I'd do a fence. They would be less likely to "accidentally" drive over/through that than any type of plantings.

I like the look of a split rail fence.

And we can't help with shrub suggestions unless we know your general location and a little information about the site. I think a fence is probably the way to go, too. Maybe plant a plant or two in front for accent.

I would be ticked off if I had neighbors like that, too.

WTH is wrong with people? We had to put huge boulders around the outside border of our entire corner lot to keep people from cutting the corner, through our lawn. One went right through our front lawn, around the side to the right and took out about 14 feet of chain link fence. *shaking my head*
He left pieces of his car all over our yard (and his probation officer's business card!), our neighbors got the license number and description of the guy, and the cops never found him. UGH
I'd go with the fence!

Fence AND "No Trespassing" signs. The law can only help if you have posted your property. What is 'the law' in your area?

In our neighbourhood pretty much everyone on the corner has a fence running diagonally to the sidewalk to deter people cutting across their lawns. Some are wire fences, others are pressure-treated boards cut low, and still some are like the old fences that used to go around a pasture.

Shrubs with thorns was my first thought. But I would do a the split rail fence and hope that works. Make sure you put it inside the property line. You may have to have it surveyed as to where your property line is. Don't you just hate it when neighbors take advantage of neighbors? Are they property owners or renters? If renters they maybe just don't care.
Mary

Definitely fence with post set in concrete. I agree with the posted keep off property signs. But don't be surprised when you have to rebuild the fence.
I am so sick of the neighbors across the street backing out and running over my mailbox. I know it's them since the mailbox is laying completely back and not to the side which would mean a side fall. Plus I saw them all gathered in the street the first time it happened.
It is someone who visits there in a white car. I can just about put money on if the white car is there our mailbox will be down.
Would love to have a camera out there. The thing is they have a circular driveway so there's no reason to back out.

Some people just don't have any sense or common courtesy.

Kath, if you go shrub, they most likely will driver over them and hurt/kill them.

Do you know anyone that can help you get large, I mean L A R G E "decorative" stones there, so large, they would tear their cars up if they tried to drive over/through them?

otherwise, go with split rail fence.

:)

Moni

I'd go with what the others say, build a fence or put in big rocks. So, I'm curious. Why not call the cops and find out if there's anything else you can do? They might be able to make some suggestions or they may even talk to your neighbors. But it would probably not work and may make it worse. So I guess I'd put up a strong fence. Pull I'd seriously consider putting up a camera.

You need to make it clear that this is not a right-of-way for anyone. Eventually, these people could claim they've "always used this land" and have a legal right to continue to do so.

I'd go with a fence as well,like Moni said,they'd probably just drive over your plants.They already proved they don't care what you think,or say,so get yourself a fence ASAP.

Good luck,wouldn't it be nice if we could all have good neighbors.All mine are nice,but it wasn't always that way.
Kathi

I have a fence across the front with spirea shrubs in front of it-however,I live right on the street with a sidewalk running past,so the losers that walk their dogs allow them to do whatever in my shrubs-SOBs-no respect for much at all,anymore

Be sure to see if your subdivision has deed restrictions about extending fences to the street. Landscape boulders might solve your problem.
Sorry for your neighbor problems.

Fence or boulders. It would be pretty hard to not "notice" them.

I live on a corner. I get so irritated at people who drive over the corner. The soil is all lumpy and compacted there and grass barely grows. When the ground finally thawed this winter and got all muddy, a school bus would drive over the corner every darn day. I finally put three of those red reflectors out there to mar the curb and voile -- the bus driver suddenly learned how to go around a corner correctly. I should have done that many years ago.

I also have a neighbor across the street who constantly backs up into my property. We have had it out a few times, but it still happens.

Anyway, you're not the only one with inconsiderate neighbors! Good luck.

Fence or boulders. I wonder if you can stand up a line of cement blocks in the mean time?

Inconsiderate glassbowls. SO glad we don't have neighbors!

I'd go with a fence but a more solid fence than split rail. Whatever you decide, I hope it works.

Definitely put up a good "solid" privacy type fence with cement posts if your zoning permits. You may also need a permit. Your zoning board can tell you what you need and how far from your property line the fence needs to be.

Boards with nails in them on the ground? Only kiddingâ¦.I would go with the fence since these neighbors show little respect for other's property, who knows what they would do to shrubs.

Ok, I just thought the plants would be cheaper. ( : A couple weeks ago, Lauren and I left the house to go somewhere and two women had parked right in front of my mailbox. It was these same people who parked in my driveway a few months ago....I looked over and their driveway had one car in it! WTH?

I don't want to make enemies, I've already asked them nicely not to park on my grass because Lauren was trying to mow last summer and couldn't mow because their big truck was in the way...on my lawn. They moved it but still park there. I also think they are dealing drugs. People come and go at all hours of the day and night, slamming car doors, which makes the dogs bark. Just the slamming doors wake me up and I sleep on the other side of the house from theirs. How is it I never hear the neighbors on my bedroom side do this? They pull up go inside and then leave after 5 or 10 minutes all freaking night long.

I always think someone is in my driveway when I'm in the living room because their slamming doors are so freaking loud. And there is always garbage in my yard since they moved in. They bought it a couple years ago. It was rented out to a nice quiet family after my elderly neighbor passed away. These look to be a group of single guys and their girlfriends. Also what I got from one of the neighbor kids that managed the gym Lauren was going to. His parents live across the street from us.

I don't know anyone who can move boulders, unfortunately.

I would report the suspicious activity to the police for starters.

I would put up a privacy fence, forget split rail......and throw some boulders down on your side of the fence, just in case they are drunk or stoned and try to take out your fence....

Big fence, and call the police.

Now that you've said that they're renters, how about calling the landlord? Of course, I'd also go for the fence, but with all of the other activity going on, the landlord should know.

Both!!!! A fence with shrubs on your side.

Why haven't you called the police? Are you afraid? Would other neighbors join with you in reporting what you know, and what you suspect about the drugs? You won't be 'making' enemies. You already have them.

Call a landscaping company. They have access to boulders and the equipment to move them. Probably not the cheapest solution but the quickest way to stop the problem. They will run over your shrubs and your fence. Boulders. Not so much.

A privacy fence would be a whole lot better than a split rail. Not only is it stronger, it would also offer you much more protection.

They aren't renters, the people before them were renters and the owners sold it to these new people. Yes, a little afraid to call police. I don't need druggies wondering who called the police on them and taking it out on my property, dogs or child.

A split rail with shrubs.

I have a neighbor that was trying to take 3' of my property along the side. He finally threatened my DH that if he moved his railroad ties one more time he'd have him arrested for trespassing.

My DH kept his cool & offered to split a surveying fee. $1000 each later.....yep...it's all ours again and we gained 3' along the back of our property we didn't know we had!

Stop strips comes to mind, but I suppose these would cause more trouble - Just kidding. You need something that is tough and woody, but I can't think of anything of that sort that does not eventually grow big. A thick privet hedge is effective, but it requires trimming to keep it nice. Another planting that looks nice and is strong is a row of arbor vitae. This is really a tree and left alone, it can grow very tall, albeit, slow growth. I have one in front of my house that is 35 ft high, and I estimate that it is 50 years old. Its not invasive, and has a columnar growth habit. It stays very slender and when young, will tolerate cutting and shaping like a hedge. I used these before to define a play area and screen for my kids. That house was built in the 1960s and I have since moved. The new owner kept the hedge until the trees became taller than the house and then they were topped to the height of the one story eaves. some 30 years after planting. After topping, they continued to serve for another 15 years. Its an evergreen so makes a nice touch in winter.

However, if you have really tough neighbors, its hard to beat a heavy chain link fence with steel posts set in concrete.

Sorry, kath, I misread about the renters and now see my error.

Well, I feel for you. Perhaps drop a dime to the police about suspected drug activity and get the police surveilling the area would help. Well, it wouldn't help the problem with them parking on your property but it could help clean up the activity.

I have an idea for a short term idea/test.
Go to Lowes or Home depot and get some of those heavy green fence stakes.
Pound them in the ground about 4 feet apart. leaving them stand a good 3-4 feet out of ground.
Alert your neighbor you put them there...that you are thinking of planting shrubs or fence and cant decide - the stake are helping you get a "visual".

See how it goes for a couple days/weeks. If they stop driving on your grass, take them out after a few weeks. if it starts again, Move on to plan B.

(Boulders can be fun to landscape with)

This is a strange post. You started by asking how to keep neighbors from driving across your lawn. Now you tell us you are quite sure the neighbors are dealing drugs.

This isn't about fencing. Don't even go there. (Talk about putting a spotlight on yourself!)

Call the cops. Only the law can put an end to your troubles -- illegal use of property AND the 24/7 drug store next door.

I don't know where you live, but check for an anonomous tip line to the police/state police in your area..
Large boulder with your house numbers on it...

I vote with Salgal because I actually did this. Had a little garden near the curb with roses, neighbors would back over, they had a 2 car driveway so that didn't need to happen.

I put a little border around it anchored on their side by a heavy 5 foot T-post I hammered in so it was only 2 feet high (I checked the location of gas/water lines prior to doing this). It took several weeks to get it hammered down that deep.

When they backed over it was too low to knock over but would catch their bumper and it was at least a foot inside my land. It was clearly a part of the little flower garden border so it didn't seem like I was being contrary, I had plenty of flowers in the front yard.

Magically stopped them from backing over my property and the roses in my little garden. Cheap, effective, and I wasn't a bad guy, just a lady with plants.

I think we have the same people living next door - and it is their way or the highway.

Shrubs won't work - we tried that. 2.47 feet of THEIR laneway belongs to us - it is not a right of way. Yet they still park on our grass and put all of their cr@p against our house, have loud parties etc. Re calling the police - they will not get involved where we live.

Before you do anything check out the zoning and who owns what and what you can legally do. You might have a problem putting a fence down your property line at the front. If we were to do it we would have to "give" them our 2.47 ft. and put the fence on our lawn - good side facing them. A written agreement would have to be signed by both parties - I have no doubt they would sign it. If you put a thorny bush they would complain about injury. It does make it very hard to cut the lawn, do basic maintenance etc. In addition to their regular laneway they also have an illegal parking pad, but with 3 SUVs and a sedan - they park wherever they want. Of course 2.47 ft. of our other neighbour's laneway belongs to them and we do not abuse it. We have a narrow car. Of course it is impossible to get out of the car without stepping on their part but we do not park on their grass - ever - and when we redid the laneway I made very sure that precautions were taken so that none of the asphalt touched their house. We paid the full cost as do all of the other people on the street. I wonder what will happen when they do their laneway - we are not giving them one red cent.

Of course the other size damaged our brand new eavestroughs to just under our insurance deductible (but if we made an insurance claim we would have had to pay anyway and our monthly payments would have gone up). We live in a no fault province - no fault accident, no fault insurance etc. We are responsible for the first $25,000 of damage they could cause. They could have had the damage fixed for under $50 when they did their eavestroughs and my husband believed them - as usual he was wrong. I have pictures but they are useless. You can bet that if we tried something illegal they would report us fast. I hope you can get this settled and you don't live in a place like ours. The people on our street aren't particularly friendly with each other except for the normal little cliques, but all are united on one thing - no one wants to live where we do.

Kath,back in the late 80's we had renting neighbors that didn't give a rats a** about anything either and I knew they were dealing drugs,because all hours of the day and night cars,from very expensive ones to the cheapest things on wheels would pull up,toot the horn and someone would come out and you could see them exchanging stuff.

The neighbors knew it as well but they were scared to do anything.Not me,i called the cops,but they pissed me off also.Asked me how I knew they were doing drugs,and I told them because of the action I see,and I know it isn't ice cream cones.

They asked if they could observe from inside of my house an d I told them yes,as long as they came in an unmarked car.

For a few weeks I didn't see any action from the police.Then one night after dinner dh and I were sitting out on the front porch.We saw one of those big panel trucks coming down the street,it stopped in the middle of the street about 2 houses down from ours.Next thing we know the back door of the truck opens,and all these guys in cammys,with dogs and guns drawn stormed that house.

It was just like watching a tv show.They told the homeowner that he could lose his house over that kind of activity.So the next day,the owner went to the court and got eviction papers and put them out.

The police will keep you and anything you tell them confidential,so don't be afraid to call them if need be.
Kathi

Well, I'm going to find out about building codes and have already sent an e-mail to a fence company, but haven't heard back from them. Thanks for all the helpful advice.

Oooh, this reminds me to update everybody about the strange comings and goings of the son of my neighbor across the street. My dilemma was that I didn't know that he was doing anything wrong....just that he drove in and out of his driveway 15 or more times of an evening that we noticed when we were still up.

Since the young man has a history that we knew about, we finally decided to call and talk to the police. They sent out male and female plainclothes officers (in a family car, no less) to sit in our living room to observe what we did every single night.

I have no idea "what went down " (is that the right lingo?), but in a couple of weeks all of the activity stopped. I'm pretty sure that junior is still there, but he's had to find another line of work.

I hope the "activity" stops, and also the driving on your property. I would do the fence regardless. We had rocks in the flowerbeds at our old house that were there when we bought it. Can you say ant homes? To get rid of the ants, we had to get rid of these huge rocks. Not an easy thing to do.

Tami