Giant Black Wasp!

Originally posted by wigit
HELP

The size of a mouse you say? I don't think I could smash that one with a Kleenex. Get a can of hairspray and a lighter. Torch it!

Some more pictures of the tarantula hawk wasp here
www.dyxum.com...

I think that is the cicada killer wasp, but i could be wrong

I've seen some huge nasty solid black things come out of the grass and start chasing people who were mowing the lawn. I guess a cousin of the cicada killer? *shrugs* They were MEAN. Cicadas are a royal pain with their noisemaking though. Glad to know they have more predators than just cats, dogs and birds. Once I watched a bird toss a cicada at a brick wall over and over again until it died, then the bird flew off with the body.

For getting the huge spider, I recommend first to open a window all the way, with no screen. Then take a regular stick broom and gently pick up the spider on the end of the broom. It should climb onto it. Then haul butt to the window and toss out the spider.

That's what I would do in your shoes anyway. I never kill those kinds of bugs in the house because they eat other bugs. But if I can catch them, I will. I've caught bumblebees, carpenter bees, wasps, hornets and spiders in plastic containers. Then carry them outside to dump them off. I'm weird I guess. hehe I'd rather catch them than clean up the mess after squishing.

There's a huge nasty looking spider on my backporch now. It made a nice web right underneath the light. Smart spider. Last night while letting the dogs out to potty, I watched a moth land in the web and that spider was quick to grab it. Fun to watch. I left it alone.

Biting and flying bugs are really bad here. So I let the spiders and bats do their thing. Sometimes at dusk the bats fly really close to you. But they are no bigger than a common sparrow. I have no mercy for blackflies, sandflies, deer flies, horse flies or mosquitoes though. They all want blood or a chunk of skin and are really bad right now outside.

reply to post by MadSigntist

This flying bug was it black and orange and slitely fuzzy? Did it fly close to the ground? I saw something relitively the same but about 2 1/2 inches long and I'm having a hard time Identifying it. Ks.

Yes, when I was doing a softball practice with my daughter in late summer I saw an insect that I estimate at 3 to 4 inches long--can't make a better estimate because it really scared me. Largest insect I ever saw (maybe excepting a really large praying mantis) in the U.S.A. It was larger than some humming birds I have seen! I searched it online and it looks like an Eastern Cicada Killer Wasp--but they claim trhey are 2 inches long--believe me, these things were bigger than 2 inches--at least 3 or 3.5 inches. But dark brown with some orange stripes.... SCARY. I actually trapped one in the several inch holes they were easily digging in the baseball infield dirt. The thing dug out of a few inches of dirt in a FLASH....

reply to post by seentoomuch


Holy sweet Jesus I do NOT want to see one of those in person... I knew I'd see something scary inside this thread but this thing is too much!! xD