Kids playing/taking stuff in my front garden/drive - aibu?

[houseplantz]

I live on an estate where everyone in my culdesac has a fenced in drive /front garden but me - mine isn't fenced in, but from my front door to the path and street I'd say is about 15ft and I have decently long parking space, but no car atm.

We have lived here for a year and get on OK with the neighbours

They're terraces, but we live on a corner one, so more like a semi detached

When we first moved in, the house had been unoccupied for a few years and neighbours (relatives of other people on my street) were in the habit of jumping the divider / 3ft wall between my drive/front garden and next doors front garden and walking 2ft in front of my living room window which faces my drive/the street, to get to another neighbours house as a shortcut.

I put up a 4ft little wood fence over the top of the brick wall because I was getting really tired of getting up in the morning and seeing a random neighbour/kid/teenager 1fr from my living room window, usually just cutting through and looking straight into my window

Lately with it being the summer holidays lots of kids are out on the culdesac which is great, it's friendly around here, the noise doesn't bother me, but a lot of them have started sitting on my drive/front garden within a few feet of my front window. It wouldn't be acceptable to go through the gates and go into other people's front gardens so I don't know why they see it as OK to do on mine

The last few days I've had groups of little lads taking handfuls of slate/gravel from my front garden under my window and next to my fence, picking up bricks/stones from against my fence and smashing them/using them to break toys etc whatever they're messing about with

I know they're just kids but I don't understand where their parents are and why they let them do it.

I have ptsd and anxiety and I find it really stressful sitting on my sofa and having a group of kids smashing stuff up a foot or so from my living room window, not to mention my dogs bark but it doesn't deter them

I could understand it they never saw me and it looked unoccupied but I put down slate and I have lots of planters and solar lights out on there. And I'm out a lot messing about with my plants and taking my dogs walks so it isn't as if it looks unoccupied

Am I being unreasonable not wanting people on my front garden/drive constantly? Or should I just deal with it? I'm just tired of coming downstairs in my dressing gown and coming face to face with children as soon as I open my curtains 😂

This really won't take a genius to sort out... go outside and tell them to get out of your garden.

Yanbu but sounds like you need a properly fenced in garden as 'subtle' clearly isn't cutting it with these kids...

Surely you just need to fence the whole garden in?

You need to just go out every time they are there and say in a bright, breezy voice ' kids, this is my garden, not the park - off you go!' and stand there till they leave. Do it every time, in the most boring, non-confrontational way. If you get angry or react to them they will treat you as entertainment and keep doing it to see how angry you get. If that fails, get a bigger fence and gates up.

If they hear my front door or back gate open they run off before I get chance to say anything 😂 and I don't want to get a reputation of being a grumpy bastard when the neighbours didn't like us when we first moved in due to us being a gay couple. I've had the same kids shout slurs at me before so it's pathetic to admit but I'm scared of them. Especially because I have ptsd I'm scared of confrontation lol

It's a bit of a rough area but I get a lot of faggot, queer, bender, etc from local kids/teens so I'm scared to rock the boat so to speak

If it was me i'd erect a tall fence and plant gooseberries and/or thorny roses either side.

And if I had the funds to do so I'd move out, they'll only get worse as they get older.

I'm very antisocial and territorial though.
My house and garden are private and kids entering it without permission would give me the absolute rage!

You poor thing, sounds rubbish! You shouldn’t be scared in your own home, what does your partner say?

Put a fence up to show the boundary and motion activated water sprinklers.

Fence and gates. Absolutely worth it.

Plant some pyrocanthus (sp?) as a boundary.

Tell them to bigger off and remind them that you now live there and your not comfortable with them hanging around your home.

Erect a proper fence too and keep the gates locked to prevent them returning.

Filthy buggers !

I'd put a fence and gates up, high enough to give you privacy and keep them out.

Go out and tell them. You need to get angry or have a few strong drinks for courage

BB gun? Ok, not really, but of course you’re not being unreasonable. It’s hard to suggest without seeing the garden. You mention a wall and fence, is it quite low?

Fences with anti-climb paint on them.

I'm disgusted to read that these children have shouted homophobic abuse at you. Don't be anxious in your home, get them off of your property. Who cares if arsehole homophobic neighbours think that you're grumpy?

You need a fence really. Is it rented? If so perhaps request fencing from the LL or council and explain why. If owned then it may be something you need to invest in even if you have to save for it.

I'd completely fence it off, it solves the problem.

A friend of mine had similar due to being on the corner, people would cut through his garden as they kept mistaking it for the council grass bit on the pavement. He solved it by digging little holes and planting lots of different plants in like lavendar so it couldn't be mistaken for side grass, and then putting a bird table in.

There will be some way to do it that isn't too expensive and means they can't do it any more. Honestly, I'd do that rather than speak to them as you can brush it off as changing your garden rather than 'get out of my garden' or 'I don't want kids in the garden'.

• make the fences higher
• add new fences

Hard to tell without a picture

No grass for a nice “automatic” sprinkler?
Tell them to move, kids are mean but the more they know your scared the more they’ll act up.

Best long term option is a fence/driveway gates so they can’t walk on without opening it.
Property behind us has a similar issue but kids play in the back garden as the dad has “done his up”.. it’s been on the market for a while that’ll be fun when it sells, gardens full of toys/bikes n usually kids.

Can u post a pic or diagram

Definitely fence or they will just continue! Good luck op!

Fence it in, only way to permanently stop them. It is awful you are being abused. I wouldn't be rude to them (as tempting as it is and as much as they deserve it) but a smiley shouted out the window "oi what you doing with my rocks you cheeky wotsits" all said in a laughing tone might defuse the situation and clear them off!

YABVU to not include a diagram.

Water sprinker. Even if you have no grass - you can say you like the sounds of 'rain' falling. And a fence, or herbaceous border.

Better fencing or roses (or other thorny plants) might help. Maybe calmly ask the police what they suggest? Maybe get a large plant for inside your window? Do you really like this home, or is moving an option?

Berberis is nice and spikey and grows fairly quickly ..