What to do when children (or adults) are afraid of insects.

I caught an eyed sphinx moth and saved it for our granddaughter, Nora, who is afraid of bugs.

Most fears are based not on concrete risk or horrifying experience, but rather on an unsubstantiated and unfounded belief.  That belief may be the risk of being hurt, bitten, or harmed in some way, but it can be said that it is all based in fear of the unknown.  I have seen serious fears, phobias, develop because of childhood traumatic experiences, and those can be hard to overcome.  But where there is fear of the unknown, it is reasonable to introduce the subject to them in a welcome and comforting way.

I understand this to some extent based on a personal experience when I was in primary school.  I backed into a wall and ended up being covered by hundreds of baby spiders.  It freaked me right out; I remember it vividly to this day.  Walking into a spider's web causes me to do what my wife calls "The Spider Dance", where I throw my arms and body wildly around in contortions trying to dissociate myself with the silken threads.  And yet, I can approach the subject rationally and even hold a spider with foreknowledge and a calm demeanour.  

So, I get that unfounded fears can play havoc with our mental and physical wellbeing.  The trick is to approach it in a way that generates interest and fun rather than to force someone into an awkward confrontation that is likely to do more harm than good.

My niece, Nora, has a fear of bugs.  Little black spots on something are actively avoided, with obvious panic being displayed.  When she was visiting, I got out some of my bug books and we looked at photos.  We talked about how interesting they are.  We had a fire and cooked hot dogs and s'mores, and afterwards, we checked out the local insects.  Ants, caterpillars, and ladybugs were all on full display.  I held them, and she witnessed the lack of terror in my eyes (it's a good thing there were no spider webs in the area, or I might have set her seriously back).

She stayed overnight; at 2:00 in the morning, I was out checking for large moths that may have settled near bright lights.  I was rewarded with an eyed sphinx moth, probably a male, which I trapped and put into a clear container with breathing holes.  Then it went into the fridge in my RV.

Now, I have to tell you that my wife has a problem with this process.  She has gone into the fridge before and opened a container thinking that some tasty leftovers may be revealed.  After receiving the fright of her life, she proceeded to tell me what she thought of my technique; female emotions turned on to "Full."  So, I warned her the moment she awoke.  If she needed to access the fridge, I was to do it on her behalf.  It wasn't my idea, but I understand sometimes capitulation is required to keep harmony in the family.

When Nora awoke, I showed her the large moth and, after breakfast, we took it out and explored it.  She wouldn't touch it, but she was curious about it.  I photographed it and her with it (sort of), and then we let it go. I showed her the photos, and we looked it up in my insect book.  Information goes a long way to reducing fear.

Her folks (my son and daughter-in-law) came later with a bug discovery kit containing clear containers, catching devices, and magnifiers.  We went to a pond and found a freshwater ditiscus beetle and caught it.  We put it in one of her containers; she observed it with her magnifiers.  She wanted to bring it home, but I told her it was important to let it go where we caught it.  

Now, is she cured?  No.  But we have made a healthy dent in the fear, and she will improve over time.  As long as she doesn't back into a web of baby spiders, she may well overcome her phobia.  Otherwise, she may develop a healthy set of calastenics in response to inadvertently walking into a spider web.  Like her Papa.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com