Fucking massive wasp. What do I do?

[Labourious]

I’m going to sound insane. DH is away from home with work. I’m here with my 3yo DS and DD who is only 6 weeks! I heard something downstairs moving about. I thought it was a burglar. So I made noise and turned lights on and off in the hallway. I then ventured downstairs with my phone ready to call the police, absolutely terrified. There’s the biggest wasp I’ve ever seen. I thought it was a bird! It’s easily 10cm long! I’m not squeamish, I lived in Costa Rica with some massive bugs, I killed a false widow earlier today. But I just went straight back upstairs. I can still hear it hitting the walls, bouncing around downstairs. What do I do?!

European hornets are like wasps but brownish instead of black and a yellow head. Asian hornets are mostly black.

Neither will go out their way to sting you.

We had a European hornet in the house last week. LOUD, fast flying. Was cross as it was late and dark. We caught it and put it out.

Asian hornets are still extremely rare in the UK, and are a bit smaller than European hornets - generally a lot darker too. Giant Asian hornets (different species) are very big but have never been recorded in the UK.

No, Asian giant hornets have a large, all yellow head, euro hornet’s head is smaller and generally darker.

Glad you got some sleep. Asian hornets are actually smaller than our native ones and slightly more darkly coloured - by your description of size and colouring it sounds more likely to be a native (IF it’s one at all). They are more nocturnal (unlike wasps who head to their nests at night) and at this time of year will fly towards artificial light (I assume for heat etc). They have a loud hum so if you only heard it banging into things but not humming again unlikely to be hornet. It would be wise to check the upholstery today - I had one reappear in a downstairs loo 3 weeks after I’d first seen it🙈. If it’s really too difficult to catch (really only easy if they’re on a window) I’ve got the hoover out before - sorry to those that are horrified by that! - and I do dispose of the bag immediately (not helpful if you have a dyson #reasonamillionnottobuyone 😂

It yes the giant one hasn’t been recorded in Europe. But I still think SOH photo looks like one if it was 6cm long.

Oh god we had one of those big hornet buggers in France years ago. It was outside and my husband opened the window and let it in, the dick. I always have Raid spray in for insect emergencies

No it doesn't, it's got a yellow face.

We’re getting mixed up between the Asian hornet and the Asian giant hornet.

here’s an Asian giant hornet which does have a yellow face pic

I thought SOH pic resembled this especially with a 6cm length.

however I realise that’s highly unlikely in the uk.

If it was 10cm, which is excessive even for a hornet, could it have been a dragonfly? We had one fly into the conservatory, and it scared the shit out of me because it looked like a giant wasp. Once it had finally calmed down enough for me to see it properly I realised it wasn't, but it looked too similar for comfort.

It sounds like a Xenomorph to me. There have been a few spotted around the UK this year. Definitely need squishing as they have a nasty bite if left to their own devices.

Take a photo.
The biggest insect I've seen in this country is the dragonfly.
Shut the door of the room it's in and leave it.

European hornet is bigger than Asian and we don't have the murder hornet here.

Asian hornet watch app is available on your phone to id insects similar to the Asian hornet.

Hideous flashback to the time I shook out some curtains and A GIANT SPIDER fell onto my shoulder... then I flipped myself forward and IT WENT ON MY NECK

I had never seen a hornet until last Sunday at my colleague's wedding. Fortunately there was glass between me and it but I definitely never want to see one again. It looked like a wasp on steroids.

They hide in the top folds of curtains and in the sofa rather than politely fly outside on the whole. You can just put a cup over them really but probably best not to try if they’re really angry and pinballinground the room.

more will come.

I had one like that. We thought the light was buzzing it was so loud I had a look and massive wasp was hovering. I have never seen one so big. I managed to catch it in a Tupperware tub. The problem then was how to release it as we might have angered the fucker by trapping it. DH put the tub outside, kicked it over and we ran indoors.

Is it a cicada? They a large, noisy, and scary looking.

No big ones native to the UK though.

I hope you’ve either burnt the house down or moved OP!!!

Sounds like a wood wasp, I had never seen one until recently but they are native to the UK and common. Totally harmless, the massive " sting" is used to lay eggs on wood.

UK wood wasp, they look huge in flight.

See this is why I have put mesh over all my windows! As I grew up Down Under, mesh window screens are the norm. I arrived in the UK in my early 20s and quickly realised with horror that this country doesn't use mesh screens! But there are still plenty of flying and crawling bugs that can get in your house. 😱

I use double sided velcro round the window frame and then cut mesh to size. I can pull it off where I need to move the handle to open/close the window. You do need to have it for all windows that get opened otherwise you end up having problems getting an unwanted flying intruder out! 😆It's done wonders for insect anxiety!

Could just be a wood wasp which look horrible but are completely harmless.

Not sure about the helpless female bit people keep moaning about. I’ve got such a phobia of wasps I sit with a can of raid within reaching distance!

My mum once rang me up and said I think we've got a bit of a problem can you come and look.

I could hear the whole upstairs buzzing before I got up there.

Opened one of the bedroom doors for a peek and the room was full of thumb sized hornets flying about the place, you could barely see out the window that so many were gathered round it.

My mum had been in there hoovering them up!

I broke a window once killing a hornet. I’d grabbed a heavy book and smashed it on the window to squash it and the window just shattered I think I’d been so scared o used a lot of force but I am allergic to stings so needed it gone

It sounds like a queen Hornet. They are scary as big and loud but less aggressive than normal wasps. Was it brown and yellow rather than black and yellow ?
My friend had a nest of them in her house eaves last year .