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?!

Sorry not read full thread but it is most likely a hornet. They can be huge. There are loads around this year. We are putting one outside a night at the moment. Don't kill them.

Just seen 10cm. I think you have a bird or bat in your house.

Reminds me of the only time I’ve seen a hornet
We had gone to the beach and were driving home. Me DH and 3 young kids aged 9 months - 4 years.
Stopped at a petrol station after an hours drive. I needed something from the boot so whilst we had stopped I opened the boot and sitting on one of our bags in the boot was a massive hornet.
I pulled the bag out onto the ground and it flew off eventually but can you imagine if that thing had started flying around the car when we were driving.
My blood runs cold thinking about it.

That is a Hornet. They are beautiful even though alarming .
I have only ever seen one locally, but they are common in the SE of England.

I got stung by a giant hornet once and it was fucking awful.
As a single woman I too would have needed a man to deal with this. Equality can get to fuck quite frankly 😂
Also no fucks given re killing spiders etc. that come in to my home. That's what you get, should have stayed outside where you belong 👍

As pps have said, unlike wasps Hornets hunt at night as well as by day , so do get into houses when there is a light on. My friend with the nest in her eaves was removing several every evening until the nest died off. This time of year as with wasps, the nest might be starting to break down and the queens will emerge, mate, and look for a place to hibernate. As yours was so huge OP, I think it must have been a queen.

Hornets can be scary if they are inside. They are noisy with buzzing and hitting walls. I very much hope that your estimate that it was 10 cms was an exaggeration.
I tend to get rid of all the insects with putting the light on somewhere else and they usually follow.

Is there a trick to catching them?
The creature that was in my kitchen was buzzing and flying about very fast and as soon as I opened the door it flew towards my face. It went quiet when I closed the door and backed out but started up again as soon as I re-appeared. No chance of catching it.
I feel bad about using Raid but it wouldn't go out the door and I couldn't leave the kitchen open all night.

could it be a drone?

Come off it.

A false widow is not 'very venomous', it's no worse than a wasp sting. They will only bite when provoked or trapped against skin.

Killing bugs isn't a 'hysterical' response and I am not squeamish/ bothered about that - they're just bugs.

But fearing them as much as some on this thread seem to is just ridiculous. Again - they're just bugs.

If you don't like them, you just calmly deal with them by either putting them outside or getting rid of them another way. They are really not dangerous and they don't want to attack/ kill you.

There's no need for all this drama and no insect in the UK is going to kill or seriously harm you with its venom.

Helpless female my arse, a phobia/fear is not related to your sex. Men are just as irrationally scared of things, they're just less likely to talk openly about it. I love rodents and snakes but totally understand many people are terrified, I don't roll my eyes at them. My dad and brother are scared of dogs (not that they admit it) and I own two big ones! I'd definitely be the designated rescuer if they ever got cornered by a snarling Pomeranian 😜

When it comes to insects, the answer is always Raid. I've been using the same can for a good five years now and it's never let me down. The best part is if the window is open the fly or wasp usually finds its way outside during it's frenzied last moments, although there was one occasion when I couldn't find where a fly had ended up until I went to bed and the bastard was dead on my pillow.

I always give a warning like "out!" before unleashing the spray, but I kind of enjoy deploying it, especially on the nasty bigger insects. I mean, I'd enjoy it more if they didn't invade my home in the first place, but there's something satisfying about knowing a squirt of Raid has made the world a slightly better place.

@locke360 But fearing them as much as some on this thread seem to is just ridiculous. Again - they're just bugs.

This completes belittles fears and phobias. They're not 'just bugs' to someone who has a phobia. I have to drive with my windows closed even on the hottest days because, like PP said, if a wasp/hornet starts flying about my car I will crash. It's not a voluntary response, it's sheer panic.

Intrigued by the idea of window mesh, never thought of that before but what a great idea.

Op if bigger than a hornet them it was likely a giant horntail and which looks like a wasp With different legs. It’s totally harmless and basically a big fly. They are quite common on the Uk.

Jesus fucking christ, that scaremongering BBC article/video about false window spiders, baby taken to A&E because the paracetamol wore off and they did was monitor the baby. That is not 'very venomous'. A mosquito bite, at most.
As it's the start of spider season please inform yourselves so no spiders are killed unnecessarily: Natural History Museum - Should you fear a false widow

Had one of these fly in. Caught her gently in a kilner jar when she landed on the curtain, slid a bit of card over the top, checked she wasn't an invasive non-native hornet and let her outside to fly off peacefully.

Yes, she was the size of a thumb but she wasn't aggressive or fast flying.

Daughter was terrified at first but now she realises she was privileged to see an unusual (for us) new species and that there was nothing to be scared of.

You should have kept the false widow alive so it could destroy it.

Absolutely! We have a few living in our conservatory at home. Never bother us and they grab the flies that dare to venture near them. It’s fascinating watching them go for their prey. So fast! But they are very shy and don’t like human interaction much at all. The scuttle away if I’m too close.

European Hornet is larger than an Asian Hornet.
You have to report it if it is an Asian one, as they kill our honeybees.
Rarely get just one, so possibly a nest near by (sorry op) are you near a fruit and veg shop by any chance?
Report to Countryfile or Uk centre for Ecology and Hydrology, they find the nests and destroy them.
If you do squish it, take pictures as above will need to see.
Feel your pain am terrified of wasps.

Obviously it's gone now, but ALWAYS take a photo first, identify it accurately - iNaturalist is a good app, especially if Mumsnet can't agree on the difference between moths, emperor dragonflies, and European or Asian hornets....

Leave open a window or catch and release. Only if you absolute legally must, kill it. Identifying animals is a super useful skill and the more you know, the less you panic.

The one in my kitchen was flying about so fast there was no chance of getting a photo

We had a Cessna crash through our conservatory last week, but I had The Chase on really loud and did not differentiate the noise between its propellers and a daddy-long-legs when its bouncing off my ear lobe in a field somewhere.

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

Ah you’re right. The Asian Giant hornet hasn’t been in the U.K.

It’s the (bit smaller) Asian Hornet that’s on the U.K. government website. You’re still supposed to report them.

@MrsTerryPratchett I have to have Raid in the house. I have about 6 bottles throughout the flat lol

i need to know what happened next!!!