People with a phobia know they do not need to be afraid of something, but for some reason, they can t seem to help it. Entomophobia is an irrational fear of insects. It is said that every 10 out of 100 people in the United States suffer from entomophobia. Doctors do not know what causes phobias. Certainly, entomophobia is not contagious.
Most entomologists agree that entomophobia is learned.
We learn to fear the little creatures because of the behavior of the people around us. Entomophobia may prevent some people from making friends with insects. But insects probably won t shy away from people. After all, many insects don t suffer from anthrophobia , the fear of humans. Some insects can sting or bite, but most insects pose little danger to humans.