Are you afraid of bugs

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F_Marturana said:
My kids are afraid of butterflies. We went to a butterfly exhibit a while ago and they’ve acted as if I brought them to a reenactment of “The Birds” by Alfred Hitchcock.
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Guess who is also afraid of birds 😉

I’ve been working on the bird thing over the past few years, it is getting better.
 
We call them “waterbugs” but they freak people out!!!
 
Many human beings seem to have a basic aversion to beings having more than four limbs.

Unless said beings live in water, then they are great with tartar sauce!

ICXC NIKA
 
I fear flying insects that sting, particularly wasps and true hornets (genus Vespa; some species commonly known as “hornets” are actually yellowjackets, genera Vespula and Dolichovespula). I don’t believe this fear is irrational, especially in the case of hornets, certain species of which carry some of the most toxic venom in the bug world and can kill humans (though this is, admittedly, relatively rare).

On nine separate occasions, we had a single hornet find its way into our home last summer. I will usually make an effort to escort wayward insects outside, but not in the case of hornets because they are too dangerous. They get angry easily and their stings are extremely painful—it’s not uncommon to pass out from the pain alone.

Bugs with these capabilities are rare (but YMMV depending upon where you live) and I don’t think it’s unreasonable to be afraid of them. On the other hand, they exist and if there’s a chance you’ll cross paths with them it would be wise to know how to handle the situation.

I strongly advise against attempting to kill a wasp or hornet by hitting it with a physical object. As has been pointed out, you could miss and anger it. Insecticide spray suitable for the bug in question and the environment (indoor vs. outdoor) works for us. It can be deployed from a safe distance.

If you find a nest, on the other hand, where I live that becomes a case for the professionals. We had to call one in to destroy a rather large wasps’ nest that had developed under the roof of our vacation home. The fire brigade will remove and destroy hornets’ nests for free, as this is considered to be a public safety issue. So know what options exist in your area and how to avail yourself of them in case of need.

For less harmful bugs like mosquitoes, well…not sure what to say about those. Wear bug repellent and the majority of them should stay away from you 🙂
 
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I am afraid of brown recluse spiders. Their bite causes your flesh to go necrotic quickly. You can to be treated immediately lest the area where they bite basically dies. If you want to know what necrotic is, do a Google search. I’m not posting a picture as it’s pretty horrific to see.
 
UpUpAndAway said:
We had to call one in to destroy a rather large wasps’ nest that had developed under the roof
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The largest nest I’ve ever seen was about the size of a laundry basket. Fortunately it was very high in a tree and had clearly been abandoned for at least one season. I’m quite glad I didn’t know it was there while it was occupied. LOL
 
Yikes! 😱

This one wasn’t that big, but at about 20"x20"x8" (50x50x20cm) it was plenty big enough. The exterminator, who had to treat it twice in order to kill all of its occupants and was attacked while doing so the second time, estimated the colony to include between 7,000 and 9,000 individuals.

We were at the house early in the season; the noises coming from the ceiling in the upstairs bedroom led us to believe we had rodents 🐁 😬 My MIL, who was coming to stay in the house about a month after we went home, said she’d call someone in to deal with it when she got there. By the time she arrived, there was no doubt that our original suspicions were totally wrong: the nest was mature and wasps were entering the house through the ceiling!

The poisoned nest is still in place. Its presence ensures we will likely not have another colony call that space home, since wasps are extremely territorial and tend to steer clear of preexisting nests (particularly toxic ones). So glad that ordeal is over 🙂 Hopefully this dead nest will keep the wasps out of our chimney as well.

We still have to fix the damage to the ceiling, though. Those things can chew through sheetrock.
 
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Killer bees Facts and Africanized Bees - Facts, Information & Pictures

On a serious note 🎵 I do not like desert centipedes. They are ugly, big and hard to kill if found in your room. One time I had an encounter with Killer bees. It was one of those days I’ll never forget. A cave and lots of prayers saved us. I was in Central America cave exploring and we bumped into a killer bees nest that was way above the cave entrance. Some of us got stung but we all hid in the cave and for some reason only a few came in. We had to stay perfectly still and make no movements until we could leave one by one. We had to wait in the cave a long time.
 
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Egads! That sounds horrific. Sounds like you all did the correct thing, though.
 
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