Malaysians Share Their Horror Stories About Bugs, Insects & Other Creepy Crawlies

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More so when we talk about insects and bugs that not only wreak havoc in our personal spaces but also on our psyche.

In fact, many of us have undoubtedly faced scary encounters with bugs that we unfortunately still remember today. :/

"I was bitten by a cockroach in my sleep (didn't even know cockroaches bite? WHAT?). Felt a pinch on my toe, lifted my blanket and there was this HUGEEEE cockroach.

"I freaked out, flung my blanket, and SURPRISE, the cockroach was a flying one. We have two types of sprays at home — one for mosquitos and one for cockroaches. While panicking, my mum accidentally grabbed the mosquito spray, so the cockroach didn't die even after being sprayed. TRAUMATISED FOR LIFE."

— Ee-Ween

"My wife and I noticed ants crawling in the car once in a while, and we thought it might be from parking under a tree. However, it became so frequent we decided to follow their trail, which led to the car boot.

"When we lifted up the tray at the car boot, we were horrified to see swarms of ants — the whole underneath portion of the boot was filled with ants carrying tiny white grains (we later discovered were ant eggs, eww). Despite how gross it was, we sprayed them all with insect repellent, hoping it would spell the end of them.

"But what's worse was when we brought the car to the car wash (the aerosol spray left a smell), the worker told us the ants were probably already embedded in different nooks and crannies of the car. He began taking out plastic dividers and the carpets to show us how our entire car had become an ant colony. He explained it happened because there was a leakage, and the pools of water attracted the ants.

"Thankfully, the worker helped us kill all the ants, and then smoked the entire car so none of them would have a chance of survival. Moral of the story, fix your car water leaks before the ants take over."

— Jeremy

"So, first thing y'all need to know is that I have a HUGEEEE PHOBIA of lizards. I'm talking like can't be in the same room as one or even see pictures of it. They TERRIFY me to the point that I legit can't function if there's one somewhere near me.

"One day, I was innocently going to my room to grab my phone that I left to charge. I was just going to grab it and come out so I didn't bother to turn on the lights. BIG MISTAKE! While walking in my room, I felt something go 'crunch' under my bare foot. Like I could feel the squishy sensation of something getting crushed. IT WAS THE WORST, MOST DISGUSTING FEELING EVER, OMGGG.

"I ran out of my room screaming and discovered that I had stepped on a baby lizard with my bare foot and crushed it to death. I know it sounds super dramatic, but was so traumatised that I spent two hours paralysed on my couch just sobbing. I finally dragged myself to go take a shower and spent ages scrubbing my foot. Even after that, my foot still felt 'tainted'.

"After that incident, I started wearing slippers around the house, so that even if I do step on anything again, at least it won't be with my bare feet. I still shudder at the memory of that incident, ughhhh!"

— Gowri

"To this day, we refer to this incident as... The Grave of the Fruit Flies, hahahaha. It started off with just one or two, but every day it kept getting more and more until they were suddenly everywhereeeee. 

"No idea how it happened, as we keep the place pretty clean. We got fed up so we basically set out on a mission to kill them all. We used an insect spray but it didn't seem to work. So, we went and bought those electric swatters shaped like rackets and hunted them down one by one. It legit took the whole freaking day, from morning to night, but we eventually managed to get 'em all."

— Jacinta

"My family has a garbage bin in the corner of the kitchen, but it kind of went forgotten at one point 'cause we started throwing our trash into a plastic bag by the sink.

"One day, I noticed some things moving around in that forgotten garbage bin. Upon closer inspection, I found sooo many maggots crawling out of it, ahhhhh! In a panic, my sister picked up the bin and put it in the sink in hopes of deterring them for a while (spoiler: no, it did not).

"The maggots started spreading EVERYWHERE — on the kitchen counter, floor, and even to the living room. We decided to just throw the whole bin away in a big black trash bag and started our attempts at killing the maggots and cleaning the kitchen.

"Despite worrying about the smell of it in the kitchen, we used a pest spray. But, it did not work. It was like the maggots were immortal. Then, I did some research and found out hot water kills maggots. So, while suffering, I stepped over all the maggots on the floor and started boiling hot water in a kettle. It worked. I haven't been the same since."

— Alia 

"One time, I was cleaning my dorm room in uni and I felt something on my face. I thought it was a tendril of hair, so I went to the common area and looked in the mirror. At that exact moment, the 'hair' suddenly moved and I realised it was a brown spider crawling on my face.

"I immediately closed all my orifices on my face with my fingers and HEADBANGED until the spider fell on the floor."

— Shiffa

"I used to stay in a very kampung area, sometimes after rain, flying termites (kelkatu) would literally come out and buzz around all of our lights. They are attracted to lights. Not one, not 10, there were thousands. Usually, during this time, people just stay home for obvious reasons. To put into perspective, the morning after, the house will be covered with dead kelkatu and we have to clean and burn them.

"So one night, the same thing happened. We were all asleep, and we woke up to the whole house being filled with them. 'Cause the kelkatu kept on hitting the door, my small cousin thought it would be a good idea to open the door, and it all came in. We were covered with kelkatu and it was horrendous."

— Firdaus

"Finished my uni assignment at 4am, was deadass tired, and immediately crawled into bed to sleep. The moment I laid my head on the pillow, I felt something moving and drilling itself into my scalp.

"It was making noises so loud that I knew immediately it was a bug — a HUGE brown beetle got stuck in my hair, and I was screaming till everyone woke up."

— Vi Nie

Did you know that all insecticide sprays are not created equal and serve different purposes? This is why sometimes instant death is not guaranteed when you try to kill a cockroach despite spraying almost half the can, for example.

That spray you grabbed in a fit of panic may have been a pesticide aimed at flying-type insects, such as flies or mosquitos. The most widely available in Malaysia, it can paralyse or knock out crawling insects such as ants or cockroaches but does not kill them.

The other type of spray, commonly marketed to target cockroaches in particular, is designed to kill any insects that crawl on the ground, including ants.

Effectively used to kill ants, mosquitoes, flies, and cockroaches, you can use Shieldtox Multi-Insect Killer in various places around your house. From behind curtains and under furniture, to wall corners and under the sink, those pesky bugs won't stand a chance, whether they are crawling insects or flying types like houseflies.

This new formulation is also odourless, which means you can safely use it in tight spaces like in cars, and won't have to worry about any strong smells that tend to bother children and the elderly when you spray it at home.

On top of being odourless, Shieldtox Multi-Insect Killer also helps you reap more savings, since it kills all forms of insects instantly. No more having to buy two different types of sprays, yay!

If this spray sounds like just what you need, grab a can of Shiledtox Multi-Insect Killer from Lazada or Shopee today!