Scared of Bugs

I agree with the other posts in that he will outgrow this fear and it is TOTALLY normal. One thing that I've noticed that has helped with my little girl is telling her that the bugs are way more scared of her than she is of them, and why not, look at how much bigger she is than they are. My little girl went from being meltdown terrified to feeling sorry for the bugs because she was scaring them. She still won't get too close, but tries to "comfort" them from a distance. "it's ok, bug, I won't hurt you", quite funny to watch.
And J. to let you know that kids this age develop completely irrational fears, last year when re-doing our 11 year old son's bedroom, our daughter developed a fear of masking tape. Yes, masking tape and any time she saw a piece on the floor, she would have a meltdown. It was next to impossible not to laugh even though she was obviously terrified. It was a short-lived phobia, as are alot of fears that they have at this age. So don't worry, your son is completely normal and he'll outgrow this before you know it.

That is so funny because my two year old has developed the same fear this summer. And she is afraid of the wind. We have just been making bugs fun. Daddy says he is going to bust em' up. And I shoo them and tell them to get out of town. We have a deck and we let her go in and out on her own and it seems to have helped her. When ever she would get scared she would run back inside and then slowly venture back out. It is slowly working. Now when she sees a bug she doesn't freak out as much. I would just keep working with him and come up with silly ways to make bugs fun. Hope that helps a tiny bit. But I have heard that it is normal for kids to develop irrational fears at these ages.

Walmart has some really cheep rubber bugs and bug houses. Let him see how fun they are for pretend bugs and see if it cools the fears. The Zoo might be another fun place to show him that animals need bugs to live. The MN Zoo has an indoor zoo lab that teaches children all about different kinds of snakes, bugs and other really small creatures.
Just a few ideas.

Try a nature class designed for toddlers and their parents. The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen is taking registration for nature classes right now. They have workshops on bugs, plants, etc. Kids get to see them up close, but in a fun non-threatening setting, and will learn about them too.

Also try local community ed in your area, or Westlake Nature Center in Bloomington. They have nature classes all year round, for parents and their toddlers.

My son is also three, and also freaks out at the mere idea of a bug. We homeschool, and did a HUGE unit on bugs, which helped a little. We read lots of books, colored pictures, caught bugs in jars to study, made bug crafts and ate "bug food". He is still afraid, but I can see hid fear slowly turning to interest.

My daughter went thru the same thing not too long ago. During the spring, we get ladybugs and she used to freak out when she saw them. It got to the point where if she saw one on the window in the living room, she wouldn't come in the room! I finally convinced her to come closer to the bug and told her how much bigger she is than the bug and that the bug can't hurt her. Just telling her that seemed to work. She still gets a little nervous, but then she just says 'oh, it can't hurt me!' I know it's simple, but it might work for you too! Good luck!