Myrmecophobia

Myrmecophobia is the inexplicable fear of or hatred for ants, a type of specific phobia that can manifest as a fear of ants contaminating a person's food supply or of a home invasion by large numbers of ants; those who suffer from it commonly also have a wider fear of insects in general, and, when the fear extends to spiders as well, the combined condition is known as entomophobia. The term comes from the Greek myrmex, ant, and phobos, fear. Symptoms can include anxiety, intrusive thoughts, sleeping problems and avoidance, along with physical symptoms such as sweating, increased heart rate, panic, nausea and dizziness, and the fear may follow an earlier traumatic experience or be learned from one's social context; exposure therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy are described as treatment approaches.