Humble house spiders are officially Britain’s most terrifying creepy crawlies.
The home-dwelling arachnids are more hated by Brits than bugs including wasps, cockroaches and maggots.
A fifth of UK residents also say they still hate slugs despite the Daily Star’s campaign to hug the slimesters.
Tombola commissioned the research into our most hated creepy crawlies ahead of its sponsorship of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here for the eighth year running.
The online bingo firm’s survey found a massive 78% of Brits admitted they were “terrified” by creepy crawlies.
It said: “It is still the humble house spider that we find the most unnerving, despite them being harmless, as well as a vital part of a healthy ecosystem, due to their trapping and eating of unwanted pests, such as flies and mosquitoes.”
(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
When asked what they find scariest about insects, 55% of respondents said they hated the way they scuttle along the floor.
Other biggest hatreds of bugs’ behaviour included how fast they can run and the way some “fly into your face”.
Brits also said they despise the fact some bugs can jump.
Others said their skin crawled at the idea there are hordes of them in the world – with scientists estimating there are more than a billion insects for every human on the planet.
One in four said they were terrified of flying ants, while 22% are terrified of daddy longlegs.
Slugs are despised by 18% of the population – even though we joined forces with gardeners to urge the nation – and tree-hugging King Charles – to stop dissing the “hero” bugs.
The slimy creatures have been blasted for decades for gobbling plants and flowers in gardens.
But our ‘Hug-a-Slug’ drive highlighted how they boost eco-systems by eating decaying material, and their poo fertilises soil.
Tombola found our other most-hated creatures included beetles, moths, woodlice, worms, flies and snails.
The research also uncovered how we dispose of the terrors.
A total of 22% of Britons mercifully place a glass over creatures they hate to move them outside – while 20% turn the other cheek and ignore them.
But up to 19% scream for someone to help dispose of insects, with only 32% picking them up by hand.
Men were found to be most likely to get their hands dirty, with 40% of blokes saying they lifted bugs, compared to only 25% of women.
On a global scale, the tarantula has been voted the most frightening creeper – followed Australian native, the huntsman spider, which can have a leg span of up to 12 inches.
Scorpions and tiger snakes are also among the top-rated worldwide bug terrors.
BRITAIN’S BIGGEST CREEPS
Spiders – 46%
Wasps – 42%
Cockroaches – 39%
Maggots – 36%
Ticks – 28%
Flying ants – 24%
Earwigs – 23%
Daddy longlegs – 22%
Giant ants – 20%
Slugs – 18%
Centipedes – 18%
Millipede – 17%
Termites – 17%
Beetles – 16%
Moths – 16%
Woodlice – 14%
Worms – 13%
Flies – 12%
Flatworms – 10%
Fruit flies – 10%
Dragonflies – 10%
Crickets – 9%
Snails – 9%
Grasshoppers – 8%
Caterpillars – 7%