Why are people frightened of spiders

Sign up to find out more in our Healthy Mind newsletter. Specific phobias. The Lancet Psychiatry. Itsy bitsy spider…: Infants react with increased arousal to spiders and snakes. Front Psychol. National Institute of Mental Health. Specific phobia. Published November Specific phobia predicts psychopathology in young women. Soc Psychiat Epidemiol. Recent progress in virtual reality exposure therapy for phobias: A systematic review.

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We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. Table of Contents View All. Request Inspection. Or Give Us a Call. To keep them out, consider the following: Seal up gaps, cracks, and holes around the outside of your house to prevent their entry into your home.

Repair damaged screens on doors and windows and install door sweeps on exterior doors. Keep moisture levels low in your house. Reduce clutter inside, so there are fewer places for spiders to hide.

Spiders follow a food source, so if you have a spider problem, you may have another pest problem as well. Share on facebook. Share on twitter. Share on whatsapp. Share on email. Share on print. At least once a year, we hear a news story about a person accidentally burning down their house because they used a blowtorch to kill a spider.

Two years ago, an Oregon woman drove her car off the road, rolling and totaling it, when a spider dropped down from the rear view mirror. A woman in England was so terrified of spiders that she ordered a fast-food delivery in hopes the driver would take care of a one-inch spider she saw on the wall. In many people, seeing a spider elicits a simple response of disgust. But those with severe arachnophobia have such an extreme aversion to spiders that they may be afraid to go into their basement or garage because a spider may be present.

And if they encounter a spider, they may actually leave the house -- or burn it down -- rather than deal with it. This fear of arachnids is not entirely irrational; after all, venomous spider bites have been associated with poison, infections and disease.

While most spider bites are relatively harmless, Black widow and brown recluse spider bites can be dangerous. What underlies these fears? Previous research has indicated that phobias may arise from traumatic childhood experiences — for example, the memory of a spider crawling across the bed as an infant — or that we learn phobias from family members.

The new study from Hoehl and colleagues, however, suggests that when it comes to spiders and snakes, many of us may be born to fear them. The findings come from an analysis of 16 babies of an average age of 6 months.

For their study, the researchers presented each baby with photographs of fish, flowers, spiders, or snakes. The team found that when the babies looked at pictures of spiders and snakes, their pupils became much larger in size compared with when they looked at images of fish and flowers. The researchers believe that their findings indicate that a fear of spiders or snakes is innate, and that this likely has an evolutionary origin.

This obviously inherited stress reaction in turn predisposes us to learn these animals as dangerous or disgusting. So, the next time you flee the room after spotting an eight-legged beast, blame it on your roots.