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Yes. While cellar spiders can seem creepy or scary, they’re essential to the ecosystem. They feed on smaller insects in your home or elsewhere, keeping those populations in check. They’re also food for birds and small animals, so if you let a cellar spider live and simply transport it outside your house, you’re letting the natural cycle continue undisturbed. 

You’ll find that phorid fly larvae breed in moist, decaying, organic matter. When trying to locate a breeding site, thoroughly inspect the following places in your home: drain pipes, trash cans, garbage disposal, pet waste, rotting produce, plants, compost bins, and even under appliances like the stove and refrigerator where moist food may have dropped. It’s also possible for a breeding site to form inside of a wall, crawl space, or under your home’s foundation.

Stay calm and avoid acting like a threat. Avoid swatting at the wasps or yelling, which will agitate wasps and make them more likely to attack. Instead, move away at a slow, steady pace in one direction, getting as much distance between you and the wasps as possible. 

Wasps swarm to protect their nest, so moving far away indicates you are not a threat and they should subside. Do not try to handle a wasp nest filled with agitated wasps. Wait until they call down before you take action, or trust in a professional.

It may be better to have a mouse in your house than a rat. Rats are larger, more aggressive, and more difficult to eradicate once settled. One rat can cause more damage than one mouse. However, both animals pose a danger in that they can spread bacteria and contaminate food, so you’ll want to contact an exterminator as soon as you detect an infestation of either animal.