Anyone else not bothered by insects/spiders/creepy-crawlies?

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I don't know if this is an Aspie thing or not; if a mod thinks it should go in another subforum, feel free to move it.

I've never had a problem with spiders, cockroaches, non-poisonous snakes, or anything like those that so many people find disgusting and are afraid of. I don't understand why they're such a common fear. What is it about them that makes people squirm? A year or two ago, there was a snake in our basement (we still have no idea how it got in there), and my parents were huddled on the stairs, afraid to go down there. So I calmly walked downstairs, picked up the obviously non-poisonous snake, and put it outside. I didn't see what was so hard about it, but they gaped at me in awe.

I also get very angry at people killing these creatures, unless they're going to harm the person. I mean, people seem to take great joy in squashing insects, and I find that to be sadistic. Yes, I've learned to accept that insects' lives aren't worth as much as humans', unfair as that seems to me, but that doesn't mean that someone should kill one when they see it minding its own business. I just don't get it.

Is anyone else like this, or am I alone here?

Interestingly, we went to a reptile/insect store today to find a feed supply for my daughter's pet. I'd say half the people there showed signs of many of the issues typical to AS/ASD people. Not saying they were, just that there was overlap. My spouse actually said, "Do you feel it?" referring to the way everyone had the same quirkiness. Same thing happens when we go to the local reptile & insect show & sale.

My daughter actually *loves* to hold creepy-crawlies, and the more the better. We once found an entire container of larvae (ie similar to maggots) and she wanted them poured over her hands, similar to the way some spectrum kids love to pour dried beans through theirs. I don't think there is a bug she doesn't say "Awwwww" about. And yeah, I'm right there with her.

Insofar as killing them goes, that's something taught to people. Far too many have been taught that if someone or something is *different* is it *bad* and the more different, the more bad. In reality, there are very, very few bugs that harm us and even ones that are a nuisance are still crucial to their local ecosystem(s).

I take joy in killing Wasps or Mosquitos or any insect I consider a serious pest.

However, many times I've picked up spiders just to move them safely outside partly for the same reason, I want the spiders out there working for me to kill and eat insects. In fact, I kind of hate to kill a spider if I can avoid it.

I find most of them cute. What does freak me out is a whole swarm of them! I used to have nightmares about multiplying objects.

I have a phobia of spiders. They just give me the shivers. I cannot be in the same room as a spider, if I know it's there. I just think it's going to scuttle over to me and crawl on to me and cling to my hair or something.

But, despite that, I still hate killing spiders. But if I want to avoid killing them, I have to get someone else to get it in a cup or something and put it outside. Their sudden movement and big legs just frighten me. Such ugly things.

Otherwise, I'm not particularly frightened of anything else, unless it's a wasp, because I don't want to be stung. But I still don't like killing them.

My favourite insects are moths and crane flies. One year I collected crane flies and kept them in my room. I had over 40 I think, and so there were crane flies hovering about all over my room. It was so beautiful when I turned off the light and put on some small coloured lights, and saw them all flying about it the coloured lights. It looked so magical.

I hate them and do not want them anywhere near me. There is a reason why cockroaches, mice etc are considered pests. If you have them in your house and do not take steps to eradicate them you will soon find out exactly why other people hate them. I will gladly kill pests in my home. That's survival, that's nature (maybe slightly overdramatised)

I don't like spiders. I'm not sure why they bother me so much, but they do. I wish I was better at identifying them because once in the while I find one in my house, and I'm not sure if they are dangerous or something completely harmless. I still try not to kill them and I generally just stay away from them. However, if one runs full speed ahead right at me, as the kind of spiders in my house do from time to time, it's like a knee-jerk reaction to step on them before they reach me. I do feel really bad afterwards and wish there was an alternative, but I feel like I'm under attack when they do that and just act without thinking.

I also hate when stinging insects get into the house. I will run away if that happens because when I was a teenager, I got stung on my thumb and my whole hand swelled up painfully, and I had to go to the doctor for a shot and some medication. Before that happened, I didn't mind them at all.

However, any kind of bugs outside don't bother me at all, and neither do snakes or frogs or anything else. I have had to "save" my mom from non-venomous snakes on our porch several times, and I once had to get one away from my cat. I have no idea how it got in the house. That was really strange because it was late at night and I had this sudden overwhelming feeling that I needed to find my cat before I went to bed. So I went and looked for him, and found him playing with a rat snake. That was a really weird experience.

I'm not bothered by most of them; I think snakes are interesting, and I actually rescue spiders from bathtubs, sometimes with my bare hands if it's not moving fast.

The only things I kill are mosquitos inside the house, because the bites tend to feel more painful and itchier on me than they seem to be for other people, and if I can avoid getting bitten I'm going to do so. I'm also not too happy about cockroaches in the house as they rummage in trash and rotting things outside, so it's not great hygiene to then have those little feet walking across surface in your home. But it's best not to squish them as they stink when you do that; their insides smell of something horrible. I flip 'em outside and call pest control.

If there's a wasp or bee inside, I guide them out a window. Never kill a bee -- they're declining in numbers and we need them.

I generally hate to kill anything, I even feel guilty about getting rid of fruit flies. But sometimes you need to kill infestations that create unhygienic conditions in the home.

I'm a Jain so the thought of even harming a wing on a fly is anathema to me and it's why I eat no meat. So, no - creepy crawlies don't bother me.

I like em better than most people.

My girlfriend loves reptiles and insects. She may well be on the spectrum (she is currently deciding whether to be tested).

I have no problem with reptiles and I was interested in them as a child.

I'm not so keen on the large insects she likes (like stick insects and hissing cockroaches) though. I can look at them but I wouldn't want to handle them or to come across them unexpectedly. I certainly wouldn't hurt them though (except for the occasional wasp in the house, because they are b*st*rds).

As a child I was fascinated by some fairly icky creatures like lampreys and cephalopods (squid and octopii) though. Maybe aspies are naturally attracted to outlandish and interesting (as opposed to "cute") things.