Creeped out by cockroaches

Rachel Nuwer remembers her mother stepping out of the shower. Her mother grabs a fresh, white towel and pulls it up to wrap around herself. That's when Rachel sees the dark blob against the fresh cotton, and before she can say anything her mother pulls the towel -- and the cockroach -- close to her freshly scrubbed skin. Her mother screams.

Soon after, Rachel remembers being at the beach, with her wet hair in the sand. She feels something twitch. She reaches up to find an American roach tangled in her tresses.

So, like most people who have had horrific encounters in their formative years, Rachel Nuwer develops a phobia -- of cockroaches. If she sees one, it can make her nervous and jumpy for days. She can't relax or sleep properly if she thinks there might be a roach in the room.

Eventually, she knew she had to do something. 

So, as a science writer, she researched cockroaches. She discovered we hate them for many reasons -- The Uric acid in them makes them smell like sewage; their cuticle secretes a lipid-based wax making them greasy; and they just look plain old creepy.

Rachel's attempt to dislodge her fear took her to one of the world's most accomplished cockroach experts, whose lab is home to over a million roaches.

Can you relate to Rachel's phobia of cockroaches?

Click the listen button above to hear her story.