They're at least not as scary as spiders (which isn't saying much.) I'd say they somewhat resemble extremely large ants.

The article doesn't say much about their feeding behavior, but if they're anything like other walking sticks, they're herbivores with no defence mechanisms other than camouflage. Think butterflies, but without the wings.

I think the main reason I don't feel particularly creeped out by them, though, is that they have the sort of cartoonish physiology that I'd expect of a mostly-harmless Mario-game enemy.