Neighbour kids climbing in my garden

[littleHollow]

Neighbour boys on the back play football against my fence all day long which is annoying but my problem is they climb over into my garden to collect them. I have never kept their balls as I throw them over if I see them on the garden so I don't understand why they keep coming over for the balls. I have caught them I don’t know how many times on my garden and asked them politely to not come on to my garden. The mother is well aware of what they are doing so going to speaking to her I feel isnt going to get me anywhere. As I am writing this I have had to ask them again to not come on to my garden . I have also ask if they could play facing the other way with I have just heard the kids slating me for it. I’m not sure where to go from here. I feel disrespected and feel like I have no privacy and I don’t want to go on my garden as I’m just waiting for balls to come flying over and can’t relax. The kids are polite and do apologies but they are back over the next day. What should I do about it?

Stab their balls and throw them over into another garden.

Also, spikes on fence on your side so when they grab it to hoist themselves over, natural selection will exact justice.

Take the balls every time and refuse to answer the door, they will soon stop

This is your answer unless you are prepared to go round and tell the mother to stop them climbing over the fence. Otherwise get a big dog.

The mother is aware that they climb over. I over heard her last weekend when I was throwing them back over saying “I don’t know why she effing throws them back” to which I replied with “because if not your kids are in my garden” and she didn’t say anything. They climb over if she’s in garden. I don’t really want to have issues with them but I’m on edge at home just waiting for it to happen.

Speak to the parents (both if you can manage)
Ask them
to tell the children to not kick the ball in the direction of your garden
to tell them not to going into your garden
And for the parents to buy extra balls and to put up a net to stop stray balls coming over.

As they are children you can not spike the fence nor otherwise create a dangerous trap.

You could lay down mature cow manure which is old enough not to smell bad but loose enough to stick to runners
Or plant long thorn plants
Or put up a wide hole net on long poles on your side of the fence

Can you put some netting on top of the fence (2 or 3 foot)? Should help stop the balls & make it harder to climb over.
You shouldn't have to have the extra expense but it may solve the problem.

This isn't going to stop l am afraid @littleHollow. The only thing you can do is preventative methods like mentioned previously . So sorry.

@littleHollow if its your fence may I suggest vandal grease its very effective and their mum will soon stop them playing against the fence and climbing over it as vandal grease is a bugger to get out of clothes 😈

Plant berberis on your side of the fence, it's an evergreen plant so gives colour all year, which discourages large animals because of its thorns.

I'd tell them that you will throw back any balls you see but if they come again you will report them to the police for trespassing and do an online report. I think if you make three or more complaints there is a legal requirement for the police to come out so it shouldn't take too long to resolve one way or the other. Even better if you put a security camera up.

Woman donated balls to charity when they kept coming over and 2 hit her in the face. She spoke to the club and asked for an apology. They didn’t apologise so she donated them.

It was reported to police as theft and she has been ordered to pay £26 to replace them.

She says she has been told by police she will be interviewed and the matter could end up in court if she does not cough up.

The police can’t deal with a civil matter.

Ooooh good idea 👏

love that !

I think you first need to have another word with their mother, explain it’s irritating balls keep coming over and her children do not have permission to climb in your garden and ask them to kick the ball in the other direction, put some netting up their side to stop them coming over etc. Depending on the response you get, I would then be tempted to put something up your side of the fence to stop them climbing over. Maybe some kind of bird spikes, but before doing it, tell the mother in person you will be doing it and then put it in writing and film yourself hand posting the letter. That way if the little shits carry on she can’t claim you’ve injured her kids!

That is shocking.

I’d stab them, “what ball?”

I’ve posted about this previously when in a similar situation in my previous house (though to be fair they were not climbing into the garden - just constantly kicking balls against and over my fence).

What worked in the end (after speaking to the kids - tween age- and their parents with no change in behaviour) was picking up the balls and taking them inside.

When the kids came to get them I said I would only return them to their parents. As they were at the back of us this was a 10 min walk.

Parents were not happy at being inconvenienced but that was the point of the exercise- which I was perfectly clear to them about.

Took 4 “pick ups” till they realised I meant it and they finally took action and insisted their kids played at the local recreation fields (along with loads of other kids) 5 mins away.

I second the vandal paint, assuming it’s your fence. Or just Vaseline for starters. And a motion activated sprinkler. And things that just generally make them feel less welcome- like loud comments on their poor ball control.

Also, when the balls come, bring them in and return them the next day.

Throw them back with great enthusiasm and joviality, but with gross incompetence such that they land on their roof, on your roof, in the middle of some brambles, through their kitchen window, or somewhere else similarly inconvenient or inaccessible.

I also have the issue of kids coming into the garden when they kick balls over. They kick the gate open (which has actually broken our gate now) and they don’t shut it, and are well aware that my three year old is often playing in the garden. It’s infuriating and I don’t know who they belong to, so I can’t complain to their parents and ask for money towards a gate replacement. They have to kick the ball quite high to get it over as the back of our garden is a shed and tall fence.

How high is the fence?
Are there shrubs and/or hedging against it?

As PP's have suggested, increase the height using trellis and plant hedging interspersed with pretty but spiky shrubs.

Anti-climb paint on your side plus pyracantha planted.

@littleHollow even better than vandal grease, find yourself some dog poo and using a bag as a holder, put it along the top of the fence!! i dont think you are legally allowed to put spikes or barbed wire on a garden fence as a deterrent!!

borrow a friends dog for a few weeks..

Think this is the way to go - inconvenience the parents until the behaviour changes.

You've tried to politely address their children's behaviour with them on multiple occasions, and they simply don't care how it affects you. You say you don't want to fall out and have issues with your neighbours - but they've had no problem doing that to you.

Anti climb paint. It wil be the best money spent this summer....