What to do about a jerky neighbor?

[magster65]

We live in a quiet, family oriented neighborhood. There's lots of kids, people walking, pets... a very cozy place really and everyone gets along. One fella' differs though. He's decided recently that everyone elses pets are his enemy. He has 4 cat traps in his yard baited with fancy 9-lives canned food (most cats love that). He traps the cats and 'stores' them for a day or two, then takes them to the pound. Pretty well every neighbor has had the pleasure of dealing with this now. His motivation for this is that he saw a cat sitting on his motorcycle once. There's no place for a cat to take a crap on his property, it's all grass. He's had numerous complaints against him for this and the cops have come to talk to him about his aggresive attitude at the pound (if the kitty could talk). Anyhow, now his latest way to **** everyone off is that he took the muffler off his weed wacker and cuts his grass with it Sunday morning... about an hour and a half. My neighbors are either old or have kids and don't want to confront this goof. I'm losing my patience... what would you do?

 

[ob]

Re: What to do about a jerky neighbor?

Ignore him and enjoy your family.Guys like that feed off of attention.However if the guy crosses a certain line,which many of these sociapathic types won't,it's part of their game,perhaps he'd need a little talikng to face to face.Perhaps a bit more.BTW,I think everyone has at least one weird neighbor.As I get a bit older,I'm beginning to see why JB lives at the hideout.This becoming ever so more modern society seems to breed these types.100 years ago,a good country *** wuppin detered this behavior.I don't have the modern solution.

 

[RPJS]

Re: What to do about a jerky neighbor?

Don't give him what he want's, this type of a..hole enjoys confrontation and will flick everybodies ears untill somone retaliats. Play him at his own game, next time he cuts his grass pop your head over the fence and tell him he's done a good job, his grass looks great and how nice it is that he looks after his garden so well.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: What to do about a jerky neighbor?

Well, you could always burn his house down. <br /><br />I would call the cops if he's making noise in the morning. There may be a noise ordinance in your town....anyone caught blowing leaves before 8:00AM here gets 20 to life. Even if it's not specifically against the law, you can certainly file a complaint. Just like a loud party. If the cops have to come back week after week they're not going to be very happy either.<br /><br />Maybe he wouldn't have to mow the lawn if some roundup accidently got spilled on it?<br /><br />Where is his house in relation to yours? Some carefully placed 1000 watt halogen lights from dusk till dawn might change his view on things. Or a 1500 watt metal halide that would make him think the mother ship is landing. <br /><br />As far as I'm concerned ignoring the problem makes you a coward. Whether you want to do something nice and polite, or mean and illegal is the question.

 

[michael-lagrange]

Re: What to do about a jerky neighbor?

Put a mean wild cat in a suitcase and drop in his front yard so he will learn about cats!<br /> get a tracphone from wall mart (no contract, untraceable #) use it only to call him in the wee hrs of the knight 1 or 2 times a week, And as soon as he answers the phone press play on your tape-recorder so it says -- please hold a representitve will be with you shortly!--let him hang up first, I do that to my bother in-law all the time and laugh like heck while he complains about it.<br /> use your imagination like i do just dont cross the line more than a pinky toe.

 

[roscoe]

Re: What to do about a jerky neighbor?

You could turn off his water, or play with his sewer and water bill a little.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: What to do about a jerky neighbor?

Does he ever get anything other than a cat in the traps? If there is any other wildlife that gets trapped, he should have a permit. I know in the states its okay to trap a domestic animal but not anything wild. So,,,,maybe toss a road killed animal in the trap (a stinky skunk would work), snap a picture and show it to the authorities. <br /><br />Or option 2,,,, turn his name/address/phone number in as being a cat rescue shelter.

 

[Rattle-]

Re: What to do about a jerky neighbor?

Wait til dark, and liberally toss handful after handful,(boxes) of salt onto his lawn, if you can reach it from your place. Table-salt is less conspicuous. After awhile...no more lawn...<br />Theoretically...

 

[JB]

Re: What to do about a jerky neighbor?

A lot of very bad suggestions here.<br /><br />Cats. Seems to me he has a right to "protect" his property, mean as his method seems. Muddy pawprints on vehicles are a nuisance. In this area cats that run loose are considered feral and often are never seen again. Malicious retribution will only make things a lot worse and get you in trouble with the law.<br /><br />Unmuffled weedwhacker is a different thing. You might be able to find some law that requires him to muffle it, even if it is some vague "public nuisance" law.<br /><br />Whatever you do, be civil and legal. Feuds have no place in a quiet, family oriented neighborhood.

 

[fireman57]

Re: What to do about a jerky neighbor?

Go to the library to the periodical section and open all the magazines so the drop cards fall out of them. Fill them all out with his name and address and check the box that says "bill me later". I do agree with JB but this way you can at least have a little fun without destroying anything. Had to do something to get my 1500th post.

 

[CN Spots]

Re: What to do about a jerky neighbor?

You have a neighbor that actually mows their grass?!<br /><br />Lucky stiff.<br /><br />Mine has let his go so long that I can no longer see the stack of semi tires and the dishwasher and the grill and the doghouse (no dog) and the boat trailer (no boat) and the big pile of scrap iron that he stacks in his front yard.<br /><br />Come to think of it... I like it better UNmowed.<br /><br /><br />spots

 

[Laddies]

Re: What to do about a jerky neighbor?

I'm with JB on this I have cat problems in my neighborhood, cat should not be allowed to run free (like most cat owners think they should) they come into my yard kill the birds and baby rabbits and the owners say it's just their nature. I really am sick of it but if you kill or trap them your a SOB. As far as the weed wacker thing there must be sound ordinices call the cops and get him a ticket if he is do it. If your cats are in your yard he cannot catch them or harm them, if they are in his yard they are a pain just as much as the dogs that come in your yard and chase your cat.

 

[Kwas]

Re: What to do about a jerky neighbor?

sounds as though most here are trying to make a criminal out of magster. If his neighbor is breaking the law report him. I frequently have to call code enforcement on my neighbor and report him and they take care of it.

 

[LadyFish]

Re: What to do about a jerky neighbor?

Our friends have a similar problem in their neighborhood. Somebody is poisoning dogs. Three found dead a few weeks ago. Ou friends keep their dogs inside a fenced yard but ocassionally the kids leave the gate open and they escape.<br /><br />This person is sick and I hope they catch him soon before he/she destroys another family pet.<br /><br />

 

[KRS]

Re: What to do about a jerky neighbor?

Originally posted by Kwas:<br /> sounds as though most here are trying to make a criminal out of magster. If his neighbor is breaking the law report him. I frequently have to call code enforcement on my neighbor and report him and they take care of it.

What law is he breaking???<br /><br />He sounds like a jerk, but removing trespassing animals (didn't kill them, took them to the pound which is just like calling animal control) is his right, isn't it? I would have a problem with meandering animals too.

 

[KRS]

Re: What to do about a jerky neighbor?

Ladyfish, I hope they catch him too, killing the animals isn't the solution... neither is a roaming dog. Your friend is as much to blame for the dog problem as the jerk is. If their dogs are getting out, it IS a problem.<br /><br />I was attacked as a kid by someone's "good" dog. I never saw him until after he bit me.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: What to do about a jerky neighbor?

The guy is well within his rights to trap & turn the kittys in.....<br />As long as he is not mistreating them while in custody....<br />If he were really mean, he would just kill them......<br />Outdoor cats are for those who really don't want the responsibility of owning a pet, & it is selfish to assume that he should have to put up with their lack of responsibility.....<br />As far as the weed wacker....<br />How about a staight on confrontation, "AS IN"....<br />"Must you do that on Sunday morning, while everyone is asleep" & if you must, you need to put a muffler on it.....<br />Offer to pay for the muffler if necessary...<br />That is an offer he can't refuse....<br />Shame him into it!<br />While I would never poison a dog, once again a lack of responsibility on the owners part for letting them get out....<br />They could just as easily get hit by a car......JK

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: What to do about a jerky neighbor?

oops!

 

[kenimpzoom]

Re: What to do about a jerky neighbor?

Buy a weed whacker muffler and donate it to him. You could just drop it in his mailbox.<br /><br />I own an outdoor cat and fully understand that if it is on someone elses property, it is fair to trap it. But it rarely leaves my yard. It never gets on cars or on my boat. Darn good cat, caught a mouse in the garage yesterday, and takes the abuse from the the 3yr old daughter. <br /><br />Ken

 

[magster65]

Re: What to do about a jerky neighbor?

Here's some more info on this jerk.<br />In the beginning… <br />Jerk has 3 motorcycles, 2 of them Harleys with fairly loud pipes on them. So every weekend, first thing (7ish), he goes out and warms the bike up for 20 minutes on fast idle in his driveway. That's just stupid, air cooled engines warm up quickly. Quite often, after it’s over-warmed up, he'll shut it off, go back in the house and not go anywhere! So, one day his neighbor, an RCMP officer, asked him why he felt it necessary to do that... and that was it. He turned into the noisiest neighbor ever. That's what the weed-wacker's about. I’ve met the cop, he’s in his early 50’s… seems quite nice and polite, married, kids just moved out, minivan... enjoys his yardwork. I’m reasonably certain he wasn’t pulling the tough-cop attitude.<br />The cat issue; he swears that he has cats sitting all over his motorcycle every time he goes in the house. He also says that his dog (a big old hound) howls and barks all the time because the cats are teasing him. He claims to have cat poop all over his yard but he has no sand, no dirt, nowhere for a cat to dig. It’s all grass and concrete and the one small garden is covered with drain rock. There’s nothing in his yard that a cat would have any interest in, other than the fancy food he has in all his traps. So yes, the cats are in the trap in his yard but if he didn’t put the fancy food in the traps, the cats wouldn't be there. At this point in time there’s 2 cats missing and 2 more that have been poisoned (one of which died). It could be just a coincidence but I don’t think so.<br />I don’t have to get involved but he’s annoying me now, as well as anyone else that lives within the block. It’s like he’s got us all hostage or something. I could kick his a$$ but he’ll sue me. He rides like a maniac, I could put a bunch of pea-gravel on the corner that he speeds around every day but that’s ridiculous too. I don’t know… hopefully he moves or something.