Cockroach? I’m freaking out!

[CanIBeGingerSpice]

My garage is connected to my house but there isn’t an internal connecting door IYSWIM.
My washing machine and tumble dryer is in the garage. I did a load yesterday but didn’t take it out, so smelt it this morning, thought it was a bit fusty so set it off again.
When it had finished I was the wet washing out and heard something thud to the bottom of the drum. It was brown at first I thought it was a piece of wood. On closer inspection it was a bloody great big bug that looked like a cockroach!!!
DH put it in the bin, wish we took a photo to try and identify it.
I’m freaking out now and feel so dirty. How did it get there, and what could it have been!?
Should I call someone to check out our garage or wait and see?

[WildRunner]

Are you sure it was a cockroach? If it was big enough to make a thud, it sounds more like a maybug / cockchafer. They have a really hard carapace that makes them sound like a hockey puck when my cats play with them

[WildRunner]

images.app.goo.gl/6GNdx4cuTkrugTC27

[CanIBeGingerSpice]

@WildRunner I’m not 100% sure as I say we didn’t get a photo which I’m annoyed at myself about but I was that freaked out I didn’t think.
It did make a thud when I was spinning the drum and it fell to the bottom if that makes sense; I honestly thought it must’ve been a piece of wood DS had picked up!
Do maybugs have wings? This thing definitely did. I have a cat who goes in the garage a lot I wonder if she’d brought it in. I feel gross!

[EdwardCullensBiteOnTheSide]

A thud ? It must have been huge!

[CanIBeGingerSpice]

@EdwardCullensBiteOnTheSide it was! I thought it was a piece of wood! What the hell could it have been! It has been through the wash twice and hasn’t disintegrated at all urrrghhh I feel so sick!

[Bwlch]

Do maybugs have wings?

As far as I am aware, all beetles have wings.

I have a cat who goes in the garage a lot I wonder if she’d brought it in.

She could have. My cat loved playing with things like that.

[CanIBeGingerSpice]

@Bwlch I hope so. It must’ve been at least an inch long and was clearly solid as its body survived 2 washes!

[Bwlch]

I have dealt with cockroaches abroad and they are extremely tough. I wouldn't be surprised if they could survive ten washes. They are normally a bit bigger than an inch long though.

[CanIBeGingerSpice]

@Bwlch I really hope it wasn’t. I’m so anxious about it I’m on edge every time I step foot in the garage! It was definitely dead, or if it wasn’t it was very good at playing dead! I would say it was probably between 1-2inches long, really solid brown thing with wings. Should I just wait and see if any more appear? I feel like I must be unclean! My garage is quite cluttered don’t get me wrong but I wouldn’t like to think it’s a health hazard! xx

[EdwardCullensBiteOnTheSide]

I would just keep an eye out, but I'm pretty sure they say its rare to see a cockroach in the daylight because they scurry very fast out of the way. They mostly are active in the dark I think, so even if infested you'd not likely see them.
Since you found this creature in the garage I wouldn't be that worried, it will have come from outside and like someone said even the cat could have brought it in, our cat brought me a dragon fly last week!

[CanIBeGingerSpice]

@EdwardCullensBiteOnTheSide Thank you. That's true, at least my saving grace is that it was in the garage and we do leave the door open overnight on occasion, so there is a chance it just came in from outside and was maybe attracted to the nice damp washing! I spent most of last night googling cockroaches.. saw the damn things when I closed my eyes!