Despise my Neighbors; any advice?

briseis • 21 June 2013 at 5:46 PM

I despise my neighbors. They have three children, whom they let run wild and unhindered all day long. They come onto our lawn and bother us, touching things, talking incessantly, and simply being a nuisance. Their parents never supervise them; they throw them outside to let other people deal with them. We've told them several times not to come onto our driveway and lawn because my boyfriend works with dangerous equipment in the garage, but they don't listen and their parents make no effort to tell them to stay away. What's worse, they seem to have no idea what safety means; they allow their children to run around them while using the lawnmower, they drive like manics and enter their driveway at 25mph, endangering whoever is playing outside, and they let them play in the bushes, where they dig up worms, crush them, and throw them around. They pluck out flowers from their lawn and our lawn and chase and throw things at rabbits, birds, and other small animals. They ride their bikes on our grass and create ruts in the lawn where grass refuses to grow, and they leave their toys everywhere. Kory and I have even contemplated calling CPS because of how many times we've witnessed them in near-danger.

It's not just that. They have a lab who barks incessantly that disturbs the entire neighborhood, but they leave her outside and completely ignore her for hours on end, which is a pain for all of us. They park so close to our driveway that sometimes we have trouble getting in and out. They're all around nuisances, and I've just about had it.

Anyone have any advice as to how to deal with this? We've talked to the parents but they seem to not care one whit about other people's right to be left alone. When I go outside the children usually run away because of how I've yelled at them, but they come back almost instantly. We're not sure what else we can do except call the police.

Deleted • 21 June 2013 at 5:48 PM

@briseis

Call the police. That's the best thing you can do.

briseis • 21 June 2013 at 5:54 PM

@dramatic the net time we find them on our lawn, we agreed that we'd call. Although I'm not sure if we'll actually do it...I guess we'll have to see.

Deleted • 21 June 2013 at 5:58 PM

@briseis Same thing as @dramatic If they won't listen to you, they'll have to listen to the police. I'm sorry 'bout your digusting neighbors.

newlife • 21 June 2013 at 6:05 PM

@briseis
Yes, you must call the police next time. They are very irresponsible parents, and if they can't take care of kids, they shouldn't have them. You should call CPS if the kids get in danger next time.
I know exactly how you feel, we have a horrible neighbor as well and we are suing for property damage. You might want to do the same thing because they have destroyed some of your property, correct?

fakeworld • 21 June 2013 at 6:19 PM

@briseis Yeah, that's a mess, and I'm sure no one wouldn't want to deal with a situation like that. Personally I would contact the city in general to file a complaint, calling the police wouldn't necessarily help, they'll just talk to your neighbors and refer you to the city anyways, so calling the police would be a bit useless. Are they home owners, or renters? I know that's personal information, but if they're renting, and you contact the city and they witness these things, they'll relocate them in no time. But then again, it depends on what city you're in. I would suggest getting very strict and grumpy, it might not be the nicest thing, but at the end of the day it could be the best.

Deleted • 21 June 2013 at 11:09 PM

@briesis
I wouldnt suggest to call the police. They will just come up to a peaceful truce after talking with both parties, and your neighbours wont show any action against that so you could expect those wild lunatics [appropriate description] ruining your lawn more since the next week. Calling the police again would end up in a referral to the city hall. Its more appropriate to contact the city, as if those neighbours were tenants and if there were any witnesses against this "wild attack on personal property" and a "nuisance to everyday life", they'll be relocated at the earliest. If they were houseowners, you would however have to contact the police though and if they refer you to the city, you'd probably have to mention some evidence.
Say one thing, lock the places [such as the garage] where dangerous equipment are kept and just place a simple spy camera [or even a camcorder] fixed in a rigid box with a hole [for recording] over your porch, so that you get some evidence. After mentioning that there's some evidence on this attack to property, your complaint would be given a higher priority and a speedy intervention.
This happened once with me as well. The first time the neighbors denied any charges against them but the next time, I recorded some evidence and produced it. They got relocated within a week

rachel215 • 11 July 2013 at 9:39 PM

either call the police, or find a way to scare the children from never coming near your house again. For instance, if you and you and your boyfriend are talking, and one of them runs by, casually mention a dead body or something.
@briesis