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Original poster

Insect Phobia

35 replies

Blueberry · 05/04/2001 11:13

Deep sympathies and I hope to goodness time has worked a bit of magic by summer - I'm a lifelong spider hater and I think the suggestions so far are excellent. Just a couple of thoughts to add: my sleeping baby was stung by a wasp last summer when wearing a T-shirt with a jolly bee motif - it went straight in the bin and I am careful to avoid insect-attracting bright yellow, let alone black and yellow stripes. I know only too well how awful the panic reaction is. I guess I would try to hug him into stillness, while showing him how to breathe deep and slow - this is what I try to do when I have a nasty spider shock. It's just like the old "coping with contractions" breathing really. Good luck.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

mammya · 16/04/2003 22:50

I am reviving this thread as I have a problem here. I have a wasp phobia and also don't really like much flying insects that buzz loudly. I tried not to show my fear to dd (2 years old)as I didn't want her to suffer from it too but she has already picked up on it and is now scared of any flying insect (including ladybirds). I feel terrible, would like some advice.

Metrobaby · 16/04/2003 23:27

Do stripes attract wasps or bees ?? I too have a real phobia about bees and wasps myself - but also have a couple of stripey T-shirts, I'd rather not wear around dd. I'm afraid I'm hysterical when I see them, and I know its not good to be like this around dd but I am SO scared of them, I'd like to avoid them if possible.

robinw · 17/04/2003 06:35

message withdrawn

whymummy · 17/04/2003 07:11

my son loves insects and hes always asking questions about them,when he asked about moths i told him that they eat clothes a few months later he came running from his bedroom terrified because there was a moth and it was going to eat his blanket and then his pijamas,its just how their little minds work,when it comes to bees and wasps im also terrified of them mainly in case we have a bad reaction to the sting,sorry mammya no advice as im just as bad!

Ghosty · 17/04/2003 10:42

I have no idea where thes phobias come from ... I had a lifelong phobia of spiders (couldn't look at pictures of them even ...) that often resulted in me hyperventilating ...
Since I had DS though I have been soooo much better because I do not want him to see my fear ... and last week when I found a rather nasty (biting) spider in our washing basket I didn't scream or run or anything ... just very calmly called DH to remove it from the house.
However ... my DS was still frightened of pretty much anything with more than two legs EXCEPT spiders!!! Have to say that as he gets older he is getting braver (a trip to the zoo this week was not as awful as it was 6 months ago - his favourite bit was the tarantula house .... YUK .... )
I think that they do get braver ... I posted on a thread a few months ago about my 'over-sensitive toddler' and he has greatly improved since then ...
I agree with the person who said not to belittle his fear ... there was nothing worse for me as a youngster to have someone say 'Oh for goodness sake it is only a spider ... he is more frightened of you ...etc etc' It achieves nothing except make the frightened person feel worse ...

mammya · 19/04/2003 14:17

Thanks for the advice robinw, I will try to find a toy wasp and to catch insects in jar (hope will help me overcome MY fear ) The zoo is also a good idea.

Also thanks for your support everyone, it's reassuring I'm not the only one...

windmill · 19/04/2003 15:00

I am not scared of any animals but my ds is a similar age and hes going througha phase like this, only he's worse. He is scared of ducks, moths, cats, rabbits, flowers, flies, dogs, butterflies, horses, donkeys, goats and even bananas and curtains. My nephew was exactly the same too and he grew out of it and now loves insects. I think toy insects would help, they did in my nephew's case.

mammya · 28/04/2003 14:46

Oh my God! There was just a huge wasp in my living room! It took me about half an hour to get rid of it. Luckily dd is sleeping so she didn't have to witness my fear...

mammya · 30/04/2003 21:00

I know you?re probably all thinking ?come on pull yourself together you silly woman? and I agree? At least now you know what we?re dealing with. I?m OK with bees and bumblebees and suchlike (well, as long as they don?t come too near) but wasps, that?s another story. I know I shouldn?t be scared of them, they?re tiny, they don?t sting in flight, the worst that could happen is I could get stung, and I?ve been stung so I know it?s not that bad, but it doesn?t help. But I?m rambling now. Just hope I can help dd not to be as bad as me?

SoupDragon · 30/04/2003 21:09

I'm with you Mammya! I can swallow my fear of bees as I know they are unlikely to sting me - my dad will pick them up but I'm not that brave. Wasps though - eeek!

And spiders .

Clarinet60 · 01/05/2003 10:59

Same here with wasps, I sympathise with you both. It's a bit early in the year for wasps though, mammya. Are you sure it wasn't a small, long bee?!
Does that make you feel better or worse?

Funny how these phobias override our strongest instincts though. I've been known to leave DS on the pavement on his own in my effort to run away from a wasp. I just run.

SoupDragon · 01/05/2003 11:05

Even worse, Droile, I once dropped a full glass of alcohol in my eagerness to get away

DS1 was stung by a wasp at least 3 weeks ago, by the way, so they are about already. It was in his shoe so I got a close look at it.

prufrock · 01/05/2003 11:57

mmamya I once slept on the landing outside my bedsit because there was a wasp in there and nobody else to get rid of it for me. but with me it's not just wasps, but anything small that flies. I can now steel myself to flick away thunder flies and greenfly that land on me, but that takes great control on my part and is real progress from a few years ago. I am so bad that even pictures of some insects can make me start to panic! It is difficult when other people don't realise that however irrational your fear is, it is very real to you.

whymummy · 01/05/2003 12:22

HEEEEEEEEEELP!!IVE JUST FOUND A WASP NEST IN MY SHED,WHAT DO I DO,CAN WE GET RID OF IT AND HOW?ITS ONLY THE SIZE OF A PIN PON BALL!!!

whymummy · 01/05/2003 13:33

panic over,dh got a jar full of water and got the nest,he was shaking,awww bless they do come in handy sometimes,we had great pleasure seeing the queen drowning in the water!!

Clarinet60 · 01/05/2003 16:58

Soupdragon, oh no! I was relying / relaxing on the idea that it would be July at the earliest.

Yes, DH's and DP's are good for something. Lets face it, you need them when there's a dirty great spider about too. I forgot to put that on my list of DH's good points.

Prufrock, what are thunderflies and should I be afraid?!

A friend's child (ren) once stood on a wasps nest in a neglected garden. They went all over the children and had to be hosed off in the bath. In that situation, I think I'd have to call the police, because I'd be gone. Our garden is neglected too. Help!

mammya · 01/05/2003 20:35

Glad to see I'm not alone... And it was most definitely a wasp, a big one, I think it was a queen looking to build a nest. I shudder just to think about it.

Whymummy, how brave of your dh! I would have just called pest control. It's in those moments I wish I had dh or dp!

janh · 01/05/2003 21:40

Droile, don't panic too much, I think the ones about now are last year's old dozy ones which have been tucked away, shouldn't be too many of them, the main invasion does come July/August - get some of those jamjar traps if you have lots (wasps, not jamjars). We used to have allotments behind our house, with raspberries etc, and got dozens of wasps in our backyard, they have been built on now and we have hardly any, it's an ill wind.

DH says "just keep still and it'll leave you alone." Yeah, right. I've been stung by a lettuce and a red-hot-poker in my time!

robinw · 01/05/2003 21:41

message withdrawn

Metrobaby · 01/05/2003 22:14

I just hate wasps too - never been stung so far but I react badly to small harmless insect bites (midges, mosquitos etc), where I come up in lumps the size of tennis balls so bad it looks like I'm deformed with bones sticking out at awful angles! Then I read those stories where people die of a wasp sting which makes my paranoia worse. I too have abandoned all motherly instinct leaving dd, and haring off screaming like a banshee.

One friend of mine and her dh got extremely annoyed about it all over one such incident as they didn't want to show fear in front of their ds and dd - but I couldn't help it

I even get off trains, buses etc if I see a wasp there

whymummy · 01/05/2003 22:54

when my children are in the garden i put glasses of orange juice everywhere so the wasps will go and drown,i love nothing better than counting the casualties

Clarinet60 · 01/05/2003 23:15

Metrobaby, so do I.
Janh, phew. That reminds me of sharing a coffee and cake at a pavement cafe with a real cool dude friend once. 'They won't sting if you leave them alone and keep still. Look.' Whereupon a big blighter crawled up his sleeve, for no reason whatsoever, stung him, then crawled out and bogged off.

I didn't say I told you so.

SoupDragon · 02/05/2003 08:01

Raid do a spray wasp nest killer. It comes in a black can. It worked on the one we had inour garden when my "ever so brave" DH gingerly edged up to it, sprayed the can and ran away!! I think he was worried about them swarming or something as he's not usually like that with wasps etc.

prufrock · 02/05/2003 08:01

Thunderflies are the really tiny (about 2mm long) black flies that seem to be more about just before a thunderstorm.

I was in Bombay on business a while ago and had been scared by a fellow travellers stories about thieves reaching into cabs and stealing handbags, pulling off ears with pliers etc. So the first night I had to get a cab home from the office as my driver was busy. I got in, and as instructed sat in the exact middle of the cab so nobody could reach me. Then I heard the buzzing. The largest insect in the world was in the corner of the back window. I think it was a dragonfly, but I just scooted to the other side and travelled with my head hanging out the window - a buzzing insect was far more horrifying than any plier wielding mugger!

whymummy · 02/05/2003 12:10

we had a look inside the nest and bleeeeeeeurgh it was full of larvae or whatever theyre called,now my dh reckons that the wasp we killed wasnt big enough to be the queen,how much bigger are they??anyway i`ve just emptied a can of wasp killer in the shed and run like hell

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