Anonymous wrote:My dad was a lawn master type. He would seed the bare patches under the swings. But even he didn't get huffy about kids cutting through our yard.

That's nice, but it's absolutely fine if the OP doesn't want her property to be the neighborhood cut through, even if your dad might have felt differently.

My dad was a lawn master type. He would seed the bare patches under the swings. But even he didn't get huffy about kids cutting through our yard.

My parents are dealing with kids and parents treating their yard like a public park and it makes you feel like you’re being taking advantage of. What’s worse…hating you for taking a stand or thinking they can disrespectfully walk all over you while using their children as cover.

Plant some dog poops.

Don't want to revive this whole thread because WOAH but question:

Does anyone with a background in insurance know if allowing people to use your yard as a shortcut sets you up for a claim if someone gets hurt (by slipping, tripping, dog, etc.?) when they are walking through? What if you expressly tell them that they have to provide in writing that they are crossing through your lawn at their own risk and they acknowledge that it's "not safe" to walk there?

Anonymous wrote:Well, I for one wouldn’t care for kids traipsing through my yard, and I still believe in private property.

Put up a fence or plant some rose bushes.

Holly bushes are pretty and pointy

Anonymous wrote:Get a dog and fence your yard. If they complain say that you need the fence for the dog. That way it isn’t a fence just to be a jerk.

Option 2 - ask for the cul de sac parents to pay for a walkway or pavers before your yard is a muddy mess.

Wanting privacy is enough reason for a fence. You don't need a dog.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you putting up a fence or what????

It's cost prohibitive at this point. But definitely on the wish list!!

Set up motion activated sprinklers.

Much cheaper—and more satisfying to watch.

Halloween decorations are so helpful. I had a similar situation and put up spider web decorations and other decorations like a roped graveyard to prevent kids from cutting through. It worked great. The kids then got used to going around.

If you don’t have the $ to fence the whole yard, maybe something smaller around the area the kids cut through regularly.

I'm a former litigator and you would be shocked at how many people sue their friends and neighbors for injuries sustained on their property. I once had a case where a woman sued her best friend after breaking an ankle when she missed a step leaving the friend's house. It's awful, but you really can't trust people once money is involved.

OP, as long as you have actual knowledge of people regularly walking through your yard, you could be liable for any injury. And even if you're not legally liable, that won't stop someone from suing you and causing you a big hassle.

If you're not ok with the risk, find the money and build a fence.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, the guy doesn't want kids playing in his yard but wants to walk through ours (and the other neighbor who he also won't allow those kids to play in his yard).

There's definitely no easement. He claims the real estate agent said there was and real estate agent says the previous owners said this. I doubt that's true as they'd lived there for decades (much longer than we have lived here) and they certainly never walked through our yard that we saw.

Moot point because he doesn't have a leg to stand on or any right to walk through our yard and even if he had the right to walk through OUR yard there's a yard in between us and I don't know how he'd get to our yard without an easement from that other family.

Yeah, you should tell the kids this. Explain that because your kids are not allowed in their yard, they are not allowed in your yard. Say sorry, you didn't make the rule, their dad did.

Anonymous wrote:Are you putting up a fence or what????

It's cost prohibitive at this point. But definitely on the wish list!!

Anonymous wrote:Are you putting up a fence or what????

Yes! We need an update thread when there’s neighborhood drama!

Are you putting up a fence or what????