I used to have a problem with kids and adults cutting through my yard. Apparently, before I moved in, the previous owners either allowed it or just didn't bother to put a stop to it.

Most people quit when I asked them nicely. They honestly didn't realize that I minded.

Just ask the boy to not cut through your yard. If he continues, then ask his parents (who may not be aware he's doing it). That is not an unreasonable request. Either way, I wouldn't ask him to do yardwork.

And say hello to the boy. Be friendly. Maybe he's one of those polite children who was taught not to interrupt grownups who are working hard in their garden.

We had this problem when I moved in. People not only cut through, but children played, winos drank etc. here, lol. The lady who lived here before "helped" everyone. She even had a neighbourhood child sleep here!
I asked them politely not to be on our property. Many people did get offended and felt I was being "disrespectful" to them, until it was pointed out that really, it was the other way around.
The children I did end up having to yell at a bit (that's what they are used to)...finally, we resorted to running out and taking photos of adults on our property as "proof" of tresspassing and promised to show the police if it continued. That pretty much solved the problem. The children were much more easy to redirect, especially after you explain to them the reason why you don't want them cutting through.
It's hard when you can't afford to fence everything in yet, it keep it all out!!

GGG

We have had the same problem...kids cut through our yard to get to the lake behind our house...we back up to corp of engineer property. We place "private property" signs and when we see kids either heading to the lake or coming back up from the lake, we stop them and tell them to turn around.

I place signs saying "no tresspassing" and see what happens. He may get the hint.

If someone is injured on your property, you'll be liable.

Ilex cornuta, Mahonia bealei, Poncirus trifoliata

The liability issue is a very real concern. We have a creek that runs through the middle of the back yard that is more like a river in a heavy rain. Also, our little bridge that crosses the creek is rather rickety. I'm even afraid to cross it!

I think I'll ask him to stop first, and if he ignores my request, I'll plant something poky.
Thanks!
Pam

Nothing like Mahonia and Yuccas to stop trespassers. Perhaps a nice stand of Devils Walking Stick?

I live in ATL and have a wall that all the partiers liked to sit on and drink into the wee hours of the morning before I bought my place. I had to take a much harder core stance. One dude even threatened to burn my house down, he was so pissed!!!

I would politely ask him and I think your problem will be solved, however if anyone has problems worse than this, you can do the following:
1. Warn them that they are trespassing and that next time the do so it is criminal trespass, which is a misdeamenor.
2. Discretely get a picture of them on your property first, before you warn them. This is generally enough proof for an officer, should one be needed. Don't be afraid to call.
3. Don't think you are being silly. It's your property and I personally wouldn't want folks being able to easily look into my house... a few bad apples usually spoil it for everyone else............. Good luck.

When we moved in, the middle-schooler down the block cut through my yard every day after school. I noted the approximate time of his arrival,and made it a point to be out in the garden every day at that time for a while. When he started up the driveway, I told him very firmly to turn around and leave and not to cut through our property any longer. He said"Mrs.----- did not care." I replied "But she no longer lives here,I do!!AND I DO MIND." He stopped. He probably thinks I am a witch, but he does NOT use my garden a shortcut anymore!!

If you really want to have fun with this, create an inviting pathway for tresspassers that leads them into a maze made out of hedges like the old timey European gardens.

Believe me, you should nip it in the bud, because before long, it will be one or two more kids cutting through, then a few more, etc. etc. Behind our house is a neighborhood that is kinda rough. We have a problem with teenagers cutting through our back yard to get to our street. I ALWAYS go out and tell them, DO NOT cut through my back yard! I have a highly stressful job and I really value the peace and serenity of my back yard, and I just don't want to share it with strange teenagers. Some have been nice when I told them, others have been cocky or downright angry. I even had one teenage girl, who was cutting through my woodsy area beside my house, tell me "This is not even your property". Man! Maybe some day I can afford to put up a high fence that they can't climb over!

I have a doberman. Seems to do the trick.

I remember when I was a kid and we cut through everybody's yard except those few that had a mean dog or the very few that would yell at us to stay out of their yard because they thought more of their grass than of people. We were just children wandering around the neighborhood playing football, baseball and cowboys and Indians. Sometimes little old ladies would offer us glasses of ice water in the hot summertime. That was back when America was truly the land of the free. Those days are gone and sometimes when I lie on my back for a spell in the cool grass and watch the clouds drift over, I miss those days.

What kind of vibe do you get off the kid who's cutting through your yard? If you feel like he's just a nice shy kid, you could try just being friendly and getting to know him, and you might come to look forward to seeing him pass through the neighborhood.

However, just because he's a middle school kid doesn't mean he's automatically nice and harmless. If you're getting a creepy feeling from any person in your space, you should be serious and not at all shy about telling them to leave. This especially applies if you have younger kids of your own (or even beloved pets) that you need to protect.

All folk should give others their space. Your space is your yard..............

I haven't talked to the kid, yet. I think the family's on vacation, so he hasn't walked through lately! HA! But my next door neighbor tells me that he's been accused of stealing money from someone else on our street. He's not allowed to visit there anymore. This same neighbor has gotten on to the kid for using bad language.

I do have a small child to think about, in addition to our insurance trap of a yard. It's downright hazardous in a heavy rain. Thankfully, nobody seems to want to be out then!

Thank you all for your suggestions. I'll probably work up the nerve to talk to him, when he returns from his trip. I'm a stay at home mom, so I'll know if he's not respecting my request. Then we may consider that Devil's Walking Stick--that stuff looks deadly!
Thanks,
Pam

Yeah, our yard was the cut through, too. We fenced in the back yard for my dog, though and I thought that would stop it. We had gates on opposite ends, but we mounted the hardware on the inside so the gates weren't apparent from the outside. Much to my surprise, they simply climbed over the 8 foot gate in the front and left the back gate wide open. I was furious - if my dog had gotten run over after we spent $2000 on a fence, I would have had to strangle someone. So now we have padlocks. They eventually stopped.

I, too, recall the "old" days, when children of all ages were taught respect for other's property!!! We appreciated the old lady's ice water on a hot summer day, and we helped her pull weeds from her vegetable garden and flower beds. We would NEVER step on her property without asking premission, and when she sometimes said "not today", we respected that! We also had neighbors who simply didn't like kids around their property, so we stayed away! What's HAPPENED to the RESPECT children should have for someone ELSE's property???

THANK YOU sixcats!

GGG

We put up a chain link fence in our back wooded area after we found a group of boys down there smoking. One would then stand at the fence and flick a lighter at me. I told him if there was a fire here I would know who to send the police to first. He had given me a false name but it isn't hard to find out a kid's name. The next time I had to speak to him I used his real name and boy, was he shocked.

Argh! Two different kids just cut through! I'm so upset. I was out there talking with my mom, and they were just going to walk on by without speaking. I said something like, "Excuse me, I don't know who you are." They said they were just cutting through. I told him to ask permission next time. He said ok, but they didn't even stop walking!

Anybody know where to buy fencing cheap?
Pam

Same thing happened to us when we first moved into this home. Kids would walk, ride their bikes, and (get this) ride their ATV's through our yard! For us, it's a privacy issue (first) and a soil compaction problem. We put a stop to it immediately, by telling them politely that we would appreciate it if they would no longer use our yard as their short cut. It ended then and there, but we sure would have visited parents if we had been forced to.

Hello,, my front yard has become a playground,, with balls bouncing all over the place, what are my rights? what do I do??

Our home backs up to a golf course and you have to expect some people coming in after their errant shots to retrieve balls, but the level of rudeness finally made me put up a fence. I did catch a kid hopping the fence last week and called the clubhouse who sent a ranger out and threatened him with membership suspension.

Beverly~~~~~~ What worked for us was a two-fold approach. 1.We talked to the parents,and 2.We KEPT any ball or toy in our yard.(give 'em to a charity) We told the kids if it was in our yard,it was OURS.It has stopped COMPLETELY!!!

Hi Lindabeth.. thanks so much for the reply,, I don't feel so alone with this, anymore,,, this morning, I donated a basketball to goodwill... ha ha,,,,, so far all, is well, since I stared them down at my door... and they look at me like I am the intruder.. but next time I am just going to ask them to stop playing in my yard,, I was trying to be the good guy and it doesn't work, unfortunately,, thanks again... Bev

In addition to the other suggestions, don't forget the Pyracantha!! :-) That stuff is wicked. Plus it flowers a bit and has really pretty berries.

I just planted one under a window on the side of our house. I don't think we'll be worried about burglars coming through there anytime soon.

When we asked the neighbors' kids (politely) to please not cut through our backyard (with bikes & all), the kids sulked & their redneck parents were irritated about it. We ended up putting a fence around the backyard & of course the redneck neighbors eventually moved away. (Yea!!!) The fence has been great, keeps stray dogs (& people) out of the back where I grow veggies, etc., & now I wouldn't want an unfenced back yard. I just wish we could fence the front! (What's that old saying about strong fences making good neighbors?)

And we're nice people. Really.

Well, the last two issues of the neighborhood newsletter have stressed the importance of people getting a yard owner's permission before crossing through. I'm glad I'm getting some support from the neighborhood. Strangely enough, I haven't had any crossers in about a month! Maybe the parents take the newsletter seriously. I was thinking I might go ahead and plant something prickly back there once school starts--just in case.

Thanks for all of the suggestions and commiseration!
Pam

Hi.. I just wanted to report that a month has gone by since
the kids have played their ball games in my yard.. they play in the street, across the street in the vacant house, but not here, so I am glad, but I am still watching, I have my backyard fenced in, but they were climbing over the fence to get the balls that went in, I am glad I didn't have to say anything to them... I am keeping my fingers crossed they won't come back.. they were on my last nerve, thanks so much to all of you...

Thank all of you..

This house I'm in has a reputation of drug addicts coming and going. I'm also finding people making this their short cut today another person to add to the list ..

I will take pictures and even ask them to

Is it really the end of the world though? I have people cutting through my yard all the time because I have a park behind my house and it connects to another circle. If you were them, wouldn’t you want to do the same?

Jake, some of us work really hard to keep our yard beautiful and also work hard to make money to pay for the land. Why should random strangers be allowed to trample and make a mess of it all? I've had all the problems people are describing above, plus I've come home from work to find fast food trash left on my front steps by a total stranger. Trespassing is not the "end of the world," as you say, but it's incredibly rude, disrespectful, and inconsiderate. You may not personally believe in the concept of property rights, but you live in a culture and economy where that is the norm.

As kids growing up we cut through our neighbours yards all the time. We all knew each other, that's how neighbourhoods were.... Is your property fenced? Why don't you spend the time to get to know your neighbours instead of visiting social media sites and asking strangers for their opinions. He might not even know he is treading on your property.

Is this just a board for people to tell their personal stories? Trespassing is never okay. Trespassing begs for trouble. Put up a No Trespassing sign to let them know, and then take legal action if/when you can. What BS to say plant prickly hedges and mazes. That's costly and leaves you maintaining it. What BS to say it only bothers you if you let it bother you. If someone is opening your fence gate just to cut through your yard and jump the back fence, that's blatant disrespect and plain wrong. If you don't have a fence, then mark your boundaries. I am assuming most trespassing stories here are fence hoppers/yard runners. I don't know what to do about acres and acres of "tresspassable" land. But nobody should be short cutting via established private property. Those kids accidentally break plants, planters, fence slats, gate locks, etc., and perhaps they'll fall and get injured, or see something through your window which might, perhaps, lend thought to a later "return". Nobody should have to tolerate trespassing, and especially not because some other person decides it's no big deal for "them" so "okay" to trespass. Some people won't find your kids as amazing as you do, so don't force them into showing it. Don't be that moron parent.