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oc/bear spray vs. garden thief/tresspassers

smileyguy697

smileyguy697

I'm having troubles keeping the neighbors out off my yard and this weekend was the last straw. They had a diaper party and baby shower on saturday and kept coming in my yard to look at the garden. Now the kid who had the partys dad just loves the peppers and kept coming over with people to show them of. Ok, thats cool w me till they started picking my pods.. I saw them through the window and went outside and stopped them... He only grabbed two so not a big deal right?.. So then they left and all was cool till my gf and kids came to my work. The kids were upset and the baby (3 years old so not really a baby) was crying. I asked what was wrong and they proceeded to tell me that people at the party were riding mini bikes through the pumpkin patch. Now this is ware it gets complicated... I got pissed and couldn't do anything about it cause I was at work so I called the cops. We talked and I told them me and dj (the neighbor) had talked about it this spring. Dj told me I could put the pumpkins on the side of his garage and let them grow into mine so they were actually planted on his property. So the cops went and talked to them and said they can't do much since the plants grew off there property but got them to stop. Actually the damage wasn't too bad and they just clipped off a couple feet of the vines. The cops also told me dj said he wanted to talk about it in the morning and I decided that was fine. An hour or so later djs gf came to my work and jumped my ass and said since we called the law I had to move the plants but they would wait till m orning and we could talk once dj sobered up. Well that didn't happen.. I came home from work and started getting texts to come outside cause he wanted to fight cause I called the cops. I decided I'd wait and try and talk it out in the morning cause there was like fifteen dudes out there and didn't want to get jumped. He then proceeded to tell me he would mow them down in the morning. I waited till 4 am and went out to check the initial damage and realized since I wouldn't come out to fight they ripped up the plants to his property line.



My 3 children are now devastated, I don't think the cops will do shit and these assholes keep coming in my yard. so the plan is I'm going to buy some oc or 3.3 million shu bear spray and the next time they are messing with my shit lite him up. I figure that will be hot enough to subdue them untill the cops can get here and haul them off for tresspassing unless I can get in trouble for this. So the million dollar question is can I do this top protect my crops? Oh and not that it matters but they trashed the zucchini plants I had with the bikes too but cops cant do shit cause they don't know who was on the bikes.

I'm soooo pissed and feel like there is no options left unless you guys have one.


Sorry for the rant
Mike
 
Just chalk it up as a loss and let things settle down. Then try to make peace. I know it sucks but it's not worth fighting with neighbors over a few plants. 
 
Not sure what the law is, but if they're constantly trespassing surely there's something you can do? Have you talked to the police or anyone about what to do about just the trespassing?
 
I know it's the principle of it but bear spray in Illinois use is a deadly weapon. Then they would bring out guns. Not worth it! Build a fence or make up in time.
 
Right on.. I prolly been overreacting a bit but not sure what to do. We are going to put up no tresspassing signs this weekend but as for now the cops are no help. I just figured a good blast of mace would set things straight but didn't think about them coming back with guns. As for the pumpkins they are still alive dispite the fact they were pulled up by the roots and some of the vine destroyed. can't really put up a fence cause I rent and don't feel like eating the cash.. I suppose there's always next year. Until then I'm just going to try and keep them out of the peppers.. I've also decided were no longer friends and it's more of a loss for them cause they aren't getting any veggies from me
 
Out of curiosity. How expensive could a fence be ?
I mean you do not need electrified barbed wire or guard tower posts.
Just some poles and some wire, one or two feet apart and cover that with some sort of straw fabric.
Poles could  be 3 feet tall, doesn't really matter.
How could it be that expensive ? Is it because there is a lot of area to cover ?
I really don't think there is other way to keep people out, other than perimeter delimitation.
 
That's an unfortunate situation, best of luck with whatever you decide. Seems like best/safest choice is to let things cool down.
 
Stake no trespassing signs on property line. Take pic of them when they cross it. Call cops. Show evidence.

While a nice douching of bear spray would be great there is a good chance you'd end up getting arrested for assault, unless he attacks you, but just for a physical trespassing less means should be taken. Could also escalate situation into him pulling a real weapon and sounds like he isn't always sober either.
 
yeah if you escalate the violence i'm sure they will just reply with something more and then you will and never ending till someone leaves or gets put in jail. Like other stated if you use pepper spray and cops are called you are probably going to have to go to court. You might even be booked for assault with weapon depending on how crappy your story / witness accounts are.
 
Reconciliation by stating you didn't mean to be mean to them just are fiercely protective of what you are growing and then giving them a peace offering of some of your garden produce.
 
Then this winter i would build a fence with a no trespassing sign on the gate... or move out if you are in a rental. Another option is getting a nice protective dog (might be a good idea anyway, loves your family wary of other dickheads).
 
moving out in my opinion is extreme if he moves out  then the neighbor wins not to mention he would have to leave his plants. and setting up a fence in a rental just seems like a big waste of money. call it a loss of a friend and some plants and move on, its not worth it escalating the problem with some bear mace
 
fence and chalk it up to sh*t heads.
 
You need a fence for a few reasons! They tend to keep white trash at bay....
 
Dont spray anybody, you will definitely get the worst of it from the cops.
 
PrimeTime said:
fence and chalk it up to sh*t heads.
 
You need a fence for a few reasons! They tend to keep white trash at bay....
 
Dont spray anybody, you will definitely get the worst of it from the cops.
Click to expand...
what about a Tazer ?  :party:
 
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I don't know how big of an area it is, but metal posts and wire are about as cheap as it gets.
 
     If your neighbor's douchenozzlery continues, maybe contact your landlord. He may not appreciate hearing that his tenants are being harassed to the point where they are considering moving. Neighbors like that tend to bring down property value. Your landlord may be compelled to talk to the police and support your story.
 
When you planted the pumpkins on his land you opened the door for him to check out your garden.  Surely you'd be sharing some of the bounty with him, so he probably thought it wouldn't be any trouble to help himself to pods.  The mini bikes over the pumpkin vines - when you're told something via text or over the phone its still a good idea to see for yourself in order to make sure your reaction is appropriate.  Calling the cops was likely an over reaction that cost you the pumpkins and probably his friendship, unless sober heads prevail.  
 
My advice is to cool off and avoid pepper spraying the guy if at all possible.  If you're living in a rental get out as soon as you can (note that you will be able to appeal to terminate the lease if you are being threatened).  If the house is yours go to the police with his texts and voicemail - they will decide the appropriate response.  At the very least the cops will have the authority to sit him down and have a chat.  The man has threatened your well being and appears the type to escalate.  Unfortunate, but maybe the next place has a bigger yard and a neighbor who wants to share garden bounty with you :)
 
Yeah you don't have to fence the whole yard. A handful of T-posts and 50 ft of fence is enough to set the boundaries and keep the mini bikes out. Just make sure the fence is inside your property line.
 
And forget about the no trespassing signs. Waste of money, encourages target practice.
 
Man, I say put up a fence. Neighbor troubles are terrible. Not much is worse than an asshole neighbor with a big mouth. Put up a fence, be kind, be quiet, be a ghost, and let him be the asshole.
 
SG,
 
Not taking side just looking at both perspectives.
 
There is a lot to be learned from this experiance. First dont plant anything on anyones property except your own. Unless you are paying for the space or he is planting something with you. In both case, if I planted something on someone elses property I would consider the plant more theirs than mine and if i got some fruits of it even better. If i were to ever do this it would be nothing but a bonus crop. Anytime the cops are called on anyone they always get defensive, he may not have known what was going on untill it was done and now he has cops on his front door. I'd be upset too if I thought that we were friends and all of a sudden cops show up that you sent. Why didnt you just call him, I hope to believe he was just as excited about harvesting the crops as you are, and was upset that kids were destroying them too, but since the "law" was called it's on....alcohol doesnt help the situation anymore than bearmace would. Someone has to be the level headed guy here. If you were friends before you can be friends again. When the opprotunity presents itself you should ask him over to have a chat, apologize for calling the cops, as hard as it may be, the peace is worth swallowing a little crow. State you case and make him aware how much your garden means to you and your whole family.
 
You dont need to move, you dont need to build a fence, and you definatly dont need to get bearmace.  Without talking it out anything you do short of moving is just going to be viewed by this guy as negative.  You need to attempt to make peace. If not the situation is only going to escalate. You guys will constantly be trying to piss the other one off. The friendship and peace would be worth more to me than a couple ruined plants.  Mother nature destoys our work too, and we just move on.  There is always next year, sure it sucks but whats done is done, all you can do is move on.
 
I hope it all works out for you, please let us know how it goes. 
 
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