Neighbor Complaining About Our Lawn Care - Weeds/Pests

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Without an HOA, you have the right to do anything you want with your lawn, but it is extremely rude not to take care of any flowering or seeding weeds that will spread themselves in the wind into your neighbors yard. That's the plant equivalent of letting your dog out to wander and poop in the neighbors yards. As long as you keep your weeds in your yard, you're fine.

So, what to do? I would treat an area of your yard along the border between your properties, say about 3-5 feet wide to help create a barrier so that weeds don't send roots towards his lawn. Also, you should treat any flowering weeds within about 10 feet of his yard. What to treat with to avoid anything harmful to your pets or children? You can use vinegar. Pour or spray on plants and it will start killing them in 15-30 minutes. You can also use 1 teaspoon rubbing alcohol in 1 liter of water. It will kill plants by dehydrating them. As I said, I would treat a strip of your yard by your neighbor's edge and then spot treat any weeds that are flowering or releasing seeds. You're free to do whatever you want, but the neighborly thing it to be respectful of a neighbor who wants a weed-free yard by making sure that you're not spreading your weeds into his yard.

OP here - thank you for this suggestion. I'd definitely be willing to try vinegar. Especially just on a 3 foot area where our lawns meet. That would sound like a fair option. Our lawn isn't that big anyhow. I might try that out this weekend.

I'll see if I can find a picture and post it. To be fair, our lawn is pretty weedy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:put a walkway or a border of some kind on the property dividing line...

OP again - we thought about this, but thought it could make it worse. Then, we'd have to weed between the stones or whatever. I thought it'd have the potential of making it look even more 'unkept'.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess we're "lucky" in that our neighbors on both sides have "natural" yards, so nobody complains about the fact that we have as many weeds as grass. In fact, when I asked one of them (who also has young kids) if we should use weedkiller, she was horrified.

One thing I have noticed in other neighborhoods is that some people with natural yards put up a little sign that says "Natural Yard - No Pesticides Used." It makes clear that you're not lazy, but rather that you are intentionally not putting chemicals in your yard.

are you in Arlington? I have a very neat border, take good care of our landscaping--plants, pretty flowers (get compliments all of the time)...our yard is almost complete clover. It is green. DH mows and trims once a week and you can't tell from a distance. The white caps pop up about the day before he mows...then they are mowed off. Teh benefit is our yard stays green while the grass lawns sizzle to brown. Our neighborhood looks very neat, well-kept and many people have professional lawncare---and many have weeds just like ours.

[Anonymous]

OP, tell your neighbor you solved the issue and a goat is being delivered next week.

You crazy people with your lawn obsession! Most lawn grasses is not native to the US. Huge waste of time and money. Why not hire a landscape architect and get native plants and a low maintenance yard?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would kindly suggest to him that he should speak to his lawn service, because they apparently aren't doing the job properly if they aren't preventing/killing off the weeds in his yard. What is he paying all that money for?

As long as your yard is mowed, it seems very reasonable to me. I'd probably change flower beds to require little/no weeding in the future.

Any suggestions on how to make it look decent with little/no weeding? Sounds perfect!

Plant tall, dense plants close together to prevent sunlight from reaching the ground. Use a ground cover like ajuga or lamium. Think more natural flower beds than manicured gardens. Black eyed Susans, Lobelia, Hardy Hibiscus, etc.

[Anonymous]

I'm glad I don't live next door to you with your weeds. What a pia. If you would just seed it over and throw some compost over the seeds and water it until it sprouts (5-10 days) the grass would over take the weeds in no time. But you're probably too "busy" for that.

[Anonymous]

OP, how about going without grass? http://www.flickr.com/photos/71295146@N00/2299611792/

[Anonymous]

Rip out the lawn entirely. Put down a pours weed mat. Pour pea gravel or granite gravel evenly over the yard about 2" thick. plant a few very, very drought restart perennials. They'll come back every year without you doing anything.

[Anonymous]

A porous weed mat^^

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rip out the lawn entirely. Put down a pours weed mat. Pour pea gravel or granite gravel evenly over the yard about 2" thick. plant a few very, very drought restart perennials. They'll come back every year without you doing anything.

Sorry that's plant "drought resistant" perennials...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would kindly suggest to him that he should speak to his lawn service, because they apparently aren't doing the job properly if they aren't preventing/killing off the weeds in his yard. What is he paying all that money for?

As long as your yard is mowed, it seems very reasonable to me. I'd probably change flower beds to require little/no weeding in the future.

Any suggestions on how to make it look decent with little/no weeding? Sounds perfect!

Plant tall, dense plants close together to prevent sunlight from reaching the ground. Use a ground cover like ajuga or lamium. Think more natural flower beds than manicured gardens. Black eyed Susans, Lobelia, Hardy Hibiscus, etc.

Dear GOD do not plant Black-eyed susans if you are not an attentive gardener--they are incredibly invasive and hard to eradicate once they are out of control.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm too busy with the kids to worry about what my neighbors say about my weed-filled, overgrown "lawn." Don't sweat it. I'm sure your 401k isn't optimized, your gutters need to be cleaned and you aging Asian hatchback left an oil spot on the street. Whatever.

OP again:
Just to respond, I figure the 401K thing isn't anyone's business anyway, but we do have someone who comes twice a year to clean the gutters. I figure that's a home maintenance issue. I don't want clogged gutters and I don't want the water falling off our house and into our basement. The weeds and ants don't seem to be as consequential to us.

And, you're right about our aging Asian car, just that it's a sedan. It's definitely no late model Lexus SUV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm too busy with the kids to worry about what my neighbors say about my weed-filled, overgrown "lawn." Don't sweat it. I'm sure your 401k isn't optimized, your gutters need to be cleaned and you aging Asian hatchback left an oil spot on the street. Whatever.

OP again:
Just to respond, I figure the 401K thing isn't anyone's business anyway, but we do have someone who comes twice a year to clean the gutters. I figure that's a home maintenance issue. I don't want clogged gutters and I don't want the water falling off our house and into our basement. The weeds and ants don't seem to be as consequential to us.

And, you're right about our aging Asian car, just that it's a sedan. It's definitely no late model Lexus SUV.

But they are to your neighbors. You realize you live amongst other people, right?

[Anonymous]

Just ducked in to say thank heavens we live in a community with an active HOA. No yucky cars parked on the street. No weedy, unkept lawns. No bizarre house colors. Yes, it can seem kind of cookie cutter sometimes. But that's what we wanted. If your neighbor was so concerned about the neighborhood lawns, he should have bought in a community with a strict HOA. We can't allow our grass to grow over four (I think) inches. We can't have weeds. We can't plant any trees or shrubs without approval. We can't build kids play sets without approval from the architectural committee. We can't paint our house without getting approval on the color. Our trash cans have to be completely out of site. And they must be removed from the curb within 12 hours. We have tons of rules and regulations. And I love it! We did get a note last year requesting that we power wash our driveway. But that's the only time we've ever been contacted.

I understand that others would hate that lifestyle. But we were willing to pay more to live in a neighborhood where people actually cared about the appearance of their homes and lawns.

[Anonymous]

OP, just wait, the older neighbor will eventually move and you'll wind up as we did with a nudgy gardener type replaced by a family that could care less. I figure it's good for us, now our very imperfect lawn and half-hearted attempt at flower beds look really classy in comparison. And I keep thinking that the gardener who used to live in the house next door would be horrified if she knew what her yard now looks like.