opening a Yellowjacket filled pedestal. You would be amazed at how fast a big, fat guy like me can move.

My father is severely allergic to yellowjacket stings (we found that out when he passed out cold about 10 min after getting stung --- pretty scary). But he isn't allergic to bee, paper wasp or hornet stings; in fact, he used to raise bees and occasionally got stung. Fortunately, yellowjackets around here aren't as aggressive as RM's.