What would you do? (the buggy neighbor problem)

[gallaure]

Ok, I have these awful neighbors. Two guys rent the house. They don't own it, but know the owner well. The owner is NEVER around.

They have many fruit trees, and they just let it fall. It feeds rats, and then we get rat problems. Then kitties eat rat poison. BAD.

They have let their backyard go to HELL. At least it's not very sunny, so there's no rattler population (yet), but everything is overgrown. It houses many critters. Some stuff pokes through the fence.

I just pulled a massive plant. It was succulentish and VERY thorny. Freakin' OW kind of thorny. The bits and pieces filled a 5-gallon bucket from 1 plant. The nasty part? COVERED in aphids! So this is where my aphid issues are coming from. Nice.

One of the fence panels was askew, so I peeked through, and I saw at LEAST 30 square feet of this same thorny plant, and they were jungle-thick and waist high. I don't even want to know how many aphids are in that mess.

How would you handle this problem? They never answer the door, ever. They smoke and grow a LOT of weed, by the smell of the place. (at least they care about one kind of plant...) They are not particularly friendly. But their critters are overrunning my plants!

I was considering buying a bunch of lacewing larvae and food, and dumping some of the lacewings in my garden, but tossing the majority over the fence - they'd never notice. I'm growing my ladybug population, and I may start migrating them over the fence too. I'm also considering putting small water baths on top of the fence for the birds - not only would the birds bathe there, but then they'd eat buggies from either yard.

Short of having the place condemned, paying someone to drop napalm, or causing a round-up explosion (oooh, hey! IDEA!!! Monsanto could be good for something), I just don't know what to do.

Suggestions would be great!!!

[mbnapier]

In my town the board of health is very prompt responding to those types of complaints (weeds and vermin)

[Barbee]

Good ole neighbor issues.
You probably need to speak with the owner of the property, rather than the renters. He should not be letting the backyard get that tall and nasty. In the meantime, check your city or town ordinance. Usually there is something on the books that covers vacant lots or unsightly lots. Then if you can't get anywhere with the owner, you'll have a plan B to fall back on.
I think the drawing the birds in is a great idea personally. You might also think about having a mowing strip or mulched strip between your garden and the neighbor fence. Set your bird baths up in that strip so you can enjoy them from your yard.
Good luck.

[remy]

So sorry about the neighbors!
If things don't get cleaned up that well or the bugs still hang around, attacting birds does work. I've had less insect issues since I've started attacting them.
Over here I hang thistle(nyjer) seed feeders, and it only attracts little non-nuisance birds like goldfinches and Chickadees. Plus there is no seed mess left over. With you being on the other side of the country, I don't know if the same seed would work for you, but I'm sure you could ask around.
Remy

[piegirl]

What an awful mess. Maybe you don't want to poke them too hard with a sharp stick - they could go out and buy round-up and really take out everything for a block! I would start with the owner and say you are calling the health dept. b/c of the critters, possible rattlesnakes - YIKES!!!, can't we work something out? Here the magic word is RAT - I think I saw a rat and they are here in a heartbeat to check things out. Piegirl

[gallaure]

The backyard is surrounded by a solid wood 6' fence - they get to escape the "unsightly" rules.

Though Barbee has a good idea with creating a mulch strip between the fence and other stuff, my ENTIRE in-ground growing area is along that fence. The rest of the yard is paved. The area is 40' x 1' . I'd have to mulch my whole area and grow nothing.

The owner is just as bad. The one time we've seen him, he hammered on the landlady's door and screamed about the trash cans encroaching on his property. His front lawn was covered with logs from his tree-cutting some 14 months earlier, and his weeds were 4' high. The neighbors take up a monthly collection to pay the lawn guy to cut that lawn also. She got right back in his face about that. now they've had dumpsters in the front yard for a month, but the logs are gone. He fixed a fence problem in the back and cut down one tree that wasn't actually a problem. Didn't mow the back or anything.

Rattlers are a big problem in SoCal, but as long as you maintain your yard, they generally don't set up shop in the middle of a bunch of houses.

I don't want to cause too much of a problem, but the rat issue cost me $600 in vet bills, cost in traps and extermination fees for my landlady, and continues to cost me in terms of organic methods of bug-killing. I'll call the health department if I have to.

Oh, they feed the squirrels peanuts, too. The squirrels then dig up my SIP's to hide the peanuts.

Thanks, remy for the note on the feeders. I may try that.

I'm still tempted to throw round-up over the fence into that pit of thorny hell.

[sirtanon]

I like lots of the suggestions so far, and I can think of a few things I would do.

First, and let's just be blunt. The most obvious law-breaking going on is the growing and using of weed. If you know, then it seems to me, it would be apparent to others as well. Call the cops and tell them what you've observed. If these people are growing a LOT of weed, I think the cops would be likely to take notice.

If you like the owner, then you might give him a heads up that you're going to call, and give him the chance to get rid of his renters before you call.. or call the cops himself.

.... Failing this, more direct action - If it were me and I'd done everything else I could and they just wouldn't listen, I would do one of the following some time at night, or when they're not at home:

- Load up a sprayer with lots of weed/plant killer, bring a ladder over to the wall, and spray enough of the stuff into their backyard to kill most everything.

- BIG bag of salt.. dispersed across their backyard, or at least as far as you can get it by hand beyond the fence-line.

.. yeah, I know. Not nice.. but then again, if they give you no other choice.

[Barbee]

When I saw where you live, I suspected your back yard may not be too big. OK, let's rethink this. I'm always for trying to get along with your neighbors, cause you gotta live by them LoLoL
Could you ask them if you could put a mulched strip on their side of the fence? Maybe a note on the door that you had a sticky weed poking through the fence and would they like you to help them get rid of those. Offer them use of the mower? Or mow the yard for them? I know that seems unfair to you, but you are reaping the benefits in the end. How does the front yard look? Do they take care of that? Do they own a mower?
Or, if you don't want to go that route, maybe just calling the Health Dept. and asking them what to do is your best course of action. Or, if you rent, ask your landlord to take care of the issue for you. I'm sure your landlord doesn't want rattlers around either!
BTW, any weeds that poke thru the fence on your side can be painted with a tad of Roundup and taken care of. They would just slowly die in about 2 weeks.

[habitat_gardener]

Thinking of constructive things to do...

First problem is that rats in Calif. looooooooove fruit trees. Does your community have a gleaning organization? We have one called Village Harvest that sends volunteers to pick fruit trees, then distributes some of the fruit to those in need, and makes jams and preserves from some of it. Or a local food closet or homeless shelter? Maybe if you approach the owner with solutions to a neighborhood problem, he'll be more likely to listen. Or have a neighborhood meeting about sharing excess food, and have people going door to door to ask if they can pick fruit trees. And if they do get consent to pick the trees, maybe they can make a point of trampling the weeds. Or maybe you and a few neighbors can informally offer to pick the fruit and distribute it wherever?

Aphids. If there are enough aphids, sooner or later (I know you hope "sooner"), the predators will come. Sometimes you can't tell the aphids have been predated unless you look closely with a hand lens -- lots of empty bodies, literally sucked dry. Bird baths and thistle feeders are a great idea! I've seen people using those thistle feeders in northern Calif.

Poor kitties! Can you keep them indoors for a while? I've seen screen houses for cats (sort of like aviaries or screened porches, attached to the house) that let cats enjoy the fresh air but keep them safe from rats, rat poison, cars, etc.

[gallaure]

I don't care about the cannabis part - I just mentioned it to show what kind of people they are likely to be - lackadasical, paranoid, etc. I'm not above using the information to get things taken care of. There are also a suspiciously large number of cables coming from the power lines behind us headed to their house. Local theory is that they're siphoning power or stealing cable.

I don't mind going and doing the yard work myself, if they'll let me in. I just very much doubt they will. I also don't want to resort to illegal behavior to handle the issue, but if I get any more rat issues, they're getting a copy of my vet bill along with a summons to court and a copy of the receipt for the roundup I'm about to dump over the fence. I'll ask the health department and the DEA to bring that paperwork with them when they drop by.

I want to handle this politely as possible, legally, and with minimal aggression. I also want all these gosh darnoodley aphids DEAD.

You all have given some great suggestions, so I'm going to have a chat with the landlady!

[Polar_Lace]

gallaure,

Look in your local telephone book Or do a web search. Use the words "Code Enforcement + your zipcode." You should then come up with a phone # to call and make a complaint.

Tell the code enforcement that you've seen RATS going in and out of their yard. Suggest that they may have a garbage problem in their backyard or basement. This condition may be leading to the rat over population.

~* Robin

[Amigatec]

I would start by contacting the local Health Dept, Law Enforcement, and possibly the Electric Comp. If they are running a bunch of Grow lights the Elec bill will be very high. My 400W light runs about $20 a month.

You might also start taking notes, if you see a lot of visitors to the house at odd hours, they may be selling the weed. Since medical weed is legal in Cali, you may have better luck with the DEA than with local Law Enforcement.

I have had some of the same problems with the rental behind my house. I started mowing it for them 2 years ago, I am not going to do it this year. There are new renters and the first thing they did was dump a bunch of trash in the yard. And the owner dug up the sewer line and didn't backfill the trenches. So I will wait until the grass is out of control and call the city. We have a new Code Enforcement Officer.

[Amigatec]

Also I don't have a problem with using Rocksalt or Roundup on the Neighbors yard, I have already done that. I bought a 50 lb sack of rocksalt and loaded it in the spreader. I spreaded it thick, it helped, but you have to use a lot of it to do any good. Just make sure the runoff doesn't come back on your side.

[Amigatec]

Originally Posted by gallaure

There are also a suspiciously large number of cables coming from the power lines behind us headed to their house. Local theory is that they're siphoning power or stealing cable.

Trust me if they want to steal from the power comp, they will do it. The easiest way is to bypass the meter. These guys have no morals.

[tjg911]

i would not talk to them or the owner of the house. neither give a crap or the situation you describe would not exist.

so let's get serious. if this really bothers you:

1. report to cable and power companies you suspect theft, that'll start the ball rolling.

2. california is a very liberal place but afaik growing pot is illegal. call the cops, i suspect that the cops care.

3. i have a backpack sprayer. it'll spray about 30 feet. load it with roundup and go out after dark and spray a gallon on those thorny plants. that will stop them.

4. rats are a health hazzard. unless you live on crackhouse ave i think that the health dept would be interested.

if you are serious then these methods will help to stop the problems. if not then i guess you really are not bothered that much. just my view.

tom