Phobia: An intense, abnormal or illogical fear of a specified thing.
Overview: A person who suffers from any type of phobia will avoid all situations or things they are afraid of. Some symptoms of phobia include fear, panic, rapid heartbeat, shaking and shortness of breath. They also feel the need to leave an uncomfortable situation immediately.
Fear and anxiety are part of being a human being. There are just certain things we are supposed to be afraid of. For example, should you encounter a mountain lion stalking you, in all likelihood, your heart will start to beat rapidly, you would suffer shortness of breath and you would feel the urge to leave the area immediately. There are a few other bodily functions that would fail as well.
Fear of something can drive us to do irrational things. But this does not mean that the fear itself is rational. Others might think it silly if you were to scream and jump around after spotting a ladybug on your arm. But in your mind, that type of reaction is totally valid if you have a ladybug phobia.
Speaking of ladybugs, pest phobias are among the most common fears reported. And our ingrained dislike for pests probably stems from wounds that are deeper than we would ever admit.
Some might roll their eyes at the notion of somebody having an intense fear of fleas. However, a fear of spiders is viewed as totally rational. Yet, it is fleas, not spiders, that have killed millions of people by carrying the Black Plague.
Most of us prefer to keep our distance from certain pests. We may even have an aversion to some pests. This is culturally understandable. But sometimes this aversion is much worse, it’s a persistent and irrational fear. It is a phobia.
Earthwise Pest Management, your pest control company in Sacramento, offers this list of pest phobias.
Zemmiphobia
This is a fear of the great mole rat. Mole rats are a part of the rat family, but they behave more like moles. You can find them underground in big colonies. Since they dig tunnels, they are often mistaken for moles.
Ornithophobia
This is a fear of birds. Remember that some fears are irrational. And it might seem irrational to fear a bird that is flying overhead. But if you were to watch a certain Alfred Hitchock movie, that fear might not seem so irrational.
Musophobia
This is the fear of mice. There are many people who scream and jump when they see a mouse. But there are some people who go into a panic attack when they see a mouse. We can lump rats into the fear as well.
And to think that some people actually keep mice and rats as pets.
Mottephobia and Lepidopterophobia
This is the fear of moths and the fear of butterflies. Often, people have both of these phobias. These are usually phobias suffered by children who outgrow their fears when they realize that moths and butterflies cannot hurt you.
Isopterphobia
This is a fear of termites. This is a specific phobia in which a person is triggered when they see a termite. They can also be triggered by carpenter ants as they look very much like termites.
Chiroptophobia
This is the fear of bats. This isn’t all that surprising, nobody is ever happy when they come across a swarm of bats, or even one for that matter.
Perhaps it is the erratic behavior of these creatures that keep people from loving them. Just know that they do our environment a world of good by eating the bugs we hate.
Well, and then there is that whole vampire thing.
Herpetophobia
This is the fear of reptiles and other creepy things. Believe it or not, there are people who have such an intense fear of reptiles that they have a panic attack when watching that Geico commercial.
This fear covers snakes as well. But if you hate snakes but love lizards, you suffer from Ophidiophobia.
Batrachophobia
This is the fear of frogs, newts, salamanders and so on. So, that frog terrifies you. Well, fears are rarely rational.
You might not suffer from a pest phobia, but that doesn’t mean you want mice or ants in your house. If you are suffering an infestation, give Earthwise Pest Management a call.