Don't kill them! Put them outside, they eat bad bugs and spiders. You want them around.

On second thought I guess they would freeze to death this winter.
They lay eggs in October and hatch in the spring. I suspect the warmth of being inside made them hatch early.

I was thinking to tell him to put them outside but they will die by night fall, its pretty chilly out there and its about 75 to 80 in here which caused the cocoons to open. I think I can go down now. He said the chase is slowing and we're hoping there was only one cocoon.

Your dh has help in removing them that you might not know of. They're likely going to eat each other. for lack of anything else to eat they are quite the little cannibals.

Oh that's right, asleep is correct. I forgot about that if no other food they resort to cannibolism.
It's too bad you don't have a large empty fish aquarium to keep a few alive in until spring. Put a couple plants in there and feed them bugs. Then release outside in the spring.

Hi
Take it the species there are a lot more nosy than religious?? I used to keep the gigantic Asian species in my shadehouse where they were fun to observe as well as useful. Full grown females approach 6 inches in length so are really awesome lol Unless they jump on your face,bite you or carry them into the house lol. Wife was terrified of them so now all i keep are the natives .. and then only outdoors . I do see them not praying but none have ever "pry " that I've noticedlol gary

Oh, I'm sorry you are killing them, and SO Envious you had this blessing. They are a wonderful natural predator, the best thing one can order for Christmas.

I'm sorry you had not educated yourself quickly enough to give them a chance. People the world over pay good money to purchase egg cases for these wonderful beneficial bugs.

Perhaps next year you will make preparations and be prepared should you be so lucky in the future. I'm Very, Very jealous, and heart stricken you didn't do more research before you sent in a DESTROYER.

cena, come on. Since you feel so strongly about it, you should assume the role as EDUCATOR. Post images of what the egg cases look like, offer suggestions about what to do to preserve the cases, etc. Be a teacher, not a prosthelytizer.

By the way, these predatory insects are not welcome everywhere. They are very successful at catching all kinds of animals, including small toads and frogs, lizards, butterflies, bees, and other important citizens of a well balanced garden or yard. Hummingbirds are well documented prey, too. They will not feast on aphids, scale insects, mites, or other small pests....but will sure grab up all of the ladybugs and other busy beneficials they can find.

I, for one, remove them from my gardens whenever I see one.

Well, I just think they're cool. Not sure I'd like them in my house, but I have one in my garden that I thought was coming back year after year (for 4 years now) until I researched their lifespan and found that they rarely live over a year (if I remember correctly). So now I'm guessing my one 'friend' has an offspring that takes over the 'territory' each year. "She" (??) stays in basically the same 5' x 2' area all year long. I check on her every day and even say HI and sometimes pet her. But hey....I'm strange anyway, so don't mind me. LOL

Hi
They also have a fascinating "love Life. " For example less than one percent of the males die of natural causes .
They are eaten by the female.lol For them there appears to be no "safe sex " lol Of course in most species the female averages 5 times larger. In some tropical species 10 times!!! From a genetic point of view this means that ALL offspring are unrealated paticularly since the males genes are limited to ONE brood and they are VERY cannabalistic!! Isn't that interesting?? lol gary