about neighbours using petrol as a weedkiller

[IceBeing]

We have a strip of grass in between our drive and the neighbours drive and they have occasionally run their lawn mower over it when they are doing their lawn, which we haven't said anything about as we don't mind.

We came back from a trip and found little patches of dead grass on this strip...so we popped a letter through their door asking if they knew anything about it and if so, what they had used.

They responded that they felt they had to take action as the weeds were bringing the tone of the neighbourhood down...but because they have children too they hadn't used anything nasty but had put petrol on the weeds instead.

AIBU to think that using petrol as a weedkiller is U in the first place but doubly so if you put it on someone else's grass?

the weeds are bringing the tone of the neighbourhood down?
HAHAHAHA!
What are they doing? yelling, swearing and drinking beer on an old sofa on the front lawn until 2am

i'd tell them to not put anything down on my lawn again. Ever.

and that I'd have a word with the weeds about their behaviour.

Petrol? fucking hell!

Is there a history of not getting on? Just seems a bit odd to me to put a note through their door instead of just asking!

I might be showing up my lack of science understanding here, but is petrol not one of the most highly flammable liquids there is?

And they poured it on the grass just outside your house?

Good job a passer-by didn't fancy a fag just at the point they passed your house after your neighbours had just poured petrol on the grass.

Did they do it to your lawn? I would be very angry!
How often do you mow it?

I'd class petrol as something "nasty" to pour on grass personally.

For starters, it's highly flammable and the vapour is explosive, so it's a fire risk.

Secondly, possible side effects from petrol exposure include nausea, vomiting, skin irritation, eye irritation, lung damage (if you were to inhale petrol vapour) dizziness, headache, drowsiness.

I suppose the chances of a child eating enough petrol soaked grass to cause problems are very slim, but even so, it's not a harmless, risk free and healthy weedkiller.

petrol . Bloody idiots.

what happens if someone flicks a cigarette butt on it? how long is it flammable for. (we'll ignore the pissing rain that has probably diluted it).

no-no history of bad feeling - just very quiet (them and us) so it seemed better to send a note rather than risk misunderstanding....they also aren't native english speakers, so again a note seemed the best way to make things clear.

It is mostly the seeps into ground and doesn't break down easily part that bothers me...We grow fruit in our garden and don't really want petrol on our soil...

Blimey.
Scorched Earth strategy there.

They could of just used white vinegar or bleach.
Your neighbours are daft I would ask them to not use flammable substances so freely near your home.

Petrol will stop grass (or anything else) from growing back there again. They probably wanted to kill off the grass whilst you were away and make sure that anything else planted there wouldn't survive.

I would be very surprised if that patch of grass grows back. Also the petrol will leech into the soil. We had a small spillage from a petrol mower and it scorched the grass. We had to dig the patch out infill with new soil and relay a piece of new turf. Bloody stupid idea to kill weeds with petrol, they've got a nerve doing that!

its obviously to much bother for them to go to their local wilko and buy some weedkiller

your grass,i would not be happy

It's actually a crime. My car pissed a tank of petrol out on the drive through a split hose. I called the fire brigade for advice and they told me I was an environmental criminal as I risked polluting a watercourse. Potential unlimited fine. You could tell your neighbours this if you want to look helpful!

It's only the vapour that's flammable, not the liquid.

It depends on what route you want to go down.

Petrol is hazardous waste and they can't be using it as s weed killer, Environmentsl Health would be happy to have words, if they aren't from the UK they might not be aware of this.

I worked with a family from Punjab and there was stuff that they didn't realise they couldn't do, no Malice, intended.

You can just speak to them and see what their attitude is.

Compost the area well, meanwhile.

Nothing says class like brown patches on a lawn does it?.

Wouldn't weedkiller equally pollute the water source, in fact more so because it doesn't evaporate as much as petrol and at least as toxic

because they have children too they hadn't used anything nasty but had put petrol on the weeds instead.

Unleaded fuel (as all fuel now is) has a load of benzene in it as an octane improver, so the argument that it's somehow safer is bollocks: benzene is a nasty carcinogen.

What Huckleberry said and I would be having words, what an idiotic thing to do.

Weird...also weird is that you put s note through their door- -do you not talk to your neighbours?

Don't know about weedkiller, madam - car didn't run on that!

Wondering if you live near me - a few days ago was walking to the shops with my little boy in his pushchair. Noticed a small plume of black smoke ahead and a foul smell, got closer and saw a man in his 60's burning weeds on his driveway ..... with one of those plastic refillable petrol cans about 6" from the fierce flames and maybe 4ft from a car (and no bucket of water nearby in case things got hairy).

On the walk back I saw his driveway now looked a complete and utter mess.

If you want to kill weeds without nasty chemicals, you can pour boiling water on them.

Oh no - no malice on either side. I think we will indicate to them the hazards of using petrol in gardens and call it a day. Hopefully they will take the advice at face value as friendly advice and not get upset with us.

I personally can't find time to give a crap about weeds...but I don't want to lower the tone of the whole neighbourhood....