A Florida homeowner turned to Reddit for advice after a long-running dispute with a neighbor over a mango tree took a disturbing turn.
The homeowner explained that the neighbor had an issue with branches from their tree encroaching into their yard. After a while, the Redditor realized their tree looked to be in poor shape, and they later discovered the reason.
"I saw my neighbor erect a large step ladder, climb up to the tree, and begin spraying the limbs with some sort of chemical," they wrote.
At that point, the homeowner knew their neighbor had been doing it for a while and expressed horror that the tree they and others — including their infant child — ate from could be contaminated.
"My questions are: Is this criminal? If not, do I have a civil case despite the tree still living and unproven damages (as of yet)?" they asked.
A few commenters offered straightforward advice to seek legal counsel and to contact a specialist to assess the damage.
"You should probably also engage an arborist to check out the tree and see how damaged it really is," one said. "This could turn out to be an expensive lesson for the neighbor. Mature trees are often surprisingly valuable."
Another added: "Your issue sounds like something for the department of pesticide regulation with [agriculture]. They have the capability to ID the pesticide used."
The discussion highlights how neighbors can cause difficulties with environmentally friendly home solutions. Trees are immensely beneficial to homeowners and wider communities, but overhanging branches can lead to conflict. In this case, the Redditor might have sought common ground earlier, but the neighbor's actions escalated the dispute.
Many common herbicides carry serious health risks, contaminate groundwater, and kill off insects that are critical to ecosystems the world over. The damage done by the neighbor far exceeded any inconvenience the overhanging branches may have caused.
TCD Picks » Upway Spotlight
💡Upway makes it easy to find discounts of up to 60% on premium e-bike brands
|
Do you worry about having toxic forever chemicals in your home?
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Majorly 😥 "Herbicides can harm the entire plant, that's the point of many of them," one of the comments pointed out. "It's cool for the neighbor to trim the branches but usually not cool for them to trim them or kill [them] in a way that harms the tree."
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
