When my daughter called me into the bathroom, she was pointing at a large brown beetle sitting near the sink. Neither of us had seen anything like it before, and its size alone was enough to make us wonder whether it was dangerous. Before doing anything else, I carefully placed a container over it so we could take a closer look.

According to the fictional story, I sent a photo to a local nature enthusiast, who quickly identified it as a June beetle, sometimes called a May beetle. These beetles are common in many areas during the warmer months and are often attracted to outdoor lights. They occasionally wander into homes by accident through open doors or windows.

The expert explained that although June beetles may look intimidating because of their size and buzzing flight, they are generally harmless to people. They don’t bite, sting, or spread diseases inside the home. Their biggest nuisance is usually startling people when they fly indoors or bump into walls and lights.

The simplest solution was to gently capture the beetle in a container, slide a piece of paper underneath, and release it outside. To reduce the chances of more beetles entering the house, we checked the window screens, kept unnecessary outdoor lights off when possible, and made sure doors weren’t left open after dark.

Finding a large beetle indoors can certainly be surprising, but in most cases there’s no reason to panic. Once we learned it was a harmless June beetle that had simply wandered inside by mistake, we were happy to let it return outdoors where it belonged.