If there’s one common thread that prevents people from traveling the world, it’s fear. Fear of flying, of loneliness, of crowds, of trying new foods, of illness, of violence, of the unknown. It can certainly be healthy to have a little fear – that basic survival instinct keeps us alive, doesn’t it? As long as we use it to stay safe and not to hide out in the protective bubble of our comfort zones, respectful and rational fear is a really convenient way to survive.
Aviophobia.
But what if it’s an irrational phobia keeping us grounded? If you’ve been along with me on this adventure for a while, you know I mostly write about the shiny, inspiring aspects of living the travel lifestyle. And if not shiny — certainly funny. Occasionally I’ll peek behind the curtain to discuss public relations, social media and bloggingbecause I have a lot to say and a unique perspective from both sides. Once in a blue moon I’ll rant about bad customer service, but mostly everything around here is beautiful traveling deliciousness.
That is to say… I prefer to write comfortable stories that conveniently leave out my own personal fears and/or weaknesses. Meep. Instinctively, I push the fears out of sight where no one else can see them, and where I don’t have to deal with them.
In Costa Rica, I bonded with two women who share my biggest fear, and I realized that there are likely many more folks out there who suffer in the same way. This phobia nearly sidelined my whole travel lifestyle before it got off the ground, and I’d hate for that to happen to anyone else, so I decided to confront this (little) beast head-on… with a post.
What I’m afraid of is unfortunately… everywhere. In every country in the world. In lovely homes, luxury hotels, in the seediest hostels and the cleanest, on walls, in showers, in the market, on the floor right by your foot, hidden in the dark corners of your suitcase…
I can’t explain why I have this fear. Perhaps it’s the inimitable indestructibility, the crunchy, tank-like exterior or the way the object of my fear skitters and scatters when the lights turn on. (If you could see my face right now as I type… )
All I know is I’m petrified (so petrified that I can barely type the word) of … cockroaches.
Blech.
Per Wikipedia,
“A phobia is usually defined as a persistent fear of an object or situation in which the sufferer commits to great lengths in avoiding, typically disproportional to the actual danger posed, often being recognized as irrational. In the event the phobia cannot be avoided entirely, the sufferer will endure the situation or object with marked distress and significant interference in social or occupational activities.”
Galeophobia. (Incidentally, this is my favorite photo I ever took.)
Y’all know I’m not a wimp. I’m not the least bit afraid of potentially deadly creatures like sharks, spiders or snakes. When I unwittingly sat on a snake on the toilet in Kenya, I didn’t even scream. I was all, “Oh gosh, a snake.” I’ve had one slither across my bare foot before and I barely blinked. I certainly didn’t run for my life, screaming like a madwoman. (Yes, I scream like a madwoman and run for my life when there’s a roach. I really do.) I smashed a spider with my bare hand just the other day. NBD.
Ophidiophobia.
When I spot a shark while diving or snorkeling, I actually smile underwater. I don’t swim in the other direction – I go toward the shark. Who does that? Especially in light of my reaction to a creature decidedly smaller and less dangerous?
It’s embarrassing for me to admit this cockroach issue, also known as katsaridaphobia, because it is so irrational and nonsensical. Would that I were afraid of meth heads or serial killers – that would make sense.
Or better yet, why couldn’t I be terrified of something I never encounter, like anteaters or handsome, straight, rich, single men?
Why do I have to be scared of the one creature that I can’t escape?
Arachnophobia. Welcome to the jungle in Costa Rica.
Growing up in the American South, you can imagine I had my fair share of traumatic bug encounters. We Floridians face the most menacing of all roach species – the Palmetto bug — a flying weapon of the underworld that seems to exist only to ruin my life. (Now I’m sweating.) I haven’t slept in my family’s lake house for 20 years because there used to be quite the critter problem in the rustic cabin. How many times did we go out there for the weekend and at bedtime, I retired to my car? Yes, I slept in my car, alone in the woods, rather than face the possibility of seeing a palmetto bug in the house with my entire family.
Think I’m exaggerating? Nope. As long as I’ve been old enough to purchase my own pesticides, I’ve basically lived in a carcinogen cloud. Immediately upon entering a new space, no matter where I am, my eyes dart around the room looking for buggy movement. I couldn’t type cockroach into Google to research for this story because I knew images would appear and even seeing them on a screen sends me into a tizzy. (And you’ll notice there are no visual representations in any of the photos within this post. No way.) In college, I tried therapy at the Student Counseling Center – hey, 10 free sessions! Unfortunately my counselor suggested I go to the store to purchase some rubber cockroaches so I could SIT IN THE SAME ROOM WITH THEM. I never came back, and I’m pretty sure she now uses me as a case study. One of my top 3 reasons for considering getting married is to have a built-in cockroach eliminator.
Acrophobia
If you can’t relate, you might be asking why I don’t just smash them.
I can’t. I just can’t. The sight of one sends me into a full-on panic. I cry, I swear uncharacteristically, I hyperventilate, I throw magazines, shoes and glassware with ninja precision.
I run away, fast and far. Sometimes I never come back to the place where I encountered the nasty critter.
As you might have guessed, katsaridaphobia greatly impacts the way I travel. The most important factor in choosing where I sleep, be it hotel, hostel or new apartment complex, is the absence of cockroaches. I could live in the worst neighborhood in town, and as long as my place was blissfully roach-free, I’d be happy to dodge bullets and drug dealers. Unfortunately, roaches are indiscriminate in their choice of living conditions … they’ll go anywhere.
I have changed travel plans many times to avoid potentially coming into contact with these dastardly fiends. Once, I was scheduled to take an overnight train from Vientiane, Laos, to Bangkok, Thailand, with my tour group. When our leader casually mentioned the roaches that one usually encounters on the dark train, I found the first Internet café I could and booked an expensive flight to Bangkok instead. I now check TripAdvisor for roach mentions, and I will not stay somewhere that has any such reviews.
This pic is surprisingly not the scariest thing that happened in Thailand.
Speaking of Thailand, I know everyone in the travel world thinks Chiang Mai is the bee’s knees, but I found it to be so roachy, I couldn’t wait to get out. I nearly mowed down a group of unsuspecting little old Thai ladies when a mass of roaches skittered near my feet in the market.
In another Thailand incident, I exploded out of my villa on Koh Yao Yai, utterly terrifying the groundskeepers and staff who were just going about their morning routines. I’d been brushing my teeth when I looked down and saw, you guessed it, a flipping cockroach, near my feet. In my haste to escape, I dropped the toothbrush in the sink and burst out of my room, literally foaming at the mouth. All the dear staff came running at the sound of my screams, only to see a hysterical Farang who looked to be in the throes of rabies. I ushered at least 7 workers into my room where I pointed out the villainous cretin.
“It’s dead,” said the groundskeeper, as everyone turned to look at me like I was insane.
“I KNOW!” He proceeded to pick it up with his bare hands and I ran out the door screaming yet again.
In Australia, I was just about to step in the shower when I saw an enormous creature standing sentinel on the drain. I ran out of the bathroom screaming and called the front desk for assistance. The response?
A typically Aussie, “Can’t you just kill it yourself, mate?”
Kill it myself?! I was more likely to kill the nonchalant man on the phone than I was to kill the roach.
Gatophobia. Kiki thinks my phobia is ridiculous.
Now, I pack pesticides and drain covers in my suitcase. I’m 100% more likely to choose a hotel with mosquito nets than without.
I could write a book about every cockroach experience I’ve ever had, because I remember them all so vividly. Each time is a trauma, worse than the last. So when folks tell me, “You’re so brave for traveling by yourself,” all I think of is how I’m actually terrified of a tiny, stupid bug, and how that one fear has shaped so many decisions I’ve made in my life.
So why am I confessing this silly, irrational fear to the whole Internet?
Because one of the reasons I almost didn’t travel around the world was because of this fear. I imagined all the roaches I might meet and all the ways their horrifying, barbed legs might touch me. (Dear God, I’m barely conscious right now just thinking of it.) I could’ve stayed home in my pesticide palace and done my best to avoid being scared out there in the roachy world.
But I didn’t stay home. Sure, I had some roachy run-ins along the way, but I didn’t let my often debilitating phobia stop me from going after my dream of traveling around the world.
There is a lot to be afraid of, real stuff, too — not just irrational fears of bugs. Whether your phobia is spiders, heights, ruffians, thugs, poison ivy, quicksand or men with pointy teeth, if a life of travel is what you want, don’t let any fear, big or small, get in the way.
What’s your biggest phobia? Has it ever kept you from traveling or doing something you wanted to do?
Do you have a horrifying roach tale? Cool. Please don’t tell me.
Angie Orth is Angie Away, a globe-trekking communications specialist and entrepreneur. In 2010, she left a successful career as a travel publicist in NYC for the unpredictable life of a freelancing digital nomad. She’s passionate about travel, the Florida Gators, Shark Week, trying everything at least once and storytelling here at https://angieaway.com.
54 thoughts on “How One Ridiculous Fear Nearly Kept Me From Traveling”
OH MY GOD I am the same way! I hate cockroaches too! It’s hard for me to even type the word. I know they can’t hurt me and it’s irrational, and like you I’m totally OK with snakes and I don’t even mind spiders, but roaches?! Nooooo!
Wow, that is quite a phobia-but at least you don’t let it completely paralyze you. Our only phobia is doing things that make us unhappy, so we definitely stay far away from that! 😉
I’m seriously an a-hole when it comes to you and shark photos. I always mean to censor/warn you! I need to design an app so you can plug in your phobia and it’ll automatically cleanse the internet for you.
Oh my goodness!! Chiang Mai is the HOTBED for roaches. I won’t share my stories here, but yes, it is quite the roach-y city. I am glad you are able to travel, even with this fear. I love that you bring drain covers with you!
Can’t related to the roach thing — I lived in Brooklyn, hello — but as someone who has lived with a lifetime of anxiety issues, I have boatloads of empathy for you. I will remove roaches for you anytime.
And in the meantime, WHAT are we going to do about this dire shortage of handsome, straight, rich, single men?
I moved to the Philippines in 1999 and my first night, filled with jetlag, I saw my first cockroach…well actually my first 3 cockroaches. I wanted to puke.
Now they don’t bother me so much but I can understand why people would have a phobia of them.
Loved this post. I can relate because while I’m not afraid of cockroaches, I’m TERRIFIED of rats. And like cockroaches, rats (unfortunately) are everywhere. Strangely enough I saw far, far more in Chicago than I ever did traveling… I didn’t even see a single one in six weeks in India!
Ah, rats! I remember one time walking to my apartment in NYC and seeing one while chatting on the phone, and I was like, “Oh, a rat.” No big deal. If it had been a cockroach on the street I’d have been dead. Be careful out there!
Ahhhh! I feel your pain–they are one of my biggest fears too…I could hardly read this without doing my little panic dance! I grew up in Minnesota where they are not very common, but after living in FL for a few years, I developed a serious fear of them–we ended up getting some in our apt and I am still completely traumatized!! Glad you haven’t let it stop you from traveling though! 🙂
Omg. Okay, first of all, I sat here and giggled at almost this entire post – not AT you, but at the image of you screaming and flailing and scaring ladies with foaming toothpaste. Because I AM THE SAME WAY. About junebugs. Yes, those stupid green, iridescent nightmares that are blind and dumb and can’t hurt me in any way except bumping into me with a terrifying buzz. They scare the buh-jeezus out of me, to the point where I’ve had my own share of running, screaming, and flailing – and usually in humiliating public situations. Luckily, I’ve been able to recognize the environment in which they are usually found, and my ears sharpen for the sound of that first buzz – at which point I am inside, behind a screen door, anywhere I can be to get away from them.
So don’t feel bad. And thank you for sharing your fear, as we all have “stupid” fears that keep us from doing certain things. The important thing is to not live in so much fear (whether it’s of a bug or flying or post-traumatic situations like a car accident) that we keep ourselves from living.
Also, ten points for the Tangled reference at the end.
I’m glad to have met someone who shares this fear with me!! (And I’m also glad my time in Costa Rica was cockroach free–give me that scorpion any day!)
The whole time I was reading this, I literally felt anxious, thinking I would suddenly scroll down to see an image on one. Thanks for sparing everyone! 🙂
I didn’t see a single youknowwhat in Costa Rica and I really expected to! WHEW! And girl, I would NEVER put a pic of a youknowwhat on my blog… that’s just nasty!
I am horrified by said creature after growing up in the northwest (very “icky” free) and living in Arizona. To the point I won’t go out for a walk after sundown there, I’ll pay way over market value for an apartment so long as there isn’t even one review on it saying its gad an incident, and won’t sleep right for weeks if one has ever even been near my place let alone I side of it. (Bad stories? OH YES boy do I got’em). Anyhow, I met the man of my dreams right after he backpacked through South America and also doing an internship there. Hearing all his tales, and always having an advenrurous nomadic spirit myself, I want nothing more then for us to explore the world together. Backpack, tents, randomness. This image gets destroyed almost because of how “icky” he’s told me South America is. The brief THOUGHT of one ever touching me again or the sound of their little stiletto legs engages a panic attack! I start trying to think where we can explore where I can still be “safe”. I hate this! I’d love advice…I’ve met the other half of my soul and I don’t want to stunt our shared dream of exploration all due to my extreme, debilitating, obsessive fear…
You’re already well ahead of the game! Having your other half along for the ride means he can stomp in and frighten away youknowwhats. And he can smash them when necessary. You will be alright!
I’m really glad to see that you haven’t let your phobia stop you from traveling the world but it does seem like it is still sometimes keeping you from fully enjoying those travels and that’s a shame. And for this reason its probably something you should deal with at some point.
Phobias are usually attributable to some forgotten traumatic event in early childhood. For example I had a paralyzing fear of Black Widow spiders for most of my life and the only way I could get rid of it was to locate and remember in vivid detail the incident which set off the phobia in the first place. I was just a baby at the time and I was laying in one of those plastic baby carriers on the floor in the living room when this big Black Widow came crawling through the gap under the front door and made a b-line for me. It then started crawling up my left leg (luckily I was wearing one of those one-piece baby jump suits). At first I was not worried, as I was too young to know that it was anything to be afraid of. But then my mom saw it and immediately went into hysterics and started screaming “Its on the Baby!” This is of course a normal reaction for a parent to have but unfortunately what happens in these situations is that the parent’s terror gets transferred into the child at that moment and stays there. In other words, if my mother had stayed perfectly calm no phobia would have developed later in life. Anyway the spider kept climbing up me until it got to my neck at which point it crawled around to the back of my neck to hide. Luckily my older sister’s boyfriend was there at the time and he came to the rescue by careful lifting my head up and then flicking the spider off my neck.
Anyway the point is you may have had a similar experience when you were a small child, only involving a cockroach. And if you don’t have time to rehabilitate your memory to the point where you can uncover such things in your past there are also therapies which involve simply gradually confronting the thing you are afraid of (easier said than done obviously). Supposedly G.Gordon Liddy got over his fear of rats by killing and eating one.
Incidentally, I have been to Thailand over a dozen times and all told have spent more than a year in country and I wouldn’t say they have any more of a roach problem than anyplace else. In fact I would say the place I’ve lived with the worst roach problem was Honolulu, although Tokyo also had its share of them (as I’m sure does NYC).
Speaking of Tokyo, when I was living there I once had a close encounter with another disgusting creature. I was on a date one Saturday night and we were at this hip and trendy American restaurant in Shimokitazawa. My date was sitting in the bench seat with her back to the wall and while we were looking at the menu the biggest rat I’ve ever seen in my life ran along the seat back and passed right behind her head without her even noticing it. In hindsight I probably should have just kept quiet about what I saw because after I told her she was freaked out for the rest of the night. She was afraid to even lean back and get comfortable in her seat and her eyes were constantly darting around. So guys, if you ever see a giant rat run behind your date in a restaurant just keep it to yourselves.
Back to roaches though I can’t remember ever seeing one in any of the hotels rooms, condos, or houses I’ve ever stayed at in Thailand. Sure you can see them on the streets but not to the degree that it bothers me. And I personally find cockroaches to be the most disgusting creatures on the planet. As long as I can keep them out of my living space I’m happy though.
By the way, once this Issan girl I know ate some giant fried cockroaches right in front of me. I almost lost my lunch seeing that so I’m sure it’s something that you definitely could not handle seeing. I can still hear that crunching sound in my head and I can see that lone cockroach leg sticking out of her mouth and resting on her lip as she chewed – DISGUSTING!
Anyway I’m glad that I don’t share your phobia because the best food by far in Thailand is always to be found in the hole-in-the-wall places in back allies with dirty plastic tables and chairs. I don’t think you would ever be comfortable eating in such places though. Of course if you want cleaner surroundings, believe it or not, you can actually often find great Thai food (not to mention dirt cheap) at department store food courts. If you go to a restaurant that looks nice by western standards though – and especially if most of the customers are White – the food is going to be crappy 9 out of 10 times. You have to get into the dirty nooks and crannies to find the best things in Thailand and unfortunately that means sometimes dealing with roaches.
Cockroaches are disgusting. I used to live in Taiwan for a few years and some of the places I stayed had quite a few cockroaches. Luckily I don’t have an extreme fear of them, in fact it was quite easy for me to adapt to seeing them every now and then. I think that is the best we can do when it comes to cockroaches besides extermination.
Oh man, I know exactly what you’re talking about, but no one should let their fears stop them from seeing the world! I just wrote about some of my fears while traveling, they’re a little more odd ball, and out there, but I think making it funny helps 🙂 Check it out and let me know what you think. http://www.cameraandcarryon.com/travel-fears-and-crazy-thoughts/
I am fearless and extremely adventurous… Except for THIS roach fear. I was raised in Florida and the childhood memories still haunt me. I’ve tried the “rubber roach” exposure and it’s helped some. In that, now I can hold the RUBBER roach… However, my greatest love and passion is travel and… The beach! Ughhhh…
I usually travel with my home made concoctions (bay leaves, catnip, boric acid, and my essential oil repellents, bleach in drains, etc…) but my recent trip to Florida, I came in contact with several outside (flying)
and it has really set me back.
I deeply appreciate your vulnerable confession and would love to hear more on how you have persevered. Tips? (Like the drain stops!- genius)
All of my passions, interests, business ideas, etc revolve around beachfront areas… Yet, I feel I may die without pressing past this debilitating paralyzing phobia to live the life I truly desire.
Are there places you’ve traveled, you feel have less “sightings” or encounters with these dreadful beasts than others?
I have discovered the warmth and humid locations are what enables them to “dive bomb” and dryer or cooler areas they do not take flight as often or as easily. – so… I’ll just forget EVER visiting Hawaii or Asia.
Anymore resources or material you’ve come across that’s helped?
Any beautiful beaches I could live near without the nighttime fear of seeing them in action? Ughhhh
Crippled yet yearning for freedom from this lifelong fear,
Thank you for your comment! You are not alone in this, that’s for sure. I’ve found Northern places like Canada & Alaska have been pretty roach-free. I actually haven’t seen many on my journeys to Hawaii – now foot-long centipedes in my living room, those I have seen. Floridian Flying You-Know-Whats are the worst. Wishing you luck in your travel endeavors! Please keep me posted on any new avoidance methods you find!
omg – at this very moment I am searching through reviews of hostels and hotels in Chiang Mai, as I’m going there next week. In Vietnam now – and managed to neurotically find myself a roach free place. Plastered every ventilation with mosquito net – it took 4 hours – sprayed the whole place down – oh and the building is new. I was the first to live in this apartment. Everytime I eat – I have my alcohol spray to wipe over anything that may have been touched with a bread crump. Still I’m afraid. What if… when will it show. And now – how am I going to find a hostel in Chiang Mai – for a reasonable price – without roaches. Please tell me if you know of one. I’m scared… going for a volunteer workshop I’m doing there….but I’m scared…Alone traveller…scared of roaches…I thought I was alone in it. Glad to see I’m not. Thanks for the great post – and please share with me hostels/hotels you know are roach free in Chiangmai and Bangkok. My two last stops bf heading back to Japan ( where I also insanely looked for a roach free apartment, and succeeded, so far..by having a company come and spray it down – and freezing my garbage, not having anything laying around ever) – best wishes to you from a teammate:)
I’m wishing you good luck in your traveling adventures! It sounds like you take all the right precautions, and you are certainly not alone in this phobia. I’m cheering you on from Florida!
I came across this article while researching u know what. I’m going to Krabi, Thailand next month. Have read over 12 thousand reviews to find out where I can stay to avoid encountering one of these. If any one has any suggestions, pls help! Btw I was jittery & giggling while reading this. Can so relate to how funny it seems later but at that moment it is the most terrifying thing in the world. Cheers!
I wish you good luck! I found Thailand to be particularly filled with those-creatures-we-wont-speak-of. But I’m sure no more filled with them than say, my home state of Florida. I think I just had bad luck. You will do great!!
i found your article as a first hit when googling ‘travelling fear of insects’ ???? and i am
very glad you wrote it. for me it’s all kind of insects and spiders that might uncontrollably approach me out of nowhere. especially in the night. we are planning a long trip and i discard houses on airbnb that bare too many options for animals to get in.. or that have too much garden, or were the entrance is covered with greens.. i feel so stupid about it, cause i would love to be in a green oasis in the middle of nowhere ^^ and i hate that i am standing in my own way.. maybe i just need to book the worst house ever and hope that i can get used to it 😉 so anyway.. thanks for sharing!
THANK YOU ANGIE! I have a shockingly bad phobia of snakes and have been travelling in snakey zones for a while now (Cambodia was the worst but Spain was pretty bad too). It’s sooooo amazing to know other people have these phobias to deal with whilst travelling and they don’t let it affect them. You are so brave and I often feel so sorry for people with a phobia of something more commonly seen than a snake. Thank you for making me feel like I’m less alone and kudos for getting out there and staring fear down to show it who’s boss!
You put every single thing I am thinking perfectly into words!
I am desperate to travel to Cambodia and every single review of every hotel (fancy to basic) mentions THEM. Crawling out of drains – running around in bedrooms. I will need to have my heart re-started on a daily basis!
Can I do this??? I live in London now but I am from Alabama. I joke all the time that I moved here because there are no big ones.
You are not alone, Stephanie! I remember some very scary moments when I was in Thailand… and I am not in a hurry to get back to SE Asia as a result. Wishing you luck and no critters! (Sometimes I find drinking helps, haha)
Hi! So I literally found this article while doing a Google search on fear of pests while traveling. I feel like my fears have gotten much much worse. I’m afraid of ALL bugs, rodents and bats so it’s a bit of an all around whammy of terror for me.
I’ve been to Japan before and I did not encounter too many bugs but there were a huge amount of bats around my hotel and I thought I wasn’t going to make it through the trip entirely but I DID and I felt fantastic.
I was confident in going places alone until I was walking through D.C and I saw about not 2 or 3 but 10 RATS RUNNING AROUND. It really set me back to the point where I don’t even want to move to a major city (something I’ve always wanted to do) because I literally get nauseous at the thought of pests around me.
So I guess this is a thank you! It’s good to not be alone in this fear. At least it’s only the you know who’s for you. It seems like for me it’s the whole zoo!!
Bless your heart! As scared as I am of you-know-whats, I can’t imagine how hard it is to be scared of rats & bats and the rest of the critters, too! You are brave to travel and if nothing else, we’re all in this together. You are definitely not alone!
House Centipedes. What you describe is also my fear of them. Where I live they are in every home I’ve lived in. I’ve spent thousands on pest control and they still seem to live through it. So much sleep lost. I’ve quit jobs because I saw them in the building. I totally understand your fear.
I get the fear of spiders. My boyfriend is deathly scared of fish. Yesc fish! Not sharks or whales, but fish. He can handle them in tanks but not swimming around him.
I grew up in southeast asia, i always found roach to be disgusting but never fear them, until the age of 8, when a fat live one crawled into my mouth from blowing a party whisle that was laying around. Have been thinking of going to thailand, i guess i will booking a fancy hotel instead of hostel to avoid the roach scenario. Now, how the world do i avoid them in public restroom.
Is europe fairly roach free also? I am thinking of backpacking and staying at hostels.
I haven’t had much of any issue with them in Europe, but you never know. And I’ve seen them in fancy hotels and then had hostels be blissfully bug free. I think you just never know! I do read reviews before I travel and any mention of such creatures sends me in the opposite direction!
This is such an old blog that you may never see my reply but oh God do I understand. Thank you for articulating my fear, right down to matching my phobia-forming childhood in Florida. Is there some kind of thoroughly zippable bed-top tent one can travel with for some relative freedom from worry that one of *them* might…well, you know…while you sleep? Ugh! Thank you, Angie, and continued safe travels 🙂
Hi Mara! I’m just seeing your reply. It’s oddly comforting to know I’m not the only person out there traveling with this phobia. May your travels be you-know-what-free!
I’m so happy you posted this!! I’m terrified as well of those “suspects”. I’m currently dealing with this at my house… I’m really trying not to lose it. Your article has given me some type of comfort knowing I’m not the only one who feels this way, thank you!
There is a lot to be afraid of, real stuff, too — not just irrational fears of bugs. Whether your phobia is spiders, heights, ruffians, thugs, poison ivy, quicksand or men with pointy teeth, if a life of travel is what you want, don’t let any fear, big or small, get in the way. 
There is a lot to be afraid of, real stuff, too — not just irrational fears of bugs. Whether your phobia is spiders, heights, ruffians, thugs, poison ivy, quicksand or 
OH MY GOD I am the same way! I hate cockroaches too! It’s hard for me to even type the word. I know they can’t hurt me and it’s irrational, and like you I’m totally OK with snakes and I don’t even mind spiders, but roaches?! Nooooo!
Here I thought I was the only one who couldn’t even type the word cockro… well, you know. Solidarity!
Wow, that is quite a phobia-but at least you don’t let it completely paralyze you. Our only phobia is doing things that make us unhappy, so we definitely stay far away from that! 😉
Loved this post! I laughed out loud at the description of you running out of your guesthouse in Thailand looking like you had rabies 🙂
That was not my proudest moment! But it sure made a good story in hindsight =)
And then you post a huge, menacing photo of my phobia without warning! Gee, THANKS, Ange.
I’m seriously an a-hole when it comes to you and shark photos. I always mean to censor/warn you! I need to design an app so you can plug in your phobia and it’ll automatically cleanse the internet for you.
Oh my goodness!! Chiang Mai is the HOTBED for roaches. I won’t share my stories here, but yes, it is quite the roach-y city. I am glad you are able to travel, even with this fear. I love that you bring drain covers with you!
I am getting the heebie-jeebies just thinking of Chiang Mai!
Can’t related to the roach thing — I lived in Brooklyn, hello — but as someone who has lived with a lifetime of anxiety issues, I have boatloads of empathy for you. I will remove roaches for you anytime.
And in the meantime, WHAT are we going to do about this dire shortage of handsome, straight, rich, single men?
There is most certainly a man shortage and an overpopulation of cockroaches. I am petitioning the Lord for a reversal.
I moved to the Philippines in 1999 and my first night, filled with jetlag, I saw my first cockroach…well actually my first 3 cockroaches. I wanted to puke.
Now they don’t bother me so much but I can understand why people would have a phobia of them.
I’ve heard the Philippines can be quite roachy…. might need to have some wine before (and all during) my visit, if I ever make it there!
aww poor thing! they are everywhere! I just found my kitten playing with one a couple…. oh wait you said not to tell you stories 😉
I’m doing the panic dance. Now go dip that kitty in the tub!
Loved this post. I can relate because while I’m not afraid of cockroaches, I’m TERRIFIED of rats. And like cockroaches, rats (unfortunately) are everywhere. Strangely enough I saw far, far more in Chicago than I ever did traveling… I didn’t even see a single one in six weeks in India!
Ah, rats! I remember one time walking to my apartment in NYC and seeing one while chatting on the phone, and I was like, “Oh, a rat.” No big deal. If it had been a cockroach on the street I’d have been dead. Be careful out there!
Ahhhh! I feel your pain–they are one of my biggest fears too…I could hardly read this without doing my little panic dance! I grew up in Minnesota where they are not very common, but after living in FL for a few years, I developed a serious fear of them–we ended up getting some in our apt and I am still completely traumatized!! Glad you haven’t let it stop you from traveling though! 🙂
The Florida critters are the worst! I can’t imagine growing up without them and THEN being exposed to their horrors…
Omg. Okay, first of all, I sat here and giggled at almost this entire post – not AT you, but at the image of you screaming and flailing and scaring ladies with foaming toothpaste. Because I AM THE SAME WAY. About junebugs. Yes, those stupid green, iridescent nightmares that are blind and dumb and can’t hurt me in any way except bumping into me with a terrifying buzz. They scare the buh-jeezus out of me, to the point where I’ve had my own share of running, screaming, and flailing – and usually in humiliating public situations. Luckily, I’ve been able to recognize the environment in which they are usually found, and my ears sharpen for the sound of that first buzz – at which point I am inside, behind a screen door, anywhere I can be to get away from them.
So don’t feel bad. And thank you for sharing your fear, as we all have “stupid” fears that keep us from doing certain things. The important thing is to not live in so much fear (whether it’s of a bug or flying or post-traumatic situations like a car accident) that we keep ourselves from living.
Also, ten points for the Tangled reference at the end.
Love that someone finally caught the Tangled reference!
I’m glad to have met someone who shares this fear with me!! (And I’m also glad my time in Costa Rica was cockroach free–give me that scorpion any day!)
The whole time I was reading this, I literally felt anxious, thinking I would suddenly scroll down to see an image on one. Thanks for sparing everyone! 🙂
I didn’t see a single youknowwhat in Costa Rica and I really expected to! WHEW! And girl, I would NEVER put a pic of a youknowwhat on my blog… that’s just nasty!
I am horrified by said creature after growing up in the northwest (very “icky” free) and living in Arizona. To the point I won’t go out for a walk after sundown there, I’ll pay way over market value for an apartment so long as there isn’t even one review on it saying its gad an incident, and won’t sleep right for weeks if one has ever even been near my place let alone I side of it. (Bad stories? OH YES boy do I got’em). Anyhow, I met the man of my dreams right after he backpacked through South America and also doing an internship there. Hearing all his tales, and always having an advenrurous nomadic spirit myself, I want nothing more then for us to explore the world together. Backpack, tents, randomness. This image gets destroyed almost because of how “icky” he’s told me South America is. The brief THOUGHT of one ever touching me again or the sound of their little stiletto legs engages a panic attack! I start trying to think where we can explore where I can still be “safe”. I hate this! I’d love advice…I’ve met the other half of my soul and I don’t want to stunt our shared dream of exploration all due to my extreme, debilitating, obsessive fear…
You’re already well ahead of the game! Having your other half along for the ride means he can stomp in and frighten away youknowwhats. And he can smash them when necessary. You will be alright!
I’m really glad to see that you haven’t let your phobia stop you from traveling the world but it does seem like it is still sometimes keeping you from fully enjoying those travels and that’s a shame. And for this reason its probably something you should deal with at some point.
Phobias are usually attributable to some forgotten traumatic event in early childhood. For example I had a paralyzing fear of Black Widow spiders for most of my life and the only way I could get rid of it was to locate and remember in vivid detail the incident which set off the phobia in the first place. I was just a baby at the time and I was laying in one of those plastic baby carriers on the floor in the living room when this big Black Widow came crawling through the gap under the front door and made a b-line for me. It then started crawling up my left leg (luckily I was wearing one of those one-piece baby jump suits). At first I was not worried, as I was too young to know that it was anything to be afraid of. But then my mom saw it and immediately went into hysterics and started screaming “Its on the Baby!” This is of course a normal reaction for a parent to have but unfortunately what happens in these situations is that the parent’s terror gets transferred into the child at that moment and stays there. In other words, if my mother had stayed perfectly calm no phobia would have developed later in life. Anyway the spider kept climbing up me until it got to my neck at which point it crawled around to the back of my neck to hide. Luckily my older sister’s boyfriend was there at the time and he came to the rescue by careful lifting my head up and then flicking the spider off my neck.
Anyway the point is you may have had a similar experience when you were a small child, only involving a cockroach. And if you don’t have time to rehabilitate your memory to the point where you can uncover such things in your past there are also therapies which involve simply gradually confronting the thing you are afraid of (easier said than done obviously). Supposedly G.Gordon Liddy got over his fear of rats by killing and eating one.
Incidentally, I have been to Thailand over a dozen times and all told have spent more than a year in country and I wouldn’t say they have any more of a roach problem than anyplace else. In fact I would say the place I’ve lived with the worst roach problem was Honolulu, although Tokyo also had its share of them (as I’m sure does NYC).
Speaking of Tokyo, when I was living there I once had a close encounter with another disgusting creature. I was on a date one Saturday night and we were at this hip and trendy American restaurant in Shimokitazawa. My date was sitting in the bench seat with her back to the wall and while we were looking at the menu the biggest rat I’ve ever seen in my life ran along the seat back and passed right behind her head without her even noticing it. In hindsight I probably should have just kept quiet about what I saw because after I told her she was freaked out for the rest of the night. She was afraid to even lean back and get comfortable in her seat and her eyes were constantly darting around. So guys, if you ever see a giant rat run behind your date in a restaurant just keep it to yourselves.
Back to roaches though I can’t remember ever seeing one in any of the hotels rooms, condos, or houses I’ve ever stayed at in Thailand. Sure you can see them on the streets but not to the degree that it bothers me. And I personally find cockroaches to be the most disgusting creatures on the planet. As long as I can keep them out of my living space I’m happy though.
By the way, once this Issan girl I know ate some giant fried cockroaches right in front of me. I almost lost my lunch seeing that so I’m sure it’s something that you definitely could not handle seeing. I can still hear that crunching sound in my head and I can see that lone cockroach leg sticking out of her mouth and resting on her lip as she chewed – DISGUSTING!
Anyway I’m glad that I don’t share your phobia because the best food by far in Thailand is always to be found in the hole-in-the-wall places in back allies with dirty plastic tables and chairs. I don’t think you would ever be comfortable eating in such places though. Of course if you want cleaner surroundings, believe it or not, you can actually often find great Thai food (not to mention dirt cheap) at department store food courts. If you go to a restaurant that looks nice by western standards though – and especially if most of the customers are White – the food is going to be crappy 9 out of 10 times. You have to get into the dirty nooks and crannies to find the best things in Thailand and unfortunately that means sometimes dealing with roaches.
Cockroaches are disgusting. I used to live in Taiwan for a few years and some of the places I stayed had quite a few cockroaches. Luckily I don’t have an extreme fear of them, in fact it was quite easy for me to adapt to seeing them every now and then. I think that is the best we can do when it comes to cockroaches besides extermination.
Oh man, I know exactly what you’re talking about, but no one should let their fears stop them from seeing the world! I just wrote about some of my fears while traveling, they’re a little more odd ball, and out there, but I think making it funny helps 🙂 Check it out and let me know what you think. http://www.cameraandcarryon.com/travel-fears-and-crazy-thoughts/
I am fearless and extremely adventurous… Except for THIS roach fear. I was raised in Florida and the childhood memories still haunt me. I’ve tried the “rubber roach” exposure and it’s helped some. In that, now I can hold the RUBBER roach… However, my greatest love and passion is travel and… The beach! Ughhhh…
I usually travel with my home made concoctions (bay leaves, catnip, boric acid, and my essential oil repellents, bleach in drains, etc…) but my recent trip to Florida, I came in contact with several outside (flying)
and it has really set me back.
I deeply appreciate your vulnerable confession and would love to hear more on how you have persevered. Tips? (Like the drain stops!- genius)
All of my passions, interests, business ideas, etc revolve around beachfront areas… Yet, I feel I may die without pressing past this debilitating paralyzing phobia to live the life I truly desire.
Are there places you’ve traveled, you feel have less “sightings” or encounters with these dreadful beasts than others?
I have discovered the warmth and humid locations are what enables them to “dive bomb” and dryer or cooler areas they do not take flight as often or as easily. – so… I’ll just forget EVER visiting Hawaii or Asia.
Anymore resources or material you’ve come across that’s helped?
Any beautiful beaches I could live near without the nighttime fear of seeing them in action? Ughhhh
Crippled yet yearning for freedom from this lifelong fear,
Tina
Thank you for your comment! You are not alone in this, that’s for sure. I’ve found Northern places like Canada & Alaska have been pretty roach-free. I actually haven’t seen many on my journeys to Hawaii – now foot-long centipedes in my living room, those I have seen. Floridian Flying You-Know-Whats are the worst. Wishing you luck in your travel endeavors! Please keep me posted on any new avoidance methods you find!
omg – at this very moment I am searching through reviews of hostels and hotels in Chiang Mai, as I’m going there next week. In Vietnam now – and managed to neurotically find myself a roach free place. Plastered every ventilation with mosquito net – it took 4 hours – sprayed the whole place down – oh and the building is new. I was the first to live in this apartment. Everytime I eat – I have my alcohol spray to wipe over anything that may have been touched with a bread crump. Still I’m afraid. What if… when will it show. And now – how am I going to find a hostel in Chiang Mai – for a reasonable price – without roaches. Please tell me if you know of one. I’m scared… going for a volunteer workshop I’m doing there….but I’m scared…Alone traveller…scared of roaches…I thought I was alone in it. Glad to see I’m not. Thanks for the great post – and please share with me hostels/hotels you know are roach free in Chiangmai and Bangkok. My two last stops bf heading back to Japan ( where I also insanely looked for a roach free apartment, and succeeded, so far..by having a company come and spray it down – and freezing my garbage, not having anything laying around ever) – best wishes to you from a teammate:)
I’m wishing you good luck in your traveling adventures! It sounds like you take all the right precautions, and you are certainly not alone in this phobia. I’m cheering you on from Florida!
oh – and I brought roach-traps from Japan. but have run out. spent them here in vietnam. oops.
I came across this article while researching u know what. I’m going to Krabi, Thailand next month. Have read over 12 thousand reviews to find out where I can stay to avoid encountering one of these. If any one has any suggestions, pls help! Btw I was jittery & giggling while reading this. Can so relate to how funny it seems later but at that moment it is the most terrifying thing in the world. Cheers!
I wish you good luck! I found Thailand to be particularly filled with those-creatures-we-wont-speak-of. But I’m sure no more filled with them than say, my home state of Florida. I think I just had bad luck. You will do great!!
i found your article as a first hit when googling ‘travelling fear of insects’ ???? and i am
very glad you wrote it. for me it’s all kind of insects and spiders that might uncontrollably approach me out of nowhere. especially in the night. we are planning a long trip and i discard houses on airbnb that bare too many options for animals to get in.. or that have too much garden, or were the entrance is covered with greens.. i feel so stupid about it, cause i would love to be in a green oasis in the middle of nowhere ^^ and i hate that i am standing in my own way.. maybe i just need to book the worst house ever and hope that i can get used to it 😉 so anyway.. thanks for sharing!
THANK YOU ANGIE! I have a shockingly bad phobia of snakes and have been travelling in snakey zones for a while now (Cambodia was the worst but Spain was pretty bad too). It’s sooooo amazing to know other people have these phobias to deal with whilst travelling and they don’t let it affect them. You are so brave and I often feel so sorry for people with a phobia of something more commonly seen than a snake. Thank you for making me feel like I’m less alone and kudos for getting out there and staring fear down to show it who’s boss!
No, Sarah, thank YOU! I appreciate your thoughtful comment. And I’m proud of you for getting out there and fighting your snake phobia like a champ!
You put every single thing I am thinking perfectly into words!
I am desperate to travel to Cambodia and every single review of every hotel (fancy to basic) mentions THEM. Crawling out of drains – running around in bedrooms. I will need to have my heart re-started on a daily basis!
Can I do this??? I live in London now but I am from Alabama. I joke all the time that I moved here because there are no big ones.
So glad there are people out there like me.
You are not alone, Stephanie! I remember some very scary moments when I was in Thailand… and I am not in a hurry to get back to SE Asia as a result. Wishing you luck and no critters! (Sometimes I find drinking helps, haha)
Hi! So I literally found this article while doing a Google search on fear of pests while traveling. I feel like my fears have gotten much much worse. I’m afraid of ALL bugs, rodents and bats so it’s a bit of an all around whammy of terror for me.
I’ve been to Japan before and I did not encounter too many bugs but there were a huge amount of bats around my hotel and I thought I wasn’t going to make it through the trip entirely but I DID and I felt fantastic.
I was confident in going places alone until I was walking through D.C and I saw about not 2 or 3 but 10 RATS RUNNING AROUND. It really set me back to the point where I don’t even want to move to a major city (something I’ve always wanted to do) because I literally get nauseous at the thought of pests around me.
So I guess this is a thank you! It’s good to not be alone in this fear. At least it’s only the you know who’s for you. It seems like for me it’s the whole zoo!!
Bless your heart! As scared as I am of you-know-whats, I can’t imagine how hard it is to be scared of rats & bats and the rest of the critters, too! You are brave to travel and if nothing else, we’re all in this together. You are definitely not alone!
House Centipedes. What you describe is also my fear of them. Where I live they are in every home I’ve lived in. I’ve spent thousands on pest control and they still seem to live through it. So much sleep lost. I’ve quit jobs because I saw them in the building. I totally understand your fear.
I get the fear of spiders. My boyfriend is deathly scared of fish. Yesc fish! Not sharks or whales, but fish. He can handle them in tanks but not swimming around him.
Known about lots of phobia! But thanks a lot for sharing it with us.
So many fears. Knowing how to handle them is the secret.
Cheers Sharon…
I grew up in southeast asia, i always found roach to be disgusting but never fear them, until the age of 8, when a fat live one crawled into my mouth from blowing a party whisle that was laying around. Have been thinking of going to thailand, i guess i will booking a fancy hotel instead of hostel to avoid the roach scenario. Now, how the world do i avoid them in public restroom.
Is europe fairly roach free also? I am thinking of backpacking and staying at hostels.
I haven’t had much of any issue with them in Europe, but you never know. And I’ve seen them in fancy hotels and then had hostels be blissfully bug free. I think you just never know! I do read reviews before I travel and any mention of such creatures sends me in the opposite direction!
Safe travels!
This is such an old blog that you may never see my reply but oh God do I understand. Thank you for articulating my fear, right down to matching my phobia-forming childhood in Florida. Is there some kind of thoroughly zippable bed-top tent one can travel with for some relative freedom from worry that one of *them* might…well, you know…while you sleep? Ugh! Thank you, Angie, and continued safe travels 🙂
Hi Mara! I’m just seeing your reply. It’s oddly comforting to know I’m not the only person out there traveling with this phobia. May your travels be you-know-what-free!
I’m so happy you posted this!! I’m terrified as well of those “suspects”. I’m currently dealing with this at my house… I’m really trying not to lose it. Your article has given me some type of comfort knowing I’m not the only one who feels this way, thank you!
Thank you for sharing your story!
I have read your post. Thanks for such a nice post, It’s really informational.