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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Obsessive neighbour losing the plot over leaves

578 replies

Sparkies2012 · 13/11/2023 20:40

Our neighbours are a relatively elderly couple and since they moved in have had a bee in their bonnet over leaves that blow onto their driveway. The gate to our driveway is opposite to their open driveway, separated by a narrow road. Our next door neighbour has a massive old tree in their garden that produces a lot of leaves, most of which fall into our driveway. We don’t really bother collecting the leaves, as it is an endless task at this time of the year, but the elderly couple is constantly on at us because the leaves blow across the road into their driveway and the odd one gets in their front door. Now we have told them we don’t produce the leaves, and they don’t bother us, so if they are bothered by the leaves either pick them up or take it up with our neighbour who owns the tree. But now they have even started collecting them in black bags and, under the cover of darkness, leaving them in front of our driveway gate, or throwing them over our fence. I’m tempted next time they do this to open the bag and dump it over their driveway again. AIBU by not picking up the leaves in our garden?

OP posts:
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13
Ballsbaill · 13/11/2023 21:25

Seriously go round her house and knock the door. Dump the bags back and say it's not your tree and tell her who's tree it is.

Tell if she does it again you'll report her for harrassment and fly tipping. Tell her you have a ring door bell and know it's her.
Say it to her face, no games. If she does it again report her.

catsnore · 13/11/2023 21:25

Christ it sounds like you live opposite my old neighbours. One of them used to sweep up leaves with a dustpan and brush every bloody day in the middle of a gale - utterly pointless!! Once saw them dusting the leaves in their garden 😂

They tried similar tricks to yours. In the end my husband had to be quite rude and point out to them that if they didn't like leaves they shouldn't have bought a house on a tree lined street! They said they would never speak to us again. Result!!!! 😂

SoUtterlyDoneIn · 13/11/2023 21:27

GrannyAchingsShepherdsHut · 13/11/2023 21:25

OP needs to put this on and then get in a bag on their drive and wait for them to try to move it before erupting upwards like an avenging angel

They're elderly so they could become heavenly beings themselves very soon after this trick was pulled.

AtomicPumpkin · 13/11/2023 21:27

Isn't it time your uncle's very territorial Alsatian came for a visit?

fetchacloth · 13/11/2023 21:28

Oh FGS I had this issue with my previous neighbours who were a complete PITA over it 🙄.
I just ignored them tbh and got the bunting out when they moved away.
I think they were expecting me to alter the wind direction 😳

fetchacloth · 13/11/2023 21:30

catsnore · 13/11/2023 21:25

Christ it sounds like you live opposite my old neighbours. One of them used to sweep up leaves with a dustpan and brush every bloody day in the middle of a gale - utterly pointless!! Once saw them dusting the leaves in their garden 😂

They tried similar tricks to yours. In the end my husband had to be quite rude and point out to them that if they didn't like leaves they shouldn't have bought a house on a tree lined street! They said they would never speak to us again. Result!!!! 😂

😅😅😅

LylaLee · 13/11/2023 21:36

You've got several outfit options for when you go to talk to them. Or to wear when you drop the nuke.

Obsessive neighbour losing the plot over leaves
Obsessive neighbour losing the plot over leaves
Obsessive neighbour losing the plot over leaves
Sparkies2012 · 13/11/2023 21:44

Loving all the leaf outfits 🤣🤣🤣

OP posts:
DaisyMaisyFaisy · 13/11/2023 21:45

They are definitely bat shit! It does save you sweeping them up I guess.

can you reach over a fence and dump the leaves in their back garden when they are out?

SkyFullofStars1975 · 13/11/2023 21:48

Get a leaf blower.

It'll give you hours of fun.

GoodlifeGlow · 13/11/2023 21:55

They are nuts!
But equally local gardeners would happily come and collect all those bags of leaves for leaf mould…. Put them on Facebook marketplace £1 a bag! Ask weird neighbours to supply more.

FloofCloud · 13/11/2023 22:04

Jesus sone people really don't have enough to do!! - I'm with the CCTV route - photographs printed of them doing it abs staple to the bags!

Santaiswashinghissleigh · 13/11/2023 22:04

Our neighbours over the back had a tree surgeon cut our tree right back to the trunk on one side. It had a TPO on it. Man from The Authorities said never mind it will grow back. Why bother putting a TPO on them you pillock?

Whalewatchers · 13/11/2023 22:11

Scream "THEY'RE NOT MY FUCKING LEAVES" whilst opening the bag and tipping the leaves over their driveway 😉

SlippinJanie · 13/11/2023 22:12

Wasn't this in an Alan Bennett monologue by Thora Hird in the 90s? She wanted to put out a sign saying "Not our leaves"!

Aquamarine1029 · 13/11/2023 22:16

Definitely give the nutters a good scare by telling them you are giving CCTV footage of them fly tipping on your property to the police.

Actually do it if you need to. The fucking weirdos.

Nagado · 13/11/2023 22:17

If it wasn’t for the hedgehogs, I’d be inclined to empty a bucket of glitter all over their front garden. Their brains would implode.

CaramelMac · 13/11/2023 22:23

Leaves fall off trees in Autumn, this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone I’ve the age of 4. I’d be phoning social services on them, I’m worried about my neighbour, she’s preoccupied by leaves and thinks I have some control over them, I don’t even have a tree on my land, and she keeps leaving her collection blocking my gate, I think the poor old dear has lost her marbles and needs assessing whether she’s safe out in the community or should she be taken in to an institution for her own good?

fetchacloth · 13/11/2023 22:27

SkyFullofStars1975 · 13/11/2023 21:48

Get a leaf blower.

It'll give you hours of fun.

I've got one of those and they're really noisy. Just to give them something else to moan about 😆

Jimmyneutronsforehead · 13/11/2023 22:28

Extend the olive branch and make them a custom Leaves KEEP OUT sign, so those pesky leaves will finally get the message.

TheCadoganArms · 13/11/2023 22:30

Surely just keep the left bags until spring and then start sprinkling just a handful of leaves on their lawn every few days just to confuse them.

Heatherjayne1972 · 13/11/2023 22:31

So that’s where my old neighbours went
they’ll be cutting the grass verge with scissors next and sweeping their roof with a dustpan and brush

lucky you ( not)

Renamed · 13/11/2023 22:32

Why are people bothered about leaves for the love of god. Beautiful trees, cleaning our air , giving us beauty. In the autumn they drop leaves. Maybe even on your lawn. SO THE FUCK WHAT. What’s so terrible about leaves all of a sudden?

LusaBatoosa · 13/11/2023 22:33

StrawberryPavlova · 13/11/2023 20:54

Would appreciate a diagram to understand the path the leaves are taking, thank you.

Otherwise, next time they witter on, just tell them you'll have a word with the leaves and ask them nicely if they wouldn't mind staying off their drive and just wafting down the road instead.

Would appreciate a diagram to understand the path the leaves are taking, thank you.

This almost made me wake my baby! 🤣🤣🤣

CrispsandCheeseSandwich · 13/11/2023 22:33

They'd be ridiculous even if it was your tree.

But since it isn't, I don't know why they're involving you at all? Is it that the leaves fall onto your driveway, and then because you don't get rid of them, they blow over? Even if you got rid of the leaves this would happen. Not every leaf would be on your property, and also there'd be a gap between then falling and you being able to pick them up, during which time they could blow over. Obviously the mistake I'm making here is trying to apply logic to these people!