Would this annoy you? Nuisance neighbour?

[krisssdd]

Basically I find my neighbour quite a nuisance and I am not sure if I am over reacting.

She has wind chimes by my side of the fence so I can hear them at night as my bedroom is at the back.

She has multiple cats who would poo in my garden but then didn't like it when I got a motion activated sprinkler and blocked up the hedgehog hole.
I have young kids and didn't want them coming across disgusting cat poo.

She has multiple plants growing over my living room window which I shall be cutting back but again why plant a Buddleia on the boundary by my window?

Some days she will be doing DIY in the back garden past 9pm.

I wanted to be civil with her but now match her energy, ie not saying hello.

With the summer holidays and having kids at home it's just noisy non stop past 6pm most nights.
AIBU

But cats jump fences anyway.

Open up the hedgehog hole that is just horrible.
Cut her plants down on your side no big deal.
You could ask her to try not to do DIY in eves if you have young kids or its excessive.

I'm always amazed at the number of cats who poo in neighbours garden but there are never any mention of badgers or fox poo, or whatever other wild animals.

Poos in the middle of a garden are much likely to be fox rather than cats.

Cats used to bury their poo, don't they do that anymore

Yes they are. I have 5 buddleia bushes in my garden, and there are 100s of butterflies - and bees all over them.

You have my sympathy with the cat poo and wind chimes. Sounds like my previous neighbour. The whole place stank or cat poo which had to be picked up before my kids could go outside and windchimes right up against the fence are just so antisocial.

I assure you cats poo wherever. We had five next door in a past house with no foxes in the area. They were seen pooing in the middle of the garden, on the doormat, on netting covering plants and making no attempt to bury it. Current house has foxes and there is no mistaking cat poo with fox poo, they smell different and fox poo is usually a complete mess.

They usually do on their own turf, but if they go into a NDN garden they like to leave it as an "I Was Here" sign.
My two cats come indoors , use their tray and go out . Occasionally the male will pee in the border but nothing more .

Hedgehogs do eat slugs and snails but they also carry fleas and ticks . (My old cat picked up a tick , possibly from a hog , we used to have them in the garden )

If you open the hedgehog hole then they will have at least another garden. Your NDN with cats could leave them some food ( they can eat SOME Types of cat food , fresh water but never bread and milk which used to be trotted out as a good thing . It isn't )

Random shit in the garden could well be foxes , it is oily in appearance and stinks . So does hedgehog pooh .

The DIY - check the time constraints , there will be resrictions
The windchimes - no help except maybe hope they get tangled .
Buddleiah you can cut back , it is very robust and attracts butterflies and bees .

@Justhereforhealthtopic- Thankyou. I have actually seen them do it mid poo and have chased them away.

This thread has turned into a hedgehog post with me as the bad guy when all I am trying to do is protect my kids from picking up cat poo from my neighbours multiple cats.

you keep banging on about keeping your children safe.
by now even you should have got the message.
cats jump
Hedgehogs don't
You are endangering wildlife
No one thinks this is clever
We all think you are really cruel.
Unblock the hole.

My nan believed an old plastic coke bottle filled with water kept the cats off her lawn... try that?

@krisssdd There are two types of neighbours. Those that are considerate and those that are inconsiderate.

If you are dealing with 'considerate neighbours' you could pop round make friends and sort things out amicably.

However, it sounds like you have the other type. The ones that believe they can do whatever they want because it is their home. e.g. I want to hear wind chimes because they sound pretty to me and I do not care what other people think. If anyone says anything to me they can go jump cause they are in my garden and I WANT THEM.

These are adults that have grown up not respecting boundaries that others have put down. They simply do not care. As bad as it sounds it is down to you what to do next. You can either accept it, fight or move.

You could invest lots of money to cat proof your garden, raise the fences, cat deterrent devices. Cover up the sound of wind chimes with a sound you prefer.
But there will always be something because the reality is that this your new normal.

If they rent you could try to speak to landlord but this might backfire and they may up their behaviours. The law is useless when dealing with low level nuisances. In relation to your local noise enforcement team, you would need a strong case and wind chimes and children playing out will not warrant an investigation.

Now if you are thinking of moving you cannot raise any type of official objection to any behaviour as you will have to declare to buyers. I chose to move, I miss my old home but I moved within the area, so not a total fresh start. However, due to the level of stress caused by my neighbours I wish I had moved earlier as it was not worth it in the end.

@krisssdd I could not resist responding with my regular username.

You do realise that i am an endangered species right?

Cats do not use my highway through gardens. They traverse upon the top of fences etc.

please please unblock the hedgehog highway, my friends lives have been made very difficult due to no way through gardens and get squished on the road a lot.

thanks in anticipation.

The kids aren't called Alex and Gabriel by any chance are they? Same noise here all day long and then when dad gets in he's just as noisy. 25 houses and just one noisy family. No consideration whatsoever. Apart from that it's lovely and quiet around here. Oh and one yappy dog Further over.

Wind chimes would annoy me. You need to start with a conversation with them.

Unblock the hedgehog hole, and educate your neighbour too, so that she unblocks hers. Long term, the health of your children is better served by having a healthy eco system.

Does the motion sprinkler work? Otherwise a solar thing that makes a noise and also scares rabbits worked for my sister. I think planting rosemary would be a good idea too. grows quickly, cats hate it, and you can use it in cooking.

Can you identify how and where they access your garden?

Blocking a hedgehog hole. What a lovely thing to teach your kids. Not.

Well this thread has helped restore my faith in humanity with the overwhelming support for hedgehogs and hedgehog holes

Windchimes and thoughtless planting - YANBU.

Hedgehog hole and DIY whilst it is still light outside (up to 10pm) YABU.

The hedgehog hole you can sort out by creating a tunnel out of either wood (box shaped tunnel) or plastic drainpipe. Whilst the odd cat might squeeze through a small hole, they won't squeeze down a tunnel. You could also inform the neighbours so they can reinstate their hedgehog holes with a cat-proof tunnel.

Like this https://amzn.eu/d/0eMcmSf1

I’ve had cats for most of my life and I’ve never seen one use a hole to access the neighbour’s garden. As previous posters have said, cats jump and there’s not much you can do about that. Glad I don’t live next door to you. It all sounds like a load of old nonsense over nothing

We are also the local cat toilet, despite having cats and dogs of our own to ward them off. Tbf though we do have areas of gravel and wood chip which is a bit of a mixed message for the cats. We check before the kids play out.

I couldn't get worked up about this stuff. Windchimes at night - I grew up by a creek with boat bells all night, it was idyllic (much better than sirens and traffic noises). Cats being cats - again I would just do a quick poo check before using the garden. Plants growing and needing pruning... DIY on summer evenings.. Children playing out... I have bigger problems.

I am annoyed about the hedgehog holes though and it being justified as being for the children. My kids built a hedgehog house and we watch them come a go on a motion camera. And the foxes, birds and all the many cats too. Well worth the inconvenience of picking up a bit of cat poo. Because nature (and kids valuing it more than their own convenience) is important and precious.

100% this. Unbelievable that the OP is doubling down over and over and refusing to admit she is wrong. Nearly all of the posters on this thread have told her to unblock the hedgehog holes, and even begged her to, but she's refusing.

Why? Just why? What a bizarre and dreadful attitude. I have never met anyone like this in real life.. And I genuinely hope I never do. All she cares about is that she's 'been made to look bad' on this thread. No-one has made her look bad, expect her. And she is annoyed that her thread has been turned into a hedgehog support thread! 😕I mean, it beggars belief, honestly.

.

Yep

No-one has made her look bad, except her... Not expect her! Left it too late to correct typo!

That gif is adorable @Hedgehogforshort 😍

You both sound delightful. Maybe move to somewhere far away from other people and wildlife .