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prase comments on How exactly do you deal with irrational reactions to insects and spiders? - Less Wrong Discussion

2 Post author: InquilineKea 16 June 2011 02:01AM

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Comment author: prase 16 June 2011 12:41:00PM 2 points [-]

I have a phobia of certain arthropods, especially of big ones that fly. Hornets and bumblebees are the worst. Dragonflies aren't easy too, but at least they rarely fly inside a room. Somehow the fear is connected to the label insect, so after I learned that spiders are not insects, my aversion to them has weakened (but not disappeared completely). I could rate arthropods on a scale measuring my fear:

  1. Crustaceans (except woodlice): no problem at all, I can eat them.
  2. Anything smaller than 5 mm in length (other dimensions play a role too, the smaller the better): I can touch or crush them.
  3. Woodlice, centipedes, silverfish, harvestmen, smaller butterflies, caterpillars, ants, small beetles: can touch them, but crushing them makes me feel uneasy. Perhaps scorpions belong to this class.
  4. Most spiders, flies, moths, big butterflies, big beetles, solifugae, true bugs: I try to avoid touching them at all.
  5. Wasps, bees, dragonflies, cicadas, anything else which is big, flying, noisy or hairy: when one is near, I can't concentrate on doing anything. Being closed in a room together with few such beasts and no weapon (like a newspaper) is a nightmare.