A childhood belief about creepy crawlies

I LOVE insects, spiders, slugs, worms, and invertebrates in general, always have. I think they're absolutely amazing creatures, I study them and I keep all kinds of them as pets (I have a baby madagascar hissing cockroach and I REALLY want a giant banana slug someday!) and have absolutely no fear of any "bug"...except for ticks. I, a future entomologist, can't handle one little bitty tick. Even dead ones make me shudder. Why? When I was very little I thought that they actually burrowed completely under your skin and would never, ever, EVER come out. Even though I know this is untrue, I still have such a severe phobia of them that I avoid going outside in the summer sometimes, I stay far away from dogs and cats that have been outdoors and I panic if I brush up against one little bush or tree!

And yet, I still think ticks are cute and interesting animals.