Why Are People Scared of Bugs?

Author: Emma Grace Crumbley, Entomologist 

When you ask someone what they're afraid of, more often than not, they'll say bugs. At Chapman University, an ongoing study of phobias reveals that entomophobia, the fear of bugs, ranks highly among phobias experienced and expressed by Americans, behind acrophobia, the fear of heights, and glossophobia, the fear of public speaking. But why are bugs so scary? Is it because of their shape? Their behaviors? Or the tradition of being taught that bugs are bad? Let’s explore a few reasons why six-legged species may make you squeamish:

Psychology of Phobias

A closer look at the psychology of phobias can give us more information on why people are so easily frightened by insects. In psychology, fears are broken into three general types: Primal, Rational, and Irrational.

Primal fears describe the innate panics we experience when faced with dangers or threats that trigger survival instincts. Loud sounds, small spaces, isolation, and falling are all examples of primal fears rooted in the human psyche. These fears often involve morality and are believed to be biologically programmed through generational trauma. Some psychologists believe that as insects have evolved alongside people, our psyches have associated insects with the dangers they can carry, namely disease. 

Rational fears describe the distress we feel when there is a real or immediate threat. These fears can result from personal experience or knowledge of dangers and can include medical scares, injuries, severe weather, and global events. For insects, there is the very obvious and rational fear of being bitten, scratched, or stung, often resulting in a painful welt.

Irrational fears are anxieties not based on logic yet still carry the intensity of primal or rational fears. These fears vary widely from person to person and can include superstitions, paranoia, and phobias. Irrational fears don't need factual evidence or first-hand experience to be dreadful—they manifest on a gut feeling that something isn't safe. People scared of completely harmless insects, like butterflies and ladybugs, are likely experiencing irrational fear.

Facing Your Fear

Let’s talk specifically about the insect fears people have. While entomophobia broadly describes the unease people feel about insects and arthropods, there are more specific phobias for different species. Putting a name to your fear can help us get a more precise understanding of why you may have it:

• Arachnophobia – Fear of Spiders, Scorpions, and Ticks
• Coccinellidaephobia – Fear of Ladybugs
• Culicidaephobia – Fear of Mosquitoes
• Lepidopterophobia – Fear of Butterflies and Moths
• Myrmecophobia – Fear of Ants
• Melissophobia – Fear of Bees
• Pediculophobia – Fear of Lice
• Katsaridaphobia – Fear of Cockroaches
• Pteronarcophobia – Fear of Flies
• Spheksophobia – Fear of Wasps and Stings

Now that you know exactly which bugs, well, bug you, let’s examine what exactly about these crawlies creeps you out.

Too Many Legs

Perhaps you get uneasy by the number of legs insects have. Two legs are the norm for us bipedal beings, with the occasional four-legged companion by our side. Insects and arthropods are unlike any other animals on the planet. Scientists identify insects as animals with three distinct body segments (head, thorax, abdomen), six legs, antennae, and wings. Think ants, bees, and roaches. Arthropods are just a broader category of insect-like animals. Think spiders, centipedes, or scorpions. In both cases, insects and arthropods have three to four times the number of legs we have, and their legs are usually long, spiky, and angled. Bugs are also pretty fast, and all those legs moving at once can be unsettling for us to watch. This point alone is why house centipedes are some of the spookiest pests people report seeing in their homes – they have sixteen times as many legs as us.

Bites and Stings

If their legs don’t creep you out, maybe you’ve had a scary encounter with an insect. Regarding animals, insects are some of the smallest, and their small size makes them extra vulnerable to dangers, like getting squished by humans or eaten by predators. As such, many insects have developed defense mechanisms they can use to protect themselves. Stingers, pincers, chemical sprays, and strong mouthparts all help dissuade predators… and all can surprise or hurt us! Even after studying insects for nearly a decade, I still find myself getting a little nervous when a hornet flies too close to me.

Hive Minds and Swarms

Sometimes, the way an insect interacts with its colony is unsettling enough to give us the creeps. Social insects like ants, bees, and termites live and work in colonies with social hierarchies. Workers, soldiers, and drones work together to protect and serve their queens, the only progeny-producing colony members. The hive-mind mentality of these insects is so otherworldly to us it actually inspires many sci-fi and horror films. The Xenomorphs in the movie Alien and the Borg in Star Trek are just a couple of examples where colony behavior is mimicked to create an eerie ambiance.

Insects like mosquitoes, gnats, and locusts don’t live in colonies, but they do evoke a similar scare: swarms. While these insects don’t work together for survival, they do swarm together to mate. These swarms can range from a few flying bugs to massive gatherings of millions of insects. Films use this imagery to create a sense of panic and dread, like the scarabs that swarm in The Mummy. Suddenly, what was once one small insect becomes thousands of insects flying together right at your face.

In both scenarios, insects become much scarier when they work together with one another... and when television and films create monsters out of macroorganisms.

Fear Not!

Whether it’s rational, irrational, or built in our DNA, having a fear of insects can be challenging to overcome. For pests that give you the creeps and turn your yard into a nightmare, call the professionals at Mosquito Squad. Our highly trained technicians help protect your yard so you can enjoy the outdoors. Find a location near you today and let Mosquito Squad face your fears for you.