I bought a preying mantis egg case a few weeks ago thinking it would be fun to watch the babies hatch from it. I kept the egg case in in an aquarium closed off with a screen top. Unbeknownst to me, the baby praying mantises are so tiny they can fit through the holes of a screen. Now I have hundreds of these things hopping around my house. What should I do now? I really don't want to kill them, but I may not have any other choice.
It's against the law to do kill them. Gather them up in a jar and let them outside. they're harmless to things bigger than themselves, just have patience.
It's only illegal to kill them in Connecticut, because they are the state insect.
Borrow a cat. Crunchy snacks for them.
I am not sure if this is really neat, or really nasty. I feel like a praying mantis is badass.
This is the greatest post I have ever read. Whatever happens, I salute your intrepid spirit/lack of common sense.
No one will choose common sense over uncommon sense.
---Mae Southwest
Catch them and sell them on line. They are a valuable commodity for veggie gardeners...and yes, you should not kill them, they are great for eating other insects.
Awesome story
rive stwong wrote:
This is the greatest post I have ever read. Whatever happens, I salute your intrepid spirit/lack of common sense.
++1
This is a letsrun classic.
If you gut it out for another week or two they will be big enough to catch with a conventional net. You could probably shave 4-5 days off that if you just release some prey into your house...get em fatter faster. Happy netting!
The female praying mantis eats the male. Are you trying to say that you want me to eat you :)
Do nothing for another 2 months, hang in there. After 2 months there will be so many , all you will have to do is open the front door. They will leave on there own, just like a cat or dog.
Catch them and bring them outside....if you live where there is grass and shrubs etc. If not, catch them and release them in a park or a field.
I have a huge crop every year, they tend to lay eggs right by my front door. So I have to be careful not to bring any in the house. They soon disappear. When they are full grown they are intriguing looking. I often get them in my car because where I work also has them, so I have imported a few here and there. They are harmless to us but so big that it is startling when one lands on you.
Don't just toss them outside unless they have a place with vegatation.
Do they eat bedbugs?
Study them. Learn Kung Fu from them.
Bump
they are not praying. Think of it more like a Kung Fu pose. They are of course highly aware of the moment, as trained
My Uncle Scott and his wife Cleo got ate by a herd of preying mantises 27 years.
It was awful.
True story.
I live in Hawaii. I’ll round up a few hundred geckos around my house and send them your way. Those mantis’ will be gone within one day.