Tuesday, October 31 3:20 PM ET

UTICA, N.Y. (Reuters/Zogby) - While they may not be quite hefty enough to carry off children in the night, some of the wild kingdom's smaller inhabitants can set your hair on end.

In a nationwide Zogby poll of adults, more than a third (34.4%) decided that the most frightening small creature was of the slithering variety -- the snake.

Next most feared were rats (20.2%), spiders (17.1%), and cockroaches (15.6%).

Other creatures scorned for their creepiness were bats (3.5%), worms (.8), and lizards (.4). Another 3.3% said some other creature was most frightening to them while 4.8% couldn't decide.

Maybe it's an instinctual Eden thing, but both men (33.3%) and women (35.4%) agreed that the snake was the most despicable of nature's creations.

What we asked:

``Which of the following do you consider the most frightening small creature: Spiders, rats, snakes, bats, lizards, worms, cockroaches, or other?''

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