Why do cockroaches disgust me so much?
Few animals get a reaction this fast. One cockroach on a kitchen floor can clear a room. The speed of that reaction is a clue that more than an insect is involved.
Two feelings at once
Listen to how people talk about cockroaches and you hear disgust, and then, just behind it, embarrassment.
- They run when the light goes on, which means they were there in the dark.
- They are fast, flat and get into gaps you did not know you had.
- They are very hard to kill.
- And the one people say more quietly: what would anyone think if they saw one in my home?
What cockroaches are actually like
- Nearly all of them have nothing to do with us. There are around 4,500 known kinds of cockroach, and only a few live in buildings. Four kinds cause most of the trouble people have with them.Source: Smithsonian Magazine
- They spend a lot of time cleaning themselves. A cockroach draws each antenna through its mouth, from base to tip, to clear off a waxy film its own body makes. Researchers at North Carolina State University found that a cleaned antenna picks up smells far better than a dirty one.Source: NC State University, on a study in PNAS, 2013
What the reaction can point to
It would be too neat to say that an animal you find revolting is secretly you. A better way to put it: the animal is a hook, and it is worth seeing what you have hung on it. None of this is a ruling on your character.
The first thing on the hook is often shame. For many people a cockroach stands for a dirty home, for being poor, for being judged. If your reaction is far stronger than the insect deserves, ask what you work hardest to keep visitors from seeing. It is usually not about the kitchen.
The second is what happens when the light goes on. Things scatter. Most of us have habits and thoughts that live in the dark and would run if someone opened the door. A strong reaction to the cockroach can sit close to the effort of keeping them there.
The third is that it will not die. People say this with horror, and now and then with respect. There may be something in you that has survived every attempt to stamp it out: a want, a habit, a side of your character. How you feel about the cockroach can be close to how you feel about that.
Three questions to ask yourself
- If someone saw a cockroach in your home, what do you imagine they would think of you?
- What do you put away, switch off or tidy when someone is about to walk in?
- Is there something about you that has outlasted every attempt to get rid of it? How do you speak to that part?
Questions people ask
Why are cockroaches so disgusting to people?
They are linked in our minds with dirt and spoiled food, they move fast and unpredictably, and they appear where we feel safest. Disgust is quick by design, so the reaction arrives before any thought does.
Is being terrified of cockroaches a phobia?
A jolt of disgust is normal. If you cannot go into a room where you once saw one, or the fear is taking up a lot of your day, that has become a phobia. Help is available, and a GP or therapist is the place to start.
Why do cockroaches bother me more than other insects?
Partly because of what they stand for. A bee in the kitchen is a visitor. A cockroach feels like a comment on the household. If shame is part of your reaction, that is the part worth looking at.