An over-mowing neighbor (1 Viewer)

[ace peterson]

Anybody got any useful suggestions how to control my overmowing neighbor? I think he mows into my yard to make his yard look bigger.

I don't want to piss him off or anything, but maybe a subtle hint. (i.e. a rock on the border, or flower bed)

Any ideas?

 

[Seth_L]

How about talking to him?

 

[Bryan X]

Yeah, first try to talk to him.

I'd say about half a mower's width into the neighboring yard is reasonable. If it's more than that, there's nothing wrong with talking to him. He may not even realize where the property line actually is.

 

[CRyan]

Does it matter? There is an area where my yard meets the neighbors and we end up just mowing it alternatingly - just works out that way usually. As long as he does not try to fence it or garden it in some way, who cares?

C. Ryan

 

[Christ Reynolds]

if you talk to him, i wouldnt mention the fact that he may be doing it to make his yard look bigger. just make up something about cutting all your grass at the same time to make it even...or something. he may not be cutting into your yard to make his yard look bigger, but if he is, he will probably stop if you politely say something.

CJ

 

[Bryan X]

Yeah, I think it does. I like to keep a very well maintained lawn. And if one of my neighbors, who mows his lawn lower than mine, would cross into my yard, I'd have trouble keeping it looking nice.

I had a neighbor once who cut his grass so low that he'd literally shave it to the dirt in spots. I certainly didn't want him mowing into my yard at all.

 

[Mark Paquette]

I hate that! I have a neighbor who does this now. I guess he thinks he's doing me a favor by cutting the grass between my driveway and his, but I think shaving is a better term than mowing. I haven't quite figured out how to approach this one without causing a stink. Ummm, hey, I appreciate you mowing up to my driveway, but do you think you could raise your mower up a notch or 2 from shavesville? Oh well, I'm sure I could have a lot bigger problems than this.

 

[Scott Tucker]

This is hilarious, I had a neighbor that did this, so i made one pass with the mower on the lowest setting along the property line, and then mowed the rest of my yard at the usual height. There was an obvious line that i thought maybe he would see. Didn't work, and this guy started mowing a good 10' into my yard. Long story short. I came home from work one day and i saw little flags lining the property line from the street 150' back to the rear fence. My wife put them up. Oh my God i was so embarressed. After a while the guy came over and knocked on the door to apoligize for mowing our yard. He said he didn't know where the line was. All was cool after that. My wife and i were just talking about that the other day and laughing our asses off. Funny to see this post now.
Good luck with your delima.

Scott

 

[Jay H]

Land mines is what first came to my mind, but then again, I am evil.


Jay

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Just politely point out the property line to him and ask him to not mow on your side. I had a neighbor that did this at our previous home, and he cut his lawn too short, which caused the strip next to my driveway to burn out when he mowed it. He must have thought he was doing me a favor. One polite request to not mow my grass was enough, and he did not take offense.

 

[Todd Hochard]

-the ONLY reason you don't like it. That seems a non-issue to me, but I've dealt with pettier (is that a word?) stuff.

On another note, I'd make it a point to have regular casual contact with your neighbors. I'm not talking about sharing dinners, just frequent idle chit-chat standing in the yard kida stuff. You'd be surprised how considerate people will be to those that they have regular contact with. They call it being (gasp!) neighborly.

Todd

 

[ace peterson]

I think that it's not a big enough deal to point it out special to him. We talk to them often, so we're not afraid of communicating. I just don't want to come off as anal about it either. The thing is, his lawn is mowed twice per week at a very low setting. I like to keep mine higher. So, his lawnmower always outcuts mine! He is over the line by 2 or 3 mower widths. It makes my lawn look smaller. But again, it not a huge deal and I don't want to be anal about it. I'm just happy I have a neighbor who takes good care of his lawn.

Maybe I could bring it up sometime when we are talking leisurely about something else. Like, "Oh by the way.." kind of thing.

 

[ace peterson]

I think that it's not a big enough deal to point it out special to him. We talk to them often, so we're not afraid of communicating. I just don't want to come off as anal about it either. The thing is, his lawn is mowed twice per week at a very low setting. I like to keep mine higher. So, his lawnmower always outcuts mine! He is over the line by 2 or 3 mower widths. It makes my lawn look smaller. But again, it not a huge deal and I don't want to be anal about it. I'm just happy I have a neighbor who takes good care of his lawn.

Maybe I could bring it up sometime when we are talking leisurely about something else. Like, "Oh by the way.." kind of thing.

 

[andrew markworthy]

To quote Mr Frost, good fences make good neighbours.

Either that or landmines.

 

[andrew markworthy]

To quote Mr Frost, good fences make good neighbours.

Either that or landmines.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Definitely. You would be surprised at how easily some situations can be handled by just being pleasant with your neighbors.

Case in point: The ash trees in our area have been stricten by an ash bore infestation that is killing these trees by the thousands. My next door neighbor had three such dead trees in his back yard, and I had one. Anyway, he decided to have his cut down last winter when he could get a much better price. Well, the ground between our houses is usually very wet and soft, but he thought the ground would be frozen (it wasn't). Anyway, the tree removal company drove heavy machinery between our houses, leaving 3 foot deep ruts the entire length of the property line in both our yards, completely destroying the area. We also both have sprinkler systems installed that were damaged.

Well, my neighbor came over after the damage happened, sincerely apologized and promised to take care of the damage. I was understanding (hey, accidents happen) and handled part of the sprinkler repair costs (he picked up some, too), since I needed some other work done anyway. Everything was fixed in the spring (actually, the sod just went in a week ago) with no arguments, no lawyers and no ruffled feathers. My neighbor even had a drain installed to help with the pre-existing drainage problem that caused the soggy ground in the first place.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Definitely. You would be surprised at how easily some situations can be handled by just being pleasant with your neighbors.

Case in point: The ash trees in our area have been stricten by an ash bore infestation that is killing these trees by the thousands. My next door neighbor had three such dead trees in his back yard, and I had one. Anyway, he decided to have his cut down last winter when he could get a much better price. Well, the ground between our houses is usually very wet and soft, but he thought the ground would be frozen (it wasn't). Anyway, the tree removal company drove heavy machinery between our houses, leaving 3 foot deep ruts the entire length of the property line in both our yards, completely destroying the area. We also both have sprinkler systems installed that were damaged.

Well, my neighbor came over after the damage happened, sincerely apologized and promised to take care of the damage. I was understanding (hey, accidents happen) and handled part of the sprinkler repair costs (he picked up some, too), since I needed some other work done anyway. Everything was fixed in the spring (actually, the sod just went in a week ago) with no arguments, no lawyers and no ruffled feathers. My neighbor even had a drain installed to help with the pre-existing drainage problem that caused the soggy ground in the first place.

 

[Daren Welsh]

Tell that guy he can come mow my yard.

 

[Daren Welsh]

Tell that guy he can come mow my yard.

 

[CalvinCarr]

Dude,
Don't be afraid to talk to him about it. Even if he does take offense it is your property we're talking about. What if he was just borrowing your car? If your truly that worried about offending him (which he is offending you right now) Then spray paint a line on your property line and when he asks (because who wouldn't) tell him your marking it for some project like a sprinkler system etc..