Spinoff from Bat Thread: Why Are Some Animals So Scary?

[lookingglass]

Originally Posted by TigerOnTheProwl

Honestly I don't have a problem with any of these animals. There is really only one animal that really creeps me out and that's the Duck-billed Platypus. Aside from the fact that they look so weird, their saliva is also extremely poisonous.

And they can stab you. It's freaky.

 

[catloverin_ks]

Really out of all them listed, its spidersthat bother me the most!!

I dunno why, they are just gross!!!

Bats,mice, and rats are cute

Snakes are cool as long as they are at a distance.....

 

[megagene]

I don't have a problem with bats, rats, spiders or mice...The only thing I can't stand is those damned HOUSE CENTIPEDES!

You know the ones I'm talking about...About an inch and a half long. Hundreds of long wispy hair like legs. The ability to crawl up walls and across ceilings at ridiculous speeds. I'm a pretty brave guy, but whenever I see one of those I stand on my bed and scream like a school girl...Although my first instinct is to douse the apartment with gasoline and burn the entire building down to the ground while screaming "I'LL SEE YOU IN HELL!!!"

 

[xxtashaxx]

im deadly afraid of spiders. when i was a kid i had watched the film arachnophobia , i had a night mare (gonna sound silly) that i had fallen of some scafholding SP? and split my head open , all these spiders came out of my head ears mouth nose and coveered the world in them lol, since then i havnt been able to go near one (but i will not kill them either) i used to freeze up when ever i saw one. now though its not as bad i dont freeze no more but still cant go anywhere near them.
then a few weeks ago i woke to one crawling on my arm arggg made it just as bad.
mice im ok with apart from when the cats bring them in to the house alive.
bats im ok with
rats are ok if there not near me lol.

 

[tari]

I actually also rather like snakes, bats, mice, and rats. In fact, when we got mice in our old apartment I went to pretty great lengths to try to save them from Tailer. (Unfortunately, though, he's a much better hunter than I am.)

I do have an irrational fear of spiders, though. They're just so creepy! I know it's irrational and I'm trying to get over it. I've recently instituted what I call my new "Spider Tolerance Policy". I'm trying to just let them be. It's really hard, though.

 

[danimarie]

Originally Posted by theimp98

does little kids count?

amen to that!

You know what, I've never actually thought about why they freak me out.
Actually, a lot of things freak me out so it' s no surprise.

Rats in particular. They are dirty diseased little creatures. (at least from what I've heard) Eeek!

 

[lore]

I breed corn snakes... I have several snakes... I've shared photo's of them here

I'm certianly not scared of those.

Spiders... OMG... I'm SUCH a chicken BUTT when it comes to those! Infact ALL BUGS! I am scared of! ALL CREEPY CRAWLIES!!! EVEN MOTHS!!! ... even lady bugs & butterflies futtering their flappy insectastuff near my bleeegugh!

... I'm a big BABY! YUK! I'm a BUG-O-PHOBE!

Also... I am also scared of... Monkies...

I know they are intellegent... they are creepy, they look humanish, yet they can't talk & they stare at you with those intellegent eyes... OMG they CREEP ME OUT!

Maybe I saw a movie I shouldn't have when I was little or something... i don't know... but ugh... something about their gaze, that gives me the willies... makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up makes me wanna run away! *eep!*

 

[cococat]

Originally Posted by SwampWitch

Why are bats, spiders, mice, rats, etc. so scary?

They aren't scary to me at all. Never have been.

I actually like spiders and bats and keep tarantulas in my home (contained of course). I am a fan of snakes too. I don't have any snakes at the moment, but I like them a lot. Bugs are neat too, I keep bugs to feed my reptiles and tarantulas.

 

[moonlights mom]

Yep, I'm only scared of spiders and snakes.

I think reptiles can be really pretty, but not snakes.

Spiders can kill people with their bites.

And yuck! Whenever I see one, I'm running all over the place screaming!!!

And snakes.... after watching Snakes On A Plane I'm terrified!

Rats are so cute but my mom hates them.

 

[swampwitch]

Originally Posted by strange_wings

That's the funny thing, they do not attack unprovoked.

I'm not sure where people get this image that snakes, spiders, scorpions, etc are out looking for large inedible animals to bite or sting...

I didn't say that bats, spiders, etc. attack unprovoked; quite the opposite. There ARE creatures who attack unprovoked, though, sharks, stingray, and Humbolt squid come immediately to mind. I was only saying I have a healthy respect for those creatures, but don't see a reason to be afraid of the rest.

 

[cococat]

Originally Posted by SwampWitch

There ARE creatures who attack unprovoked, though, sharks, stingray, and Humbolt squid come immediately to mind.

I swam with the sting rays in Grand Caymen (along with hundreds of others).
http://www.grandcaymancruiseexcursio..._Catamaran.htm
They were really neat creatures, it breaks my heart that a freak accident happened by a stingray to such a big supporter of wildlife

It was just horrible

 

[theimp98]

i still say kids... little buggers scare me.
and once they get older they try to break into your computer, and surf porn on it, oh sorry nevermind, that was my problem

 

[starryeyedtiger]

I think it's because people have vivid imaginations- and the media giving certain animals an unfair bad rap doesn't help.

I love just about all animals and can definitely respect them and why they are important to this world. The only animals that I am not fond of are spiders- more specific brown recluse- i have been bit three different times from them and have the scars to live with for the rest of my life. There is not much worse than a brown recluse bite. So i definitely have a healthy fear of that animal and do not want anything to do with it. That being said- i understand not all spiders are bad- they help pollinate, they kill off other insects that spread disease, and they are imporant to our world (whether we like them or not.) and yes, there are some very beautiful ones. I however prefer not to handle or be around spiders.

Rats, mice, lizards, snakes- they don't bother me as i've had all of those species at one time or another

They are beautiful, animals and should be respected as such.

And while we're on the topic- Pit bulls can be some of the most loving, wonderful dogs around too.

 

[cococat]

Originally Posted by moonlights mom

Spiders can kill people with their bites.

:

It is VERY rare for a spider bite to kill someone in the US. You are more spiders would rather run/hide than attack, they are not aggressive.
http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/hgic2505.htm
One of the few spiders in the US that do have some potential to harm humans are not located nationwide thankfully. I have seen many of them during my lifetime yet have not received a bite. There are thousands upon thousands in the US, yet rarely does anyone get harmed by them.
A friend of mine has and had to go to the hospital for treatment for the skin, never once was her life in danger though. Here is the range.
http://spiders.ucr.edu/images/colorloxmap.gif

But if you have a phobia, you do. There may not even have to be good reason, other than you don't "like" it

I am scared of needles, there is no rational reason, but they scare me to death.

 

[pekoe & nigel]

I read once that people find insects (particularly spiders) to be so frightening because they're so different looking from humans (those whole 8-legs and everything) and that we're naturally afraid of things that are different from us. I kind of doubt the overall truth in that, but it's interesting anyway.

As for myself, I have no rational reason for being terrified of spiders, I just AM and cannot help it.

 

[waxlight]

I think there are a couple logical reasons while people are afraid of these things. There is some documentation stating that it's a natural, built-into-our-genes thing (but do you think I can find that article?).

The other part of it is the nurture explaination. Most people were raised through their parents, the media, etc TO be afraid of these things. And it's hard as an adult to untrain years of ingrained learning.

Again, I'll state, if I know they're there, I'm cool with them. I will freak out if a spider lands on my arm with no warning, a snake slithers in the grass right in front of me, or a mouse runs over my feet. And I think those reactions are natural

 

[cococat]

Originally Posted by waxlight

The other part of it is the nurture explaination. Most people were raised through their parents, the media, etc TO be afraid of these things. And it's hard as an adult to untrain years of ingrained learning.

Guess my mom's training didn't work so well, she hates those things and tried to make me the same so I wouldn't keep things like that as pets in the home

None of her children (now we are all adults) are bothered or ever were bothered by those things though.

 

[swampwitch]

Originally Posted by waxlight

...The other part of it is the nurture explaination. Most people were raised through their parents, the media, etc TO be afraid of these things. And it's hard as an adult to untrain years of ingrained learning....

This explains why our daughter wants a pet rat, a pet mouse, and a pet snake right now, and why she plays with bees, wasps, and spiders.

 

[bonnie1965]

I like all animals. They all have a place in this big ol' web of life whether we understand that place or not.

Bats, rats, mice, snakes, spiders and so forth are just as amazing as humans are.
Animals as a whole just seem much more honest and simple than people.

The only critters I have issues with are maggots, ticks and bedbugs. I don't want those hanging around me

I don't freak out if I see them, but I don't welcome them, either.

When I was young and living in a small town in Iowa, we had big sewer rats around the neighborhood. They were the size of Chihuahuas. I remember my mother setting out beer to kill them - the theory being that rats cannot burp to expel gas so they would die. Not sure if that is true or not. It did seem cruel to me. I was never afraid of them but I may have been too young to know better?

Nowadays, I live in a place with no sewer rats, no ticks, no bedbugs and I truly hope, no maggots

 

[strange_wings]

Originally Posted by Bonnie1965

When I was young and living in a small town in Iowa, we had big sewer rats around the neighborhood. They were the size of Chihuahuas. I remember my mother setting out beer to kill them - the theory being that rats cannot burp to expel gas so they would die. Not sure if that is true or not. It did seem cruel to me. I was never afraid of them but I may have been too young to know better?

Nowadays, I live in a place with no sewer rats, no ticks, no bedbugs and I truly hope, no maggots

Several months ago I read an article about a large rat, possibly a sewer rat, that had got into a baby's crib and bit it. I can't remember if the child was just badly hurt or worse. IIRC the story was from Kansas.
I also remember my grandmother telling me about when she was a young child, how a large dump rat bit her while she was sleeping. Definately not something you want in your home.

I think some phobias, be it insects like maggots or bedbugs, or even needles has to do with a natural aversion to 'dirty' things. First defense in keeping ourselves from getting ill.