Praying Mantis..please help

[originalhealer]

Okay, the other night I left the door open and a praying mantis flew inside my apartment. It has held me hostage for three days. No kidding. I'm scared to death of it. It is huge (at least four inches long). Initially I threw my shoe at it and it flew from the kitchen into the living room, where it has been for the last three days. Every night I close the doors to the bedrooms and the bathroom and I sneak past it when I need to leave. I'm too scared to sit in the living room and watch t.v. I tried to find out how to kill it and everything I found on the Internet has said don't kill it and that it is against the law to kill it. I even saw this one site that said it kills hummingbirds and that if you put your arms up and rotate your head, it will try to attack you. Okay, I'm really scared! Please help!

[Pinktiger]

A praying mantis won't hurt you. And it is against the law to kill it because it destroys bad insects and poisonous spiders. To get rid of it, either do this or have a friend do it, throw a small towel over it and then gather it up in the towel and take it outside inside the towel. Then you can release it to the wild (I would go down the street a bit) and it won't bother you anymore.

[robivi3]

i would stomp the crap out of it and flush it. legal or not.

[WhenThePawn]

Sheesh this thing sounds scary! I can handle lady bugs, lightning bug and rolie polies, but that's about it when it comes to bugs! Spiders paralyze me...along with anything else that looks menacing. (Yeah yeah yeah...I know, they kill other insects.)

What the heck does a praying mantis look like?

Sorry, I have no great advice for getting rid of it. I'm just rambling. Make someone else do the dirty work for you!!

[originalhealer]

Sigh...

I just came home tonight and it's not in the corner of the living room where it was before. Now where is that damn thing?!? At least I can feel a little better when I know where the heck it is!

[laz]

Don't be scared, the Praying Mantis cannot do anything to a human.

Praying mantises eat beetles, butterflies, spiders, crickets, grasshoppers, and even spiders. The praying mantises (sometimes) also eat vertebrates such as small tree frogs, lizards, mice and hummingbirds.

[herekitty]

i would stomp the crap out of it and flush it. legal or not.

Rovivi3 - you just made my day, that made me laugh so hard!

[bezoar]

Why am I suddenly thinking of the "Christmas Vacation" movie...SQUIRRRREL!!!!

They won't hurt you a bit. I've been fascinated with the praying mantis since I was a small child. Handled them often - never bitten. They're not the least bit interested in you unless you're about their size. Get a neighbor to help or shoot 'em with some bugspray if there's no other way. I actually bought a box of 'em last year at the garden center to handle yard pests (and because they're kind of cool...)

[originalhealer]

Rest in peace

Well guys....

I went into the living room to look for it today, and I saw it on the floor next to the floor lamp. It looks pretty dead.

At least I don't have to feel guilty for killing it!

Thanks for all the tips.

[bezoar]

Sometimes they do that - they lay motionless....then, suddenly they

LEAP OFF THE FLOOR AND BITE YOU IN THE NECK!!!

wrap aluminum foil around your neck before you try to pick it up. (they don't like the metallic aftertaste)

[Pinktiger]

Praying Mantises die in September/October, so it is OK. I was kind of thinking it was dying.

[originalhealer]

Okay, bezoar, I see you are a comedian!

[accentone]

this was funny.