Help! Neighbour keeps throwing cigarette butts into my garden and I have to clean them up everyday. What can I do? Anything the council/police would do? I'm in SA btw.
I'm not on talking terms with this neighbor as there was a fencing and encroachment issue which resulted in me taking him to court (although it was finally settled out of court) a few months ago.
Obviously I can throw them back over but that's probably going to just create more problems.
Do you have a cat or dog? If you do start throwing their Feces over the fence and see if the butts stop.
Ummm you dont need a cat or dog to do that
Throw a couple of the fresh cigs into a crime scene, will teach them a lesson!
LOLOLOL, I had to read this one twice before I understood it. Clever Ughhh :)
I would approach the local council and then potentially escalate to police. What a douche!
Fighting fire with fire rarely works in these cases though, so best to avoid inciting the situation further. Though I did lol at the "plant then on a crime scene" idea!
Keep it simple and escalate slowly AS REQUIRED.
I know you said you're NOT on talking terms but that doesn't mean you can't talk to them - it just means it's awkward and likely to not be productive. So at a reasonable time go over, say you've noticed a few butts on your yard and that IF they were putting over you'd appreciate it if they could stop. Regardless of what they say leave it at that.
If it continues you send them a very basic written request citing that you asked them on that previous date and you're now again requesting their assistance in stopping this.
It's 75% certain that you'll have it stopped before it goes any further but atleast you'll have documentable proof that you've taken all reasonable steps to amicably resolve the matter and of course when you go over with a piece of pipe to kneecap them it'll look better to the authorities.
Suffice to say joking about the last bit.
Keep it simple, it's clearly just a power/FU move by them but the vast majority of folks will curb such ways when civilly and reasonably asked to stop.
So I know it's no fun to go over and ask but escalating it beyond these will be more likely to end up exacerbating the problem and have it manifest itself in other more serious ways and ultimately cause you more grief/angst.
exactly. Nikko has explained it well.
Talk to the first and go from there. You dont have to talk about life and footy, just a quick Hi, can you please make sure no butts are dropped thanks.
Dont go to police / council and bug them if you haven't even spoken to the neighbour yet.
I'll keep it civilised to begin with like you suggested.
If they continue, off the cig butts go into their pool. I'm sure it's fun trying to fish the butt from the pool.
Fair enough - you know the variables of the situation better than us.
It's always worth noting that you can always escalate things if you're not getting positive results BUT once you do something like putting them in their pool it's almost impossible to DE-ESCALATE things. So IMHO while it's fine for folks with nothing vested in the situation to say you should do this and that - you're the one thats going to have to live with them and any consequences. :-)
Plus doing that kinda stuff back is a slippery slope….you dump them in their pool, then a few days later your car 'mysteriously' has been keyed by someone……now it's your move and where it stops nobody knows!
Like I said even with assholes common sense and a civil, fair request will usually reap the desired results - no point hypothesising about anything beyond this. The important thing is its in your best interest AND THEIRS that it be solved in the simplest manner so it's the first and LAST win-win scenario on the cards, no put your best foot forward as it's downhill/more hassle to resolve from there.
Take Choppers advice: start a chainsaw up on your front porch at 3am and laugh/scream at the top of your lungs like a maniac until you wake up the whole neighbourhood, hey presto no more cigarette butts!.
Grab a cheap surveillance camera, mount on your side of the fence to avoid legal ramifcations, go to police. Tell them it is a fire hazard and they will be forced to oblige. I wouldnt be civil or gove them a chance to stop , this is plain rude. I mean what kind of spiteful,vindictive loser does this?
Piggy back on this thread https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/181700
Start putting them on his door mat each morning he will get the point eventually.
My thought too… or put them in a bag and drop them in his letterbox.
I have pigs like this living both sides, always just drop shit over the fence.
Ahhh!! Straya :-)
Collect them until you have filled a large bucket and then empty it over the fence, which is fine because they like that sort of thing.
I like this idea. However it may get you killed.
I nearly did something worse a few years ago. My neighbour (a hospital nurse who owned her house) hosted a party. I overheard two women near my side-yard fence laughing and saying "No don't! Don't!" and then a group of them laughed loudly. I thought ah well, at least they are having fun. Two days later my wife said I should see what lay on our side of the fence. We took photos of two used sanitary pads. I said I would attach them to a brick with a rubber band and chuck it in their pool. She begged me to do nothing and leave the matter to God. With volume I replied "Witness my solemn oath. This time I leave it to God but if anything else comes over only God can stop me." I elaborated what would then land in their pool, before disposing of what I should never have to clear up for anybody. Nothing ever came over again, that house was eventually sold and my new neighbour is ideal.
An anchovy in the front air vent of a car can introduce a wonderful aroma inside a car. Just sayin'.
I hear prawns work too :-)
Eggs work the best. Raw egg can reach places no prawn can go.
Ahhhh, untraceable revenge, the best sort.
So where exactly is the front air vent??
They love parking their car right in front of my house, and use their garage as a store
Base of the windscreen. The wiper motors usually divide the inlet vents.
Collect first pee of the morning 2 days in a row. Put in a cheap adjustable spray bottle and adjust to Stream setting. Leave in sun 2 days to 'ripen' and then spray liberally under front door, on doorknob, in car vents on car doorhandles etc. After all they've pee'd you off, now its their turn.
i'm too scared to question you, but you sound like your experienced in such matters…
omg. i'm happy all my neighbors are good people!
Yeah, you are lucky. The worst possible thing when you buy a property… rotten neighbours.. :-(
Put them in a little box and post them to them and hope they have to go and collect the parcel… may cost a couple of $ but worth the laugh.
I saw this a few months ago.
Ship Your Enemie Glitter
WE SEND GLITTER TO THE PEOPLE YOU HATE.
Glitter as a Service: want to p*$$ off someone you dislike for only $9.99? Let us send them some stupid f****g glitter that is guaranteed to go everywhere.
Im seriously considering this
really? I don't get it. I know a guy who has a very similar website (I checked that it wasn't his.) Seems to be the thing to do atm!!??
How about asking them to ask "their guests" to stop doing it, potentially saving them face while getting the point across? Also consider starting the conversation on a friendly note (aka small talk) so they can hopefully be in a more receptive mood to your request.
This is excellent advice - as much as these people might be assholes you have to look at it from their perspective and taper your approach to suit. Keep it light, quick and force a smile!
Do not get drawn into saying,"Oh I know it's you doing it you bloody liar!" etc - don't be too passive as it's a fair and reasonable request but know what you're going to say and deliver your lines and exit stage left.
When I was young and stupid I rebuilt the engine of my car in the driveway of my apartment. The neighbours collected the oily mess that was flowing down into the creek and left it in a container on my doorstep. Made a pretty good point I thought.
I also liked the idea of the camera.
If they don't stop I'm sure the council would be happy to fine them for a number of offences.
The neighbours collected the oily mess that was flowing down into the creek and left it in a container on my doorstep
lol is your username short for OilSlickMick, then? :P jk
They do actually break down & can be good for your garden & plants ( cigarette butts not filth ). Other than that gather them up over a period of time in a non disposable plastic bag & deposit on their doorstep with a polite note to say that they somehow left their belongings in your garden, so as a good neighbour, are returning them to their rightful owner.Wish you a good day & more than happy to keep returning your goods to you in the future should the need be necessary, although next time might only beable to make the delivery to your letterbox.( or whatever else you can deposit the bag in ).
Should it continue, the other ideas on here with security cameras are a great idea & might be worth mentioning to the offending people.
+1 for the cameras, sadly. But this is what we're reduced to in 2015.
I'd advise getting at least a four channel system to cover most areas. Without knowing your property and if there's obstructions etc, you may decide more cams are needed.
Some four channel systems come with an eight channel receiver-recorder so you can add cams as needed.
Depending on your situation (leasing/owner), also install mirror window tinting. Aside from it keeping you cooler, you can "curtain-twitch" all you want and they'd never know. I bought two rolls from a Victorian based eBay trader and installed it myself. There's plenty of tutorials on Youtube.
Is he still doing this?
I'm studying Torts right now for my law degree, and this can easily be found to be a trespass to your land or a nuisance to your land, and it would be very easy to bring a claim for damages against them so long you have evidence in front of a magistrate.
He still does that once in a while. I usually just pick up and throw it back over where it belongs. I'm just so over getting worked up with his antics and want to get on with life. But as you say, I might start collecting the cig butts as evidence in case it gets worse.
Any other tips on gathering evidence?
Take photos of the cigarette butts every time they appear, on the floor. Take photos in regards to the proximity, time of the day, frequency. If you can, test how well your phone or any other device records talking in your pocket, and just walk up to the front door and ask politely if he smokes. If he says yes, then ask him if he throws butts in your lawn.
As for a case in the magistrates, make a big deal of how you really hate smoking or cigarette butts.
Also be VERY careful about throwing things back in his lawn, that can be seen as YOU trespassing on HIS land.
SA…. damn :\
http://www.nobutts.com.au/SA.html
Anyways, report to the cops and say he has been throwing lit butts over the fence and it is a safety risk. A white lie to catch a bigger douche, sounds fair to me.