So, you’ve had a dream about bugs. Maybe it was scary, or annoying, or just plain disgusting. Whatever it is, you’re not alone. Although bug dreams don’t always get the most attention, I can say without a doubt that our insect friends are one of the most common animal teachers that come to us in our dreams. But what do dreams about bugs mean?
As always, the first question I like to ask about a dream I’ve had is, how did the dream make you feel? And there’s one thing that is about 80-90% true about dreams with insects–especially if there is an infestation of bugs in your dream: You were probably feeling some degree of disgust. This wouldn’t be strange, after all, if you found an infestation of bugs somewhere in your house, car, or workplace, you’d probably be pretty grossed out.
Dreams always speak to some aspect of our individual psyche, internal experience, or soul. Meaning, that if you are feeling disgust in a dream, you are feeling disgust inside of yourself. You are feeling like there is some part of you that is disgusting–rotten–infested with bugs. This is the essence of shame.
Through my dreamwork, I’ve witnessed and personally experienced enormous power in understanding infestations of bugs as symbolizing shame in dreams. But of course, dreams are highly personal and the metaphor will not apply to everyone. It’s a good question to ask, though—how do you feel when you see the bugs in your dream? Do you ever feel this way about some aspect of who you are? How do you relate to the bugs in your dream? Do you ever relate to yourself that way, perhaps when you are feeling ashamed? Are there other people present in your dream? Do they contribute to feelings of shame or do they support you in the dream?
Shame is one of the feelings I have struggled with the most in my life. It’s a dark place that can feel so undeniably real. It’s sometimes so effortless to feel disgusting and worthless—at times it has felt there was this voice in my mind that was just waiting for me to make the slightest mistake to pounce on me. And, since it was so consistent, it all felt so true. Nothing that those who loved me told me could break my convictions that I was bad, deep down in side.
My dreams have helped me recognize this voice for what it is–an illusion–and challenge it’s view on reality at every turn. Insect dreams can be a powerful way to do this.
How? By turning the feelings of disgust in the dream back on the voice that is so mean and judgmental. In the same way that you may feel grossed out by the insects in your dream, imagine, right here and right now, what it would be like to feel that disgust when a shaming, judgmental voice comes into your mind. Because of course, that shaming, judgmental, cruel voice truly is disgusting. In fact, it’s the only disgusting thing about you. It actually becomes quite clearly gross whenever it sees the light of day, which is why it is so powerful and healing for us to share our insecurities and self-judgments with others. But in order to master this voice, we have to become fierce warriors. You can’t just wish or ignore a bug infestation away. You have to be willing to look it in the eye and fight back with resolution, focus, and determination.
Feeling disgust can be a very strong tool for this. When we are disgusted by something, we don’t want it anywhere near us, and we’ll do what we have to do to get rid of it. Think of the harsh and shaming voices in your mind like this. Consider them like cockroaches lurking in your bed. Would you just let a cockroach share a pillow with you? Of course not. So why do you let that mean ugly nasty horrible voice take up any real estate in your beautiful little head?
Kick it to the curb—it’s DISGUSTING!! I hope this is a helpful exercise for you in understanding your insect dream. If you’d like to go deeper in your exploration of your dream, click below to receive my guided meditation that can be used for any dream to unlock its deepest meaning. Happy dreaming and much love! Kezia Vida
Great post, Kezia. Real food for thought!
I dreamt I nursed and raised two little insects. At first, I was disgusted but then I saw how they needed help. Throughout the dream, I feared I’d lost them only to find them on my breast where I left them. In the end they were eaten by a tarantula and there was nothing I could do. I felt a mix of powerlessness, acceptance, and relief because I didn’t have to worry about them anymore.
I dreamt about exposing an elderly man who was a pastor for his wrong deeds for going after young ladies , he was sitting in my old house sitting room then I saw him enter my room and close the door with a sort of eye contact that showed anger but smiling at the same time , I saw a sort of caterpillar animal which was big and I was scared to kill it . It crawled all the way to my sitting room and entered my keyboard carton . I asked my mom to kill it but she was on call so I tried tocheck if it’s still there and it crawled to my hand so I woke up panting and shouting. I’m so confused
Thank you so much for sharing your dream! I firmly believe that if this dream has been on your mind enough to share it here, there is very important wisdom and guidance inside of it that you need to hear. I offer 1-hr sessions where I can explore your dream deeply with you and determine the specific message your dream wants you to know. You can schedule a session by emailing me at KeziaVida.K@gmail.com or clicking here: KeziaVida.com/Schedule.
I also reflect on dreams folks like you submit and post the video Mondays on my YouTube channel. If you want me to discuss your dream, click here to subscribe to my channel and drop a comment in one of the videos or reply here to let me know you did so. I’ll make sure to get to your dream in the next week!
I dreamt that an insect in purple bite me and it fell down then turned into brown. The area of the bite was swollen making a pointed hill for sometime. Then all was ok
What does this dream mean?
I would like help with a dream. I have been searching for an answer because I want them to stop but I can’t ever seem to find one that fits. Email me, please.
Something is annoying you. Maybe something from the past that you won’t let go. You can conquer it through prayer and changing your waking thoughts. Every time you feel your thoughts going in a negative direction immediately change the direction by thinking of something to make you smile. Anything pleasant. We can change our thoughts when we take control. Takes practice but the new synapses will conquer the old in the brain with time and effort.
Had a dream about a orange bug a group of people were trying to catch but it kept landing on me… weirdest thing ever. Please help.
I dream something like big spotting itself in different parts of my body my laps underneath, just keep on pulling them out… So disgusting to me and irritating
Thank you so much for sharing your dream! I firmly believe that if this dream has been on your mind enough to share it here, there is very important wisdom and guidance inside of it that you need to hear. I offer 1-hr sessions where I can explore your dream deeply with you and determine the specific message your dream wants you to know. You can schedule a session by emailing me at KeziaVida.K@gmail.com or clicking here: KeziaVida.com/Schedule.
I also reflect on dreams folks like you submit and post the video Mondays on my YouTube channel. If you want me to discuss your dream, click here to subscribe to my channel and drop a comment in one of the videos or reply here to let me know you did so. I’ll make sure to get to your dream in the next week!
thanks so much for responding! Here’s my thoughts on your dream: https://youtu.be/AF8ZPhYfqPM
I had a night terror type of dream, I was being lured into a trap of insects by my older sister and her guy friend. But I didn’t know it, then she revealed to me there was bugs on my legs that were looking for something they are drawn to. Somehow I figured they were eating my legs but I could not feel them, one came from under the shroud and squirted something toward my face almost to mark me as the thing that they wanted to devour. My sister told me I was what they wanted and laughed at me, telling me I could not feel them devouring my legs because of the venom. Before I pulled back the shroud to look I made myself wake up. I did not want to allow my brain to manifest an image like that…what could this mean?
Enemies and worry. Praying helps.
This really helped me thank you. I always have a recurring dream probably once a week or month? And it’s not like an infestation but a spider or a bug will be crawling up the wall or behind my curtains (which is above my head) and I tend to jolt awake thinking it’s there. Turning the light on and checking for about 5 minutes before realising I was dreaming.
It’s not disgust I get from it but more of panic or worry like I can’t find it. But this post helped me in trying to think about how I feel and maybe there is something else going on than a simple bug night terror
Excellent write-up. I certainly love this website. Thanks!
I just had a dream and there were beetles, big fat ones, and once they were crushed they turned into a thousand tiny bugs. The ting bugs were then everywhere and some started crawling on me. Omg it was horrible and freaky and now I can’t stop thinking about it. And I’m trying to relate that to me and how it could mean something shameful feeling in my life.
thank you for sharing that, it definitely sounds unpleasant! If you can feel what it’s like to have the bugs on you, I would just say, is that feeling familiar at all? Do you ever feel that way in waking life? Or when was the last time you felt that way? That might be a good place to start. When you’re going back into that fear, it’s good to ground yourself in the reality that here and now, you are totally safe–or find a place/situation where you feel totally safe and held before you let yourself feel those feelings again. Sometimes the resistance to the feeling can be worse than just sinking into it, especially if we can know that no matter what, we were built to contain this emotion and we will be okay.
I’ve just woken from a vivid dream. In my caravan I was putting a child (not my child) into bed high up and two long ear wigs kept running around. I tried to catch them but I couldn’t. I felt frustrated and couldn’t understand why I couldn’t catch them. After a while they disappeared so I left them. Then I noticed a mound of dirt on the sill and lots of eggs. I knew something was under it, I prodded it and the mound moved slowly then a huge black tarantula spider jumped onto my face. I initially felt scared but inside I knew I was dreaming.
I can’t shake this dream but I feel it’s important I understand it.
Thank you so much for sharing that. It definitely sounds potent to me. I also have a blog post about “Dreams about Babies” you might want to check out…how old was the child? Sometimes if you can think back to when you were that age, if there were any memories then that perhaps are related to shame and/or being attacked and/or a sense that you needed to hide or protect yourself. Again it’s good to keep in mind that the bugs aren’t pointing to something that is actually wrong with you, but rather something that you think might be wrong or shameful in some way. I offer one on one deep dive sessions with people so if you have a dream that is hitting you hard we can dive in together and see what’s there.
This is very interesting. Often a child or infant will represent a new path, new idea, or fresh start taking shape. In our dreams, a baby or child is typically anything in life we’re nurturing into existence. Since you were putting the child to bed, I wonder if, at the time you had the dream, you might have had to set aside something important to you.
Take comfort that you safely put the child to bed resting soundly even in a disturbing environment. You can be sure that whatever goal you were forced to put on pause is waiting for you to pick up, or “wake up” and nurture once again as soon as you’re ready for it.
The bugs running around would appear to represent chaos. Back in January when you shared this, were you experiencing a highly stressful time? Is that also the reason you were forced to put your own goals on hold?
The eggs under the window would be separate from the rest of the dream in a sense. This represents something lurking under the surface that you fear, as the eggs were under a mound but you were very aware they were there. This is something which hasn’t occurred yet, but you have a sense of dread that something terrible might happen around the corner.
A window or door often symbolizes the future.
Because the eggs are sitting under a window, you feel fear of the future ahead. What is it you’re fearful of?
It’s not only your lingering fear of the general future, but your own personal future, as we get a clearer picture of when the spider jumps on you directly.
How can you work on tackling your fears and stresses, and getting back to your goals and dreams? That’s the question the dream raises.
I hope since you shared this some of these issues have already been resolved.
Blessings.
I had a dream that I was protecting a Hercules beetle bugs (the ones used in fights) and people where trying tov it even if it was my pet. Can someone tell me what that was?
To kill it*
Also I forgot to say that I’ve never had experience with this bug
I was in a house where I never been before after wondering around. I got a call from someone I didn’t know. I had just woken up in the dream and asked my mom what happened. I watched a video with me in it doing stuff I didn’t remember doing. There was fire an weird cult looking people doing rituals stuff. Then some dude called saying I called the night before. Then the little red cinapeds showed up. First a little bit then a lot. Tried to kill them but there were to many. I ran out and then I woke up. It’s was pretty weird.
I’m very curious. In my dream my stepfather and I were hang out in the room as a family, then some kind of fat queen ant with a stinger approached me. I wasn’t disgusted but scared it took me a while to squish it before it could sting me. Afterwards it was dead but underneath my jacket sleeve on my arm I was bleeding what could it mean?
Interesting one! Curious what the link with your stepfather may be…it’s always intriguing when we are afraid of something in our dream but we end up killing it first…i.e. maybe it should have been more afraid of us! In the end of course you also end up bleeding…so obviously there is a wound here. It can be difficult to have the courage to take ownership over our wounds…I would feel into what it’s like to know that you were the one hurting…and maybe you tried to defend yourself…but there’s still a wound you have that needs attention
I just killed this very pesky flying c-k-r-ch thing in my dream. I practically have a phobia of that. Then in my dream it came around. Others were there with me but i had to kill it. It kept gettinh away. But i learned its real name, something else that looked like what i said but not exactly it/more or less the same. And I found some wood and some old magazines or something and finally caught up with it and crushed it good. It was dead. I woke up feeing satisfied it was dead (and im terrified of killing those) but i think in fact in the next sequence a paler color (blue or something)version of it flew off with a baby different bug from my hope chest and landed on the bay water putting that baby bug gently in the water surface. I didnt feel scared just bewildered about why it did that.
Interesting! I always think it is powerful when you have such up close and personal experiences with living creatures in your dream–even when they are scary to you…I curious about this feeling of determination around killing the cockroach…is that a familiar feeling to you? How does it compare when you put the bug gently onto the water’s surface? Does that bring up any connections to anything in waking life? That might be a way to start exploring this dream…
I dreamt I went over to an online mutuals house I’ve never actually hung out in real life. All of my close friends, my boyfriend and I were over her (my mutual) house because we all planned to get ready and then go out. She offered my boyfriend and I her room to relax and get ready. My boyfriend and I were in laying down when all of a sudden I started noticing spiders all over the bed. I screamed a lil and then I noticed one on my arm and killed it. My boyfriend was not disgusted (which is kinda funny considering he HATES bugs!!). I got out of the bed and there were bugs everywhere on the floor. We went outside and I saw butterflies clustered together on a tree branch. I pointed at them and told my boyfriend to look at them and when I look back they all landed on my arm. It’s was so many of them and I felt so uncomfortable and grossed out in a way. I tried to brush them off of me but they were STUCK onto me. I had to force them off of me and I felt so terrible as I knew I was hurting/killing them trying to get them all off. I remember my boyfriend helping me brush them off as well. We went back inside where I see all my close friends and I tell them I had killed a spider on my arm and all the spiders I had seen in the room. They all looked at me in a bad way?? As if I was embarrassing my mutual maybe and I shouldn’t have said anything?? So I tried to lighten up the mood but there was still bugs all over the floor and everyone was so normal about it and in the inside I was freaking out.
Second time I’ve had this dream. Flying insects such termites?, were hanging down from something like a web from the ceiling in the living room in a large group. Then I went to get bug spray but couldn’t find any. The bugs followed me into the kitchen. Now they were on the floor behind my feet, in the drawer where I looked and still hanging from the ceiling in the other room. I went into my bedroom and found a huge net diagonal from floor to ceiling with large caterpillars on it and one that was a moth or butterfly. I didn’t see any color throughout the whole dream so I am not sure if it was a butterfly. Any ideas what this all may mean? I’m hoping if I did see butterfly’s that whatever is bothering me will be ok in the end?? Thank you!
Thank you for sharing! I think the main thing to ask with this dream is how did you feel throughout? I like the idea that the butterfly at the end is inspiring you…reminding you that perhaps things seem bleak now, but really they are just transforming.
I had a dream I was sleeping with them they were all crawling around me. And then I couldn’t take it anymore it was too disgusting so I woke/for up and tried to clean them all off, shaking the sheets, I remember thinking it was gross and there was a huge grasshopper dead under the bed. The rest of the bugs couldn’t really tell what they were but were small
Your information was very helpful. I’ve had this dream several nights in a row. I am in a house, not my own or one I recognize, with my husband. The house is very abandoned feeling. My husband and I are in a room and I need to leave I don’t know why but I know I feel scared. I get to the next room and there are tons of beetle looking bugs on the floor. They look like cartoon beetles. I trip and fall into them and my husband is yelling at me if I get bit by 5 of them I won’t make it out. I don’t feel disgusted at all but completely terrified. I wake up immediately after my husband says I won’t make it out. And when I wake up I feel like I wasn’t totally asleep when I was dreaming. I would really appreciate any thoughts. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for sharing! I am curious, do the beetles look like the biting kind? Do you get any bites when you trip and fall? What’s keeping you from getting up, from leaving? You say they are cartoonish. I guess the heart of my question is if you were in this situation in real life, would you be as afraid as you are in this dream? It’s interesting too that your husband seems to be the one who is telling you to that you won’t be able to leave..is that familiar at all? Just some questions that might help you explore the dream! If you’d like to go deeper I offer a tool called The Dreaming I which can help folks explore their dreams, you can find here: http://keziavida.com/thedreamingi
Thank you for responding! When I trip and fall I do not get bit they are just crawling but I always wake up before I would react to trying to get up. I would definitely be terrified of the bugs if this happened in real life I am very much afraid of bugs crawling on me and/or biting me. I am going on night 5 I think of the same dream and the more I remember it seems the fear is most intense after my husband says “if You get bit by 5 you won’t be able to get out” because that is when I become aware they can bite. But that is also the moment I wake up. As far as my husband it seems opposite of my real life, in real life my husband would be running after me to make sure I’m OK from tripping and falling with or without bugs, in the dream him yelling at me from another room and leaving it up to me to save myself is not how he is in real life.
it’s a house i grew up in. my family is inside the house. i am cleaning outside, outside is all cobwebs and bugs everywhere. every step i take to cleanup, i am all covered by the mess. i get inside and shower, and it’s all messed up & gross. after shower, i am trying to find a place to rest. but my siblings have occupied my room, so i go to my parents room. my father is clam and just woke up and gives me prayer and says i am doing great that i should keep going. but then leaves me very next moment. then i go out again and it’s messed up again.
i have bugs dreams before but i don’t understand this. i don’t get it, one side it’s a great thing i am doing my father says, but on the other hand it’s all messed up when i shower.
i will appreciate your comments. i find your way of interpretation very clear & logical. thanks heaps.
I had a dream of a singular, little beige bug. Reminded me of a beetle or a roach.. but it’s like I knew it was neither of them.. simple bug. But it was intriguing and in my dream I put one finger out and touched it’s shell.. and the whole bug started to turn dark in color. Kind of black and a dark red.
I had a dream about my dad making a bug that can fly get close to me when he knows I am afraid of them and i immediately woke up after this now i can’t get back to sleep so i definitely fwlt scared about it and i just wanna know what it means so if you know plz reply to my comment and tell me. Thank you🥰
Please help!
Dreamt I was sort of “on watch” and a single bug (similar to a bee but not, more disgusting) a single one of these bugs escaped into my room and after observing it very carefully I tried to kill it then it attacked my neck and I woke up really scared… not sure how to interpret that
Thank you so much for sharing your dream! I firmly believe that if this dream has been on your mind enough to share it here, there is very important wisdom and guidance inside of it that you need to hear. I offer 1-hr sessions where I can explore your dream deeply with you and determine the specific message your dream wants you to know. You can schedule a session by emailing me at KeziaVida.K@gmail.com or clicking here: KeziaVida.com/Schedule.
I also reflect on dreams folks like you submit and post the video Mondays on my YouTube channel. If you want me to discuss your dream, click here to subscribe to my channel and drop a comment in one of the videos or reply here to let me know you did so. I’ll make sure to get to your dream in the next week!
My dream was about finding dead bugs all over my home, I swept them up and threw then in the garbage, but as I did this, some were still alive and ran off. I thought to myself, in the dream, that I need to get more pesticide and spray. What does this mean?
Thank you so much for sharing your dream! I firmly believe that if this dream has been on your mind enough to share it here, there is very important wisdom and guidance inside of it that you need to hear. I offer 1-hr sessions where I can explore your dream deeply with you and determine the specific message your dream wants you to know. You can schedule a session by emailing me at KeziaVida.K@gmail.com or clicking here: KeziaVida.com/Schedule.
I also reflect on dreams folks like you submit and post the video Mondays on my YouTube channel. If you want me to discuss your dream, click here to subscribe to my channel and drop a comment in one of the videos or reply here to let me know you did so. I’ll make sure to get to your dream in the next week!
I dreamt last night that a hydro post outside of my house suddenly split open, revealing an extremely large white insect. It kind of looked like a white stinkbug; that’s the closest thing I can describe it as. It would have been about a foot long by a foot wide. Once the wood split open off of the insect, it just sat there on the pole, facing upwards and very still. There were two people on either side of it, and they were trying to make it move. I was terrified that it would fly off the pole and come after me; I was kind of standing behind the bug. Any ideas about meaning of this dream?
Thank you so much for sharing your dream! I firmly believe that if this dream has been on your mind enough to share it here, there is very important wisdom and guidance inside of it that you need to hear. I offer 1-hr sessions where I can explore your dream deeply with you and determine the specific message your dream wants you to know. You can schedule a session by emailing me at KeziaVida.K@gmail.com or clicking here: KeziaVida.com/Schedule.
I also reflect on dreams folks like you submit and post the video every other monday on my YouTube channel & on Instagram @KeziaVida. If you want me to discuss your dream, click here to subscribe to my channel and drop a comment in one of the videos or reply here to let me know you did so. I’ll make sure to get to your dream in the next week!
What if the bugs are dead? I dreamed there was a glass jar of peaches in my pantry that had been leaking for some time, but didn’t smell. As I was cleaning it up, I found 3 dead, squished pale bugs 🤢