The few dead bees began appearing inside Mary Olarte's Miami Shores home just a few months ago, though the lifeless winged insects didn't seem a cause for concern.

But the number of hapless honeybees mounted and a curious contractor led her to the discovery of some startling news: Inside the walls of her home were three thriving beehives with potentially hundreds of thousands of bees.

``At first I didn't think too much about it,`` Olarte said. ``But then I was like `Oh my gosh.' ''

On Tuesday, Olarte finally got rid of her unwanted housemates -- some 250,000 in all -- with the help of Willie Sklaroff, a specialist in removing wild beehives.

Sklaroff, whose company is called ``Willie The Bee Man,'' said the discovery of three beehives in one home was unusual in South Florida.

But Sklaroff has seen worse and blames the problem, in part, on the recent rise in foreclosed homes. ``People that are losing their houses cannot afford to get rid of beehives,'' he said.

BUSY MONTH

This past weekend, he removed six beehives -- or up to a half million bees -- from a foreclosed home in Coral Gables. This month alone, the company has worked more than 200 bee removal jobs.

Olarte's home represented a slight challenge for Sklaroff in that the buzzing insects had settled in three different places -- near the chimney, the living room and on the second floor.

The bees had built their hives over months by buzzing through tiny holes in the home.

To eliminate the bees, Sklaroff and his crew ripped and removed parts of walls and the roof. They then sprayed the hives and bees with a pesticide before yanking the hives outside. Dazed and confused, the bees died a quick death.

Killing all the bees was necessary out of fear they may be Africanized honeybees -- more commonly known as killer bees. These bees came to the United States from Brazil and are more aggressive and have more intense stings than the standard European honeybees.

``Because these bees are originally from Brazil, they are more adapt to tropical climate. They are filling up the environment in South Florida faster than any other place,`` said Jerry Hayes, chief of apiary for the Florida Department of Agriculture.

None of the bees found Tuesday at Olarte's house were believed to be killer bees.

BEE SHORTAGE

The department recommends eradication of all problematic wild bees, despite a shortage of bees worldwide.

In the end, Olarte was relieved to see the bees banished from her home, but hated to see them die such a terrible death.

Not all was lost, however.

Olarte collected more than 100 pounds of honey and wax from the walls of her home.

``I have lots of friends,'' she said, and ``everyone wants to try some.''