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Good Bugs For Your Home: The Insects You Should Avoid Killing (PHOTOS)

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The Huffington Post Canada   First Posted: 04/12/2012 11:31 am Updated: 04/12/2012 11:31 am

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No one wants their home to be filled with creepy crawlies, but before you follow your instincts and kill the spider that's moving closer to your foot, ponder this: that same spider might be your home's best friend.

There are many bugs who -- unbeknownst to us -- can keep our homes clear of other pests. They can also keep your garden looking fresh.

We scoured the Internet and tracked down eight tiny, but helpful creatures that you should avoid killing if you spot them in or near your home. Learn more at: This Old House and Washington's Local Hazardous Waste Management Program.

Can you put the pesticides down and learn to co-exist peacefully with the creatures in this slideshow? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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No one wants their home to be filled with creepy crawlies, but before you follow your instincts and kill the spider that's moving closer to your foot, ponder this: that same spider might be your home'...
No one wants their home to be filled with creepy crawlies, but before you follow your instincts and kill the spider that's moving closer to your foot, ponder this: that same spider might be your home'...
 
 
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Tsalco
77 Fans
01:26 AM on 04/15/2012
As is common with HuffPo articles this article contains significant errors. The vast majority of millipedes are vegetarian and most are detritivores that eat decaying plant matter. Only a few species prey on animals.

More important though, is that your picture of a predatory mite appears to actually be the very undesirable lone star tick. The tick can transmit a number of diseases to their host, like tick paralysis, rocky mountain spotted fever, tularemia, human monocytic ehrlichiosis and STARI, which stands for Southern Tick Associated Illness." Some mites can look somewhat similar, but are easy to distinguish by their legs and body.
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butchcliff
The future is unwritten
263 Fans
07:49 AM on 04/14/2012
Like to actually pet the bumbles on their back, they don't mind. The lady bug craze, got totally out of hand for a few years. Remember my roses were nice & clean of aphids, but for about 3 springs there were literally thousands living in my house.
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Lechiffre
224 Fans
04:10 PM on 04/16/2012
I don't want any of those in my house . yuck !
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butchcliff
The future is unwritten
263 Fans
05:11 AM on 04/17/2012
Late fall they'd get under the siding. Spring warm..every room in the house had hundreds..had to use vacuum
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