Africanized bees and other critters buzzing onto neighborhood properties in suburban Lake Worth

SUBURBAN LAKE WORTH, Fla. - On a well-maintained street, some homeowners say a nuisance lives next door as "new neighbors" have moved into a home where things have been left to fall apart.

The home on Birch Tree Terrace isn't being kept up to the standards on the street, neighbors say.

They believe the grass should be manicured, the trees need trimming and the house needs repair. In the back of the home, a deck is in shambles and a tree grows from the center of a spa. A ceiling fan on the back deck is curled in disrepair and shingles on the roof have left holes. Despite the look of the home, neighbors are more concerned with the animals and insects who have moved in.

Carol Libutti says she has noticed a change in recent months.

"He (the owner) passed away, I think it was last February, and since then the house has really gotten worse."

Several of the new residents have visited Libutti's home, so she called A.J. Puzino with Buzz Away Wildlife & Bee Removal, who discovered that Africanized bees were buzzing past the empty home and onto neighbors' properties.

"There's probably between 250,000 to 500,000 bees in this wall," explained Puzino. 
 
Puzino says the hundreds of thousands of bees are harmful to animals and people, even in small numbers.

"You'll have between 50 and 100 stings in you in two minutes, and they can kill you from the poisons that they release," he said. 

"Raccoons have been popping their heads out of this roof, and they're coming into my yard," Libutti said.  "My dog was attacked by a raccoon in broad daylight."

Puzino said, "They had about sixteen raccoons I already took off the property, couple snakes in the back, looks like water moccasins."

Libutti has spent almost $1,000 trying to trap and keep the creatures from her property. She says she has called several governmental offices, begging for help. So far, she has not found a person who can offer a solution. 

"I've been told I can't step on the property and I can't eradicate them myself," she said. 

A call to code enforcement has not been returned. 

Buzz Away has offered to eradicate the problem for free because they are concerned for neighbors' safety, but first they need official word that they have permission to go inside the home.