jdcnow I share this fear. I avoid wasps and usually they avoid me. But sometimes one has to kill a persistant pesky wasp. The best way to kill a wasp that bothers you is to attack it. Smack it out of the air with a stiff piece of cardboard, or your hand if you dare, and when it hits the floor stomp on it and do the mashed potato.

I am assuming that all of your windows have screens before giving you the following advice. When wasps build a nest on the ceiling of your porch etc. wait until there are only a few wasps attending to the nest. You can poke the nest down with a broom handle and quickly retreat to the safety of your house. The wasps will be mad for awhile but will calm down and many of them will fly away. You can come back to the nest and crush it with a flat solid object such as a stone or wooden board. Dispose of the crushed nest/wasps away from the house.