How do I get my new 'friend'out of my house

[SummerClean]

I was chilling with baby when I heard a big commotion in the dining room blinds, I thought a bird or cat was stuck in there, but it's a huge dragonfly! Honestly the pic doesn't do it justice, it's massive.

How do I get this out bearing in mind my fear of insects, my legs have gone like jelly. I can't get too close, it was flying so erratically earlier I'm worried it's going to land on my head or get caught in my hair or something!

Borrow a cat? They might get it.

He is beautiful—but I would be completely freaked. Let him rest a bit and then be careful not to hurt it. Sorry not other advice

😋

I used to love dragonflies till one bit me

They can bite !!!! The larger ones can - I was bitten as a child and it hurt !!!

Had one come in last year. I screamed which frightened the cat. We both hid in the bedroom until DS came home and gently caught it and set it free.

Dragonflies (beautiful things) have a good sense of direction. Not like nasty angry wasps attacking a closed window when the open one is right next to it.

I’d open the curtains and window and leave the room. If you have patio doors, put a big twinkly glass bowl of water on the ground outside. That should tempt it back out.

Aww, please don't kill it OP (although I don't think you would anyway).

If it dies a natural death though ... well, add some carbs of your choosing and that's dinner sorted for the foreseeable future. It could be like the MN chicken!

What the hell is going on with the enormo-bugs just now?! For solidarity, I was stalked by the biggest, hairiest moth last night. I heard the whirring wings and I was like "nooooooooooo" 😥😥😥. I have 6 dogs, who all pretended not to see it, and DH slept all through the incident, even while the damn thing was trying to carry me back to its people!

I went to get a sheet of paper for it to land on so I could get it back outside, and when I came back in to the room, I kid you not, it was actually sitting in my space on the settee 😂. It did very obligingly hop on to the paper though, and was launched gently released outside.

Be brave OP, be brave 💐

😂

Open windows wide and hope he flies out.
They are gorgeous, but he will not want to go near you.
They really rattle when in flight.
He’s beautiful!

😅

Breaking news! I came back down after being stuck upstairs for half an hour under a sleeping baby, and it's gone! I was just about to try the bowl of water thing to tempt it back out.

Now we're all going to agree it found its way out and not to some other part of my house :D

@CarrieMoonbeams that sounds awful! The thought makes my skin crawl!

Glad he’s gone.
They only bite humans if threatened.
eg if handled.
Dragon Fly larvae are really voracious, but live in ponds.

If it's big and rattles as it flies, it's very likely to be an emperor dragonfly (providing you're in the UK! They only live for about 10 days. Green and brown if a female, blue if male (difficult to tell from the photo). Don't worry about babies in the paddling pool, they won't hatch for another 2-5 weeks, I presume you'll have refreshed the water by then, and then will stay as larvae (non-flying) until next summer. Have a look at the lifecycle, they're really interesting. The best way to get over a phobia is to find out more about the object of dislike! british-dragonflies.org.uk/odonata/life-cycle-and-biology/
Happy to come put it outside if you're in East London.

@Agapornis it was blue! No babies in my kitchen then, phew! Feeling quite honored an emperor chose my humble abode.

Happy ending - brilliant!

Dog was barking the other night circa 0200 and I went down to find Mr Toad in the utility room. Opened the door and dog ran out (and wouldnt come back in!)

It jumped around to the back of the fridge and I had to pull the fridge out to get it out. I covered it with a bin bag, grabbed it and threw it out into the garden. Someone suggested that I should have got a splatula and got it onto that but I am sure it wouldnt have kept still...

It was horrible (and huge). I then couldnt unsee the dust and mess behind the fridge before I put it back so cleared that up too.

DH slept through the whole lot (so he says!)

It’s beautiful, and harmless.
We get the odd frog or toad, simply scoop them into a jug and return outside.
The only one that really creeps me out is a cockchafer 🤢

Summerclean.
I'm an elderly lady, I'd get him for you. Lots of ladies my age wouldn't be scared of it. 🤣

Cockchafer???what the…

In the last 2 weeks in our house we’ve had 3 mice, not blind afaik, 2 lizards and a hornets nest in the chimney.
Obviously sung to the tune of A Partridge in a Pear Tree.

Glad it seems to have made its own way out and is definitely not taking refuge somewhere to suddenly make an appearance later when you least expect it

For anyone else with the same issue, they're fairly placid normally. We get them in our conservatory sometimes (they make a REALLY loud noise when they're bouncing off the glass roof!) and I catch them in a pint glass and put a piece of paper or card over the end (normally some sort of unopened envelope), then release them back outside. A pint glass is literally the smallest thing that will fit their wing span they're so huge!

We had one yesterday! I got it onto the end of the broom and out through the window and it flew away. Huge thing. Beautiful but I think I can safely say I prefer pictures of dragonflies to the real thing now I’ve had one up close!

Are you sure it’s gone?

I’d keep the door shut, just in case it’s hiding somewhere, then get DP to do a thorough search when he gets home.