creepy-crawlies
Insects and spiders
Creepy-crawlies is an informal, usually playful term for insects, spiders, worms, and other small creatures that crawl or slither.
The word captures the instinctive unease many people feel around such creatures.
It's often used by or around children, or by adults expressing squeamishness: I don't mind camping, but I hate all the creepy-crawlies.
The singular creepy-crawly can describe an individual creature or function as an adjective for anything that evokes that skin-prickling sensation.
Small crawling creatures
- antsSocial colony insects
- beetlesHard-winged insects
- cockroachesHardy household insect pests
- fliesWinged buzzing pests
mosquitoes · gnats · earwigs · crickets · grasshoppers · moths · wasps · bees
Limbless burrowing invertebrates
- caterpillarsLarval moths or butterflies
- centipedesMulti-legged segmented arthropods
- millipedesSegmented many-legged arthropods
- maggotsLarval flies
grubs · slugs · snails · earthworms · larvae · leeches · inchworms · leggy
Web-spinning eight-legged creatures
- scorpionsVenomous tailed arachnids
- ticksParasites or clock sounds
- mitesMinuscule parasitic arachnids
- tarantulasLarge hairy spiders
daddy-longlegs · harvestmen · cobwebs · webs · fangs · eight-legged · venomous · hairy
Easily disgusted or nauseated
- disgustIntense physical aversion
- fearEmotional response to threat
- revulsionIntense physical disgust
- shudderConvulsive trembling from fear
squirm · heebie-jeebies · infestation · exterminator · pest-control · repellent · spray · swatting
bugs
Small crawling creatures
- antsSocial colony insects
- beetlesHard-winged insects
- cockroachesHardy household insect pests
flies · mosquitoes · gnats · earwigs · crickets · grasshoppers · moths · wasps · bees · termites
worms
Limbless burrowing invertebrates
- caterpillarsLarval moths or butterflies
- centipedesMulti-legged segmented arthropods
- millipedesSegmented many-legged arthropods
maggots · grubs · slugs · snails · earthworms · larvae · leeches · inchworms · leggy · segmented
spiders
Web-spinning eight-legged creatures
tarantulas · daddy-longlegs · harvestmen · cobwebs · webs · fangs · eight-legged · venomous · hairy · scuttling
squeamish
Easily disgusted or nauseated
shudder · squirm · heebie-jeebies · infestation · exterminator · pest-control · repellent · spray · swatting · stomping
squeamish
Easily disgusted or nauseated
fascinating · curiosity · backyard · wriggling · squirming · tickling · harmless · discovery · show-and-tell
creepy-crawliesteddy bears
Plush toy mammals
furry friends · domesticated animals · companion animals · puppies · kittens
crawl, creepy, creep, crawling, creeping, crept, creeper, crawls, creepy-crawly