Neighbours fallen out with us

I'm not sure you had an easy going relationship to lose - be glad he doesn't want anything to do with you.

OP - I would suggest contacting the council and saying that you believe that bats are being disorientated and disturbed by the device. Bats are legally protected unlike your ears. It’s roosting season so if you’re feeling particularly malevolent- contact https://www.bats.org.uk/our-work/national-bat-helpline

We once had a neighbour who played really loud music which we could hear inside our house with all doors and windows closed. Both detatched houses with a double garage block in between - that's how loud it was. Politely asking them to turn it down had zero effect. One day they left it on and went out. They never used to lock their door so I went in and unplugged their music centre. I called the police and told them what I had done and they said I should have put a hammer through it!!

Get a camera up front and back, a decent one.
It might give him pause if he can see clearly that he will be recorded.
Are you allowed to have flood lights that impact your neighbours gardens?

We aren’t on good terms with our neighbour because they, like your neighbour, are selfish and vindictive. Putting a loud (and ineffective) device up that disturbs the peace is utterly unreasonable - as evidenced by the council’s demand to them to remove it.

You can’t “win” with people like this because even if you win you lose - they will now be petty and unpleasant. Some people only know how to be selfish and spiteful and the concept of neighbourliness is thus lost on them.

I know it’s hard, but basically… ignore them. Who cares what they think or want any more? You cared before and tried for a nice resolution but they don’t have the capacity for compromise. My life is immeasurably better since I stopped caring what my absolute psycho of a neighbour thinks or does. And if it’s unreasonable I just report report report. (I don’t use the word psycho lightly, he was standing on the boundary of our properties filming us for repairing our drains on our own land, letting his dog out at 11pm to bark for an hour every night, for weeks on end, hiding our waste bins down the street -in other people’s gardens!!… completely unhinged). Some people are just dicks.

Am awaiting karma with baited breath. Ds 17 is moving into dd's room which is next to the worst of our ndn's.
Ds and his Xbox.

Tbh OP your neighbour sounds like a right cunt, to have ignored the desperate requests by multiple neighbours. I would have disturbed them if I saw them in their garden by playing really loud music (I would have pre warned nearest neighbours to make the aware it was a temporary thing)

when we had our kitchen redone it was about a month of building work and I went round all the neighbors with 'thanks and sorry cards' with nice chocolates...

Those devices are totally antisocial and he was highly unreasonable installing it in the first place and especially for not adjusting it.

You did all you could to act with reason and he decided not to be reasonable. The issue is him so I'd give it no further thought. It's not likely he was ever going to be a bestie worth having so no great loss...

You’ve had a neighbour with antisocial behaviour most times it’s impossible to get that to stop. You managed to get him to stop the rest is just fluff. well done you

Your neighbours may be too polite to complain? Or maybe it's only the children who can hear it?

yanbu at all.
one of my neighbours has a cat scarer. They don’t work. But they do make a god awful noise. I’m just thankful we aren’t that near to it. I don’t blame you at all for complaining.
the only perspective is he’s a twat and you never really had an easy going relationship, only he did.

We have a similar garden issue with our neighbours, used to get on well, we both just blank each other now. It becomes easier/normal over time! You were totally within your right to do what you did. Stand your ground and don't feel the need to feel any guilt at all.

You were only exercising your legal rights. People are given them for a reason.
It was stupid of them to ignore all the requests. A fake sparrowhawk on a wire would have worked better without upsetting everyone.

In an urban area, I don't understand it either, the birds are fine as they are but on arable farmland birds aren't welcome as they eat planted seeds.

Thats good, so the poor cat cannot wee and poo in others gardens, cannot leave hair behind where childrens are alergic to, cannot destroy the plants and veggies and cannot delight herself to a pigeon in front of the children! All pets should be kept in the owner property only! And before anyone jumps in, i do have 1 dog, 1 cat and 1 rabbit but none ever left our property to disturb the neighbours in any way. Some people they decide not to have a pet, and thats ok, but it doesn’t mean you should consider letting your pet roam freely just because some neighbors are nice and respectful

sorry, I see you did, OP. Oh well. It's resolved now.

Also, the OP wasn't the one who contacted the council...

Those are not bird scarers they're designed as fox/cat scarers. I have cats but use these because we get foxes (living at the end of next door's garden!) and they terrorise my cats. It's a faff switching them on and off daily but they work and have not had any complaints from neighbours.

Sounds as if the 'd' word is setting in as they are elderly. Percieved slights real or imagined, world getting smaller and too much time on their hands so keep talking over stuff and it becomes us againgst the world bat shittery.

We had new neighbours a few years ago. Both quite elderly - in their 80’s and very frail. We introduced ourselves and to begin with we got along ok. We’d swap garden plants and ideas, chat, we offered to take them to the garden centre when we were going ourselves, offered to collect groceries/medication etc.
They were both really pleasant and initially very grateful although we did refuse any recompense for fuel but they always paid for any groceries we collected.
Then out of the blue the man turned on my OH for absolutely no reason whatsoever! He threatened him with violence, was swearing and so angry he was almost incoherent!
My OH is really calm and non-confrontational so he just walked away and we haven’t spoken to them since.
They glare and pull faces at our house, they slam their door if they see us in our garden, they light bonfires at any time of day when they know we, and other neighbours, have laundry on the line to dry.
I am at a loss as to why this couple now behave this way as we know we’ve done nothing to warrant being treated like this.
They rent and we own and I’m hoping they move before long as we can’t even go out to clean the car or work in the garden without one of them shouting, slamming around, swearing, or lighting fires! It is truly draining.
There’s nowt as queer as folk!

Yep, way to go, OP becomes THAT neighbour and ends up in trouble with the council.
Good idea in your head, but not helpful irl.

Yep, way to go, OP becomes THAT neighbour and ends up in trouble with the council.
Good idea in your head, but not helpful irl.

Are these neighbours stone deaf, or do they not go out to their garden at all? It reminds me of the constantly yapping and barking dogs in the neighbours garden. I can never figure out how the owners don't hear them, same for the bird alarm thing. How?

You were totally reasonable! They’ll just have to get over themselves!