praying mantis in my garage.....

[JerseyMike]

for the last 2 days i've had a baby praying mantis (about 2" long) living on the inside of my garage door. he seems healthy and is alive and looks at me like he saying "why do you keep looking at me dummy". my question is should i leave him in the garage hoping not to smush him by accident between the garage door sections when closing them up or do i gently move him to a section of the shrubs along the house. if i move him, do i move him into the sunny area or shaded area?

thanks,

mike..........

[ds549]

he should like sun or shade i think.

[Mack]

I've seen several new babies lately - about 1/2" long, and the give you that same look. They are cool!

[Tomes]

I would gently move him outside for 2 reasons. For you to stop worrying about him and for him to be in his more natural environment. I suspect that he got trapped in there somehow. Be careful with him as these guys are our best friends in nature. (And it is illegal in NJ at least to harm them.) Tomes

[Eggs Zachtly]

Bullshit. There are no laws in the US about cruelty to *any* insect. None.

[Mack]

[Tomes]

Well how about that. I learned something here today, confirmed by my own search of the internet to assuage my disbelief. Thanks for fixing this thought folks.

It is, I found, the state insect of Connecticut.

[Budget101.com]

[Eggs Zachtly]

[dave]

I found a praying mantis in the process of laying eggs in my garage. How should I preserve them for next spring?

[songbird]

is the garage heated during the winter?

songbird

[Skeeter]

if it were me, i would get a big rock and squish the nasty bugs.