Can everyone agree insects are the worst? Like, the actual worst. Sure, many are helpful, like bees help pollinate plants and spiders, though the ickiest, provide a lot of anti-mite coverage in our homes, eating the pests we won't typically see.
But, come on, have you ever seen more than one in one place? Terrifying.
Reddit user, Atomatron16, wanted to know:
People of Reddit, whats your insect horror story?
THE ROACHES HAVE BECOME STRONGER
"I moved into a place that had a horrific cockroach infestation. They would literally burst out the seals when you opened the fridge, dish washer, or cupboards. We had to store all of our clothes in ziplock bags, but even opening bedroom drawers, they would be crawling all over the bags every morning."
"We did several rounds of bug bombs, but it didn't really solve the issue. Instead, it permanently deformed the next generation of roaches. They became "broken", their wings were permanently half spread, and their legs would fall off when they tried to walk, so they would leave behind trails of crusty broken limbs and walk around on stump legs. They barely looked like roaches any more, they looked like alien insects from another planet. I would sit in the living room at that place sobbing as they crawled all over me, and I would often wake up and find them in my bed."
"I have now fortunately escaped that god awful situation, but I have full blown panic attacks when I see a single cockroach. I don't think I'll ever full recover."
Handled That Appropriately
"I was working at a zoo doing repairs in the nocturnal building. We had to remove a fiberglass artificial tree so a pane of glass could be replaced. As I started to cut into the tree, roaches started to crawl out of every crevice, little roaches and big flying roaches. I'll admit, my partner and I were like two little girls, screaming and trying to get out. We went back to our shop to get roach spray and masks. Armed with 2 cans each we sprayed anything that moved and any hole we saw. Roaches were crawling across the ceiling, pouring out of cracks and swarming on the floor."
"Went back to our shop and took showers and changed clothes. After lunch when we returned there wasn't a step you could take that didn't have several roaches crawling around, the floor was coated with dead and dying insects. We finished cutting out the tree and carried it outside where more roaches crawled out when we dropped it on the ground. I hate roaches."
What A Wake-Up Call
"When I was around 7 or 8 I rolled over in bed one morning and was stung by a wasp, I just went back to sleep. After I fell back to sleep it happened again, that's when I noticed my room was filled with them so I screamed for my parents. My dad came in and rescued me. It turns out the wasps had built a nest in the attic and for some reason they all came through the hatch above the cupboard into my room."
"Another time I was the reason for someone else's horror story... It was me, my brother and 2 of our friends. We had collected snails from the garden and we put them into a cardboard box. Then we wrapped the box up like a gift and left it outside a random house on our street, we rang the bell and ran away."
"A few days later the lady who lived in that house came out while I was riding my bike and somehow she knew I was involved. She told me it really scared her since she lived alone and was pregnant and almost called the police."
Maybe Put It In The Oven
"I was on my moms bed while my mom was sitting across from me in a couch chair. We were arguing about something and I got really mad and walked away and as soon as I got off the bed to walk out a house centipede runs under my feet and mind you I had no socks on I kid you not I felt all the legs of that bug on my bare feet. I ran to the bathroom to wash my feet as my mom was laughing."
And That's The End Of That Shower
"I was taking a shower when something that didn't feel like water hit my shoulder. I glanced down and saw this little spider. I quickly brushed it off and didn't really think anything of it."
"Now at this point, I didn't have a fear of spiders at all, like yeah I thought they were kinda gross but it wasn't a big deal."
"But a few moments later I felt something else hit my feet and I look down to see a couple of baby spiders washing away and into the drain."
"It was then I realized something was definitely wrong."
"I looked up and hundreds of baby spiders were pooling out of the ceiling in massive clumps and falling onto me. Literally turning the entire black bath black. I screamed and jumped out. I had to call my aunt so she could bring me some raid."
"But yeah no I don't go in that shower anymore."
A Lot Of Cockroach Ones...
"When I was a kid we had a little container of Sunmaid Raisins in the cabinet and one day I eent to get some. Open the cabinet, lift the lid, stick my hand in...BOOM! HUGE cockroach starts moving around inside of the raisins. I would get anxiety at raisins for the next 8 years."
"Hey buddy, you awake?"
"I was 11ish and sleeping on the top bunk of a bunk bed in a basement. I woke up in the middle of the night with a spider half the size of a dinner plate on the ceiling just inches from my face. As I went to roll over to get out of the bed it dropped onto me and I nearly spontaneously combusted, my roll out of bed turned into a swan dive. I have arachnophobia to this day."
Only The Covers Can Save You
"We rented a house in the countryside when i was like 16. My bedroom was in the old basement, made out of rocks and all. It was crawling with scorpions, centipedes and other insects, and i have a phobia."
"So i took a mattress, and slept for the 2 weeks in the living room next to the chimney."
"However, one night i noticed that there was a buzzing sound coming from the chimney, so i took some insecticide and sprayed inside. Next thing i know, there was a wasp nest in there, and they all left it to fly in the living room as soon as i sprayed it. In the meantime there was a few scorpions in the room too. I spent the night under all my blankets, almost suffocating"
They're Gone, Never To be Seen Again
"On A Boy Scout camp I broke a weird green sack with a stick. It turned out to be a spider egg, and the spiders went everywhere."
"The worst part is that nobody believed me and I was forced to sleep in that area. On top of that,we were on a wilderness survival camp so I didn't get a full tent, only a sleeping bag and a cover for the rain. I didn't get any sleep because I couldn't stop thinking about the spiders."
And They Just...Keep...Coming.
"Killed probably 60 wasps in my basement the last month."
"Can't find nest"
Crunchy, Yet Satisfying
"It was dark, my partner and I were watching a movie. I wanted a snack. I went to the cupboard, grabbed an open packet of lamingtons. I sat back down and proceeded to eat one. My mouth felt kinda spicy, and the little coconut bits seemed to be moving."
"I ran to the sink to spit it out while my partner turned the light on. ANTS, I accidentally ate a sh-t load of ants."
...Nope.
"Mosquito crawled through my nostril and layed babies."
"I knew my nose was unusually itchy. Went to the hospital and they extracted 6 misquitos."
The Ultimate Blockade
"When I was a kid, about 8 or 9, I was taking a shower. A few ants started to crawl in. I was used to this because our house had many ants. Just little sugar ants. I just brushed them down the drain, not thinking much of them."
"However, a few more trickled in."
"a little uncomfortable with all the antage, I decided to cut my shower short. Well, you have no idea the absolute horror I would be met with."
"As I slid back the glass door, I glanced down at the side of the tub so I could step out.""
"Instead of its usual white, though, it was a writhing mass of black.
"My way out of the shower was completely blocked by what looked like an entire colony of ants."
"I was trapped. I screamed and panicked, but when my parents came to see what was wrong they saw that I had locked the door. Like dumb-ss. I had to face this horrible wall of evil. I had to step over the monument to my suffering, praying I didn't touch the ever changing pattern of blackness."
"And lo, I stepped. And I yeeted out of that bathroom so fast you'd think sonic f-cked the flash and I was their child."
"Ever since I've had a phobia of bugs. Mostly ants. It's lessened over the years, and a lot over the past few months since I got a pet tarantula."
"I will never, ever, be okay with ants."
"See you in hell, you bastards."
Okay, we're going to keep bug spray available at all times in the office.
Do you have similar experiences? Let us know in the comments.
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Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
@arianagrande/Instagram
@arianagrande/Instagram