I can’t believe I’ve been in this industry for 25 years. So many things have changed and progressed. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t around when service wagons were being hauled by a mule named ‘Bessie’ but I have witnessed some truly amazing advances in the pest control industry.
Some things however, never change. Route technicians are still in a hurry off to the next stop, German roaches are still the most resilient pest in the world and a certain percentage of people will always be deathly afraid of insects. These people cannot get within 10 feet of a roach or a spider without their bodies involuntarily taking the fetal position. Their voice goes up about 3 octaves and all they can do is point a frantic finger in some sort of weak defensive maneuver.
“Entomophobia” is derived from the Greek “entomos” (insect) and “phobos” (fear).
This definition does little to alleviate peoples fear and neither does constant teaching and education
from your professional pest control operator but we do try. To us, your fears are unfounded and we think that with a little bit of knowledge you’ll be able to appreciate this little critter that is only 1/1000 of your size. We don’t fully understand your fears and yes at first it’s kind of cute but after our 3rd or 4th courteously visit in a month to spray for a bug that is half dead already or one that was outside looking towards the front door but not actually inside, it gets a bit too much. Please be patient with us .
Still, your fears are real and your symptoms usually can’t be faked and it doesn’t indicate that you are some unstable person who’s repressed memories of a bad childhood experience. Fears of all kinds of things exist in the world from heights to the fear of speaking in public. People can have the same body contortions and sweaty hands when faced with these fears as well.
Recently president Obama released de-classified security papers that revealed some tactics the C.I.A has used to extract information from captured enemies. The top 10 listed of course water boarding, slapping, sleep deprivation, Barney music and things we’d think of as classic interrogation techniques. What surprised me is that insects made the list. Apparently a high-ranking Al Qaeda member Abu Zubaydah was slated for use of this insect method. It’s said he was deathly afraid of bugs so they told him he was going to be locked in a small area with a caterpillar. The interrogation never took place however (there’s no record of it at least) so maybe with the mere mention of it and he spilled his guts telling all he knew. Chalk one up for the bugs!
My point is that fear of insects is a reality for some people and they may do things they wouldn’t normally do because of that fear. We as pest control professionals will still try to help you by letting you know the facts and reassuring you there is nothing to worry about since you have our service. We may not be licensed therapists trained to cure your phobia but we are highly qualified exterminators who’ll do our best to rid you of the source of your fears.
