One benefit of homeownership is that you get to choose how to handle your landscaping. It is a dream for amateur gardeners to design their ideal yards, whether they use traditional grass and flowers, native plants, or some combination.
Homeowners also get to decide how to maintain their yards. Some handle their weeds and other unwanted invasive species with herbicides and pesticides. Others opt for chemical-free options. But when neighbors disrespect your choices, that dream can become a nightmare.
A homeowner in Arkansas took to Reddit to ask the online community for legal advice. They explained a conflict with their neighbor that was continuing to escalate. The dispute stemmed from the neighbor blowing leaves on their property. But, even worse, the neighbor sprayed herbicides on their lawn repeatedly even though the homeowner made clear that they did not want to use chemicals.
As the original poster explained, they initially tried to de-escalate the conflict when the neighbor sprayed chemicals along their fence line. "We didn't want to have a big conflict and it was just a few inches of grass," the OP said.
They reiterated that it was less about the grass and more about the principle. "I'm more upset about the chemicals being sprayed onto our property without our permission," the OP said.
A healthy environment begins with personal choices. That's why it can be so frustrating when aggressive neighbors attempt to disrupt a choice you made that is good for the environment. Some residents have taken to the internet to ask for advice on preventing their homeowners associations from forcing them to remove solar panels from their roofs. Others have complained about nosy neighbors cutting down trees without so much as asking.
Disputes with neighbors often turn out to be the results of misunderstandings or mistakes rather than purposeful aggressive actions. That's why it is so important to have open and honest conversations with our neighbors.
But commenters were quick to offer advice for when conversation doesn't work.
"Read your easement and if you don't understand it, take it to a real estate attorney," one suggested.
Another offered a different tactic: "The name for this is chemical trespass. … The local [Environmental Protection Agency] would be interested."
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