undergroung wasp nest in my allotment

[mothersmilkandherchickenseggs]

having got my allotment last week we (me dh and 2 dc's) tooled up and trooped down there sunday ready for a day of digging only to find a large underground wasp nest in the top corner (good job i spotted it befor just plowing in with it) thing is im phobic im getting better due to my new found love of gardening and over the last four years i have become fairly tollerant to the odd one buzzing about. Anyway i rang my council today and they said they are a aware of it and have infact tried to get rid of it befor (so why has it come back?) anyway they are going down this morning (may well have already been) to deal with this a 2 others in the area. Basically im worried that they wont get rid of it thougherly and i'll go down and be attacked (bear with me and remember im phobic and therfor irrational) have any of you words of advice? how will i know they are really gone? can it be dug up once dead and burnt/disposed of? i really need to get the land clear and ready befor the bad weather sets in and there is quite alot to do. I had such high hopes for the weekend and it was well and truely trashed . Also with two small dc's im now worried about taking them down there with irrational thoughts of them being swarmed and stung to death (im not crazy honest)

Wasp nests are easy for the council to get rid of with the right equipment. The nests are usually dry, papery things that are easy to isolate and remove in one piece. You could ask them to show it to you if you want to be certain it's gone. Wasps pick dry places to make their nests deliberately like house lofts, sheds and eaves... and holes in dry ground. So if, after the nest has gone, you dig the area over thoroughly, water it well and plant it up, they won't be able to come back because you'll have changed the environment.

Cogito covered it. Just wanted to congratulate you on your allotment and hope you enjoy it, they are fab.

thankyou i feel more reasured now i think i will go down on my own when dh comes home from work and have a look about then again at the end of the week iv met all my neigbours and they know its there to so will ask them at the weekend if they have seen any activity (they are retired so are down there during the week) its quite sandy soil so i expect with the warmth its been the perefct home for the little feckers darling bug eating flyers. Thanks for the congratulations i know there great im elaited and have grad plans (though i think i shall have to down scale in order to get it all in my plot

ok so the council have been and gone iv checked it twice and not seen any movement its been covered over so iv now got the job of digging it up. Very nervous any tips on how to go about this? they are all dead right?

They'll mostly be dead but, like any piece of ground, you'll get the odd wasp or bee buzzing about as you work. So don't panic. I'd take the precaution of wearing long sleeves and trousers but, otherwise, just dig as normal, disturb the earth and get rid of any cavities.