A homeowner shared their concerns after noticing that their shrubs, situated along a property line, were browning. The plants in question were on their side of the property line between their land and their neighbor's home. 

"Is my neighbor poisoning my shrubs?" the homeowner asked in a post on the subreddit r/landscaping. 

The OP shared images of the shrubs, which were planted in two rows. The shrubs in the row closest to their neighbor's property were turning brown, and the homeowner found pellets underneath them. 

Opinions in the comments were mixed, with some suggesting that the pellets were slug pellets and the shrubs were just not being watered enough. Others said that the brown parts of the plants were from the sun. "If you look at the shadows, the dead row shades the green row," one user wrote. "The main group of dead ones cuts off at the house's shadow."

Some said the neighbors may have sprayed herbicide on the lawn and harmed the shrubs. "I'm about 99% sure that whoever is spraying their lawn is responsible, because there are plenty of chemicals that are perfectly safe for a lawn but will burn up shrubs like fire," one person wrote.

If this were the case, it wouldn't be the first time that a neighbor had been found to be causing issues. For example, there have been frequent reports from across the country of neighbors making it difficult for people to make eco-friendly, money-saving upgrades to their homes, such as installing solar panels or planting native plant gardens. 

Talking with neighbors and explaining the advantages of such upgrades can be a good way to maintain friendly relationships while carrying out the changes you wish to make. However, if things do become difficult, it is best to know what your options are. This homeowner can't be sure what happened, but talking to their neighbors might be a good place to start. 

Failing that, one commenter had a good suggestion.

"If you're in the U.S. and you have a soil conservation office nearby, you can take samples of your soil and you could take samples of those pellets as well into that office and they will test," they said.

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