There are many people out there who have phobias about spiders… or heights… or flying… but not me. My phobia is about ‘things with wings’. And look, it’s probably not a true phobia in the real sense of the word. It’s more that I just don’t like them; they make me nervous, and squirmy, and want to run away.
The main culprit, of course, is birds. Birds are everywhere, speedily flying around with no care of where they go or what they might bump into. Sure, it seems like they know what they’re doing, but when I sense the flapping of wings nearby I get edgy. And besides, a rogue seagull on the beach is terrifying, and an attacking magpie actually dangerous!
What about moths? I hate them with a passion! I would rather be in a room with ten spiders than one moth. Spiders don’t fly, so they’re easy to remove. A moth on the other hand, flutters around the place like an idiot. And moths can get worryingly large!
Anything in the bee family gives me the creeps, though I do understand that bees are generally placid creatures minding their own business. It’s more the wasps and their evil relatives the hornets that have me worried. The other night in bed I had to close the window, because the mere sound of the hornet outside my window was making me jittery, even though we have mesh and there’s no chance he could have gotten in. Or could he?
Of all the flying things I don’t mind ducks so much. Ducks are generally happy creatures, and mostly stay on the ground or in the water… at least while I’m around. Things like grasshoppers and lady bugs… well they don’t terrify me, but I could take them or leave them. Flies are annoying but harmless, unless they’re nasty horse flies!
And of course there are non-flying things I hate – earwigs, for example. And cockroaches. But in general, it’s the things with wings that bother me most.
What is it for you?
an aussie in austria 