Who’s Afraid of Squirrels? (Fearless February Day 12)

Sciurophobia. The fear of squirrels.

Are you serious?

While some of us are charmed by these little cuties, others can’t get past the orange teeth and fleas. If you suffer from Sciurophobia, your skin crawls and you just want to die when a squirrel scrabbles down a tree with a “chhkk—chhkk—mwa-ha-hah.”

All rodent-phobia sufferers experience an overwhelming horror in the presence of the animal and, often, a wish to eradicate the poor little critters. (This is unlike the rational fear of contaminated food and the corresponding wish to keep the rodents outdoors.)

Sciurophobia is rare compared to Murophobia, the fear of mice or rats (also called Musophobia). That is because mice and rats are creepier than squirrels.

To kick off your exposure therapy and conquer your fear of squirrels, check out my backyard Peanut Adventure on YouTube, featuring one shy squirrel and many bold jays.

And be sure to see Tommy Tucker, the well-dressed squirrel of yore, in this Huff Post article. (Is that squirrel really alive? How did they get those clothes on him?)

Got fear? Tell all. Leave a comment on this blog during Fearless February and you could win a copy of the absolutely fictional tales of a 6th-grade fearslayer.

28 Tricks for a Fearless Grade 6 is coming out in March with Lorimer, a boyish companion novel to the award-winning 26 Tips for Surviving Grade 6.