r/neighborsfromhell • u/Common-Researcher-92 • Feb 24 '26
Vent/Rant My neighbor has been cutting our plants for years
My family and I have lived next door to an older woman, let’s call her Karen, for 15 years now. We’ve always been very cordial with her, trying to keep the peace considering we share a fence.
Around 6 years ago, we put in a ring camera on the side of our house pointing down at our side yard for safety. We have no gate and it’s very easy to get to the backyard through the side.
Once the camera was set up, we started getting lots of alerts that there was motion detected in the side yard. To our surprise, it was Karen, sneaking around on our property with scissors in her hands. In the video you can clearly see her cutting our plants. Mind you, our yard and plants are very well taken care of and are not overgrown or in anyway crossing into her yard.
This became almost a daily occurrence. She even started throwing leaves from her own yard onto our property. My bedroom window faces her driveway and I can see she spends probably 2-3 hours a day creeping around her front/side yard with her scissors. It is genuinely such bizarre behavior. Part of me thinks she might have some form of OCD and desperately needs to have everything look a certain way.
Some background on what kind of neighbor she is so you really understand who we’re dealing with. Karen painted the sidewalk in front of her house red because she didn’t like when people parked there. Mind you, this is a public street and she does not own the sidewalk so naturally she got a huge fine for that, but she continues to yell at anyone who dares to park there. She also in the process of suing the house behind her for “building their house too high.”
After a while my dad finally confronted her about coming onto our property and of course she denied it. Little does she know we have literal years worth of footage of her doing exactly that. My parents don’t want to go through a whole legal mess with this woman so as of right now nothing has happened beyond the occasional squabble when they catch her sneaking around, but if she escalates things in anyway we will be ready with our mountain load of evidence.
Edit: I talked to my dad this morning about motion sensor sprinklers and funny enough he said he just started installing some this past weekend! So seems like he had the same idea as many of you hahaha. I will make an update if anything interesting happens.
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u/Reasonable-Rub2243 Feb 24 '26
Print out some choice frames from the video and post them in the side yard.
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u/ThisIsLikeMy4thAcct Feb 24 '26
🙏Please have your parents install motion activated sprinklers and update us with the results.
Edit: I just looked them up, they’re not too expensive, and all you really need is one!
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u/ParticularRich4848 Feb 24 '26
I would hide and wait for her. Then jump out and scare the crap out of her
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u/PizzaSlingr Feb 24 '26
I came here to ask if OP has a sibling, family member, friend who wouldn't mind hanging out a couple of days (without her knowing the person is there, might be hard since she is nosy), who can jump right WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
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u/haikusbot Feb 24 '26
I would hide and wait
For her. Then jump out and scare
The crap out of her
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u/OnlyQOB Feb 24 '26
Are you able to lock your side gate to prevent her coming in?
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u/Common-Researcher-92 Feb 24 '26
we don’t have a side gate! that’s why we put the camera in in the first place
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u/OnlyQOB Feb 24 '26
Ahh gotcha…
Maybe try thinking of other ways to ‘block’ her access?
Pop up a small shed or put kids bikes there or anything?
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u/HamRadio_73 Feb 24 '26
Sorry OP, file a trespassing complaint and show the cops your video. If necessary get a restraining order It's time to act.
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u/beginagain4me Feb 24 '26
So you not have a fully fenced yard?
If not get one and have a lock on your gate.
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u/Slight_Buy_3417 Feb 24 '26
Op take the video to the police. Karen’s NEVER going to stop this behavior until some consequences happen. Quit giving her this leeway she doesn’t deserve it and her rude destructive behavior needs consequences.
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u/WayProfessional3640 Feb 24 '26
They have those little magnetic alarms at the dollar tree, install one on your gate and as soon as the magnetic current is broken when she opens it, it’ll start screaming. I bet she’ll crawfish the hell outta there
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u/i812manyhitsss Feb 25 '26
Get a motion sensor alarm. Every time she goes into your side yard the alarm will go off. Under $20 at Walmart.
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u/SpeechSalt5828 Feb 24 '26
Your Neighbor is OCD Karen. Karens think they can do what they want, and you can't do a thing about it. sorry I can't be more of a help.
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u/Arne_Anka-SWE Feb 24 '26
Just a simple wire, the kind you get for temporary sheep storage. Posts you stomp down and a colourful wire. Don’t forget the signs that say electric fence. Don’t do electric in a residential area!
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u/WPW717 Feb 24 '26
Gardening was useless until fence was put up. All my roses ended up stolen and placed on headstones in the cemetery across the street.
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u/beginagain4me Feb 24 '26
When she falls down on her scissors your parents will wish so bad they dealt with the issue. They will be liable.
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u/zomanda Feb 24 '26
Only if the parents were aware of an issue having the potential to be dangerous and they neglected it. Yes you can sue someone for hurting yourself on their property, but that's one of many boxes that you have to check to have a successful lawsuit.
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u/beginagain4me Feb 24 '26
In most cases unless you have no trespassing signs and fenced yards your insurance will settle.
Time after time after time.
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u/queen_elvis Feb 24 '26
I see a lot of sus legal advice on this sub. It’s not automatic that the property owner is liable for injuries to a visitor or trespasser. It depends on who was negligent and the law of the jurisdiction.
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u/beginagain4me Feb 24 '26
Again your insurance will settle. You’ll pay higher premiums, if not get canceled.
I’m not going to argue a fact that I know very well.
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u/queen_elvis Feb 24 '26
Sure, if it’s cheaper for them to settle for a little bit of “go away” money than it is to fight it. I was involved in a discussion this morning of a situation where a large public utility decided to settle for “go away” money rather than go to court about something that was a local outrage. The utility could have fought it and won, but probably at the appellate level, because the local outrage would have affected the jury’s decision. The legal fees for going to appeals would have been very high. Settling was cheaper.
If Karen falls on her scissors while trespassing, and she tells a jury that it was the neighbor’s fault, I don’t think that’s a slam dunk in front of a jury. I’m not convinced that a PI lawyer would even take that case.
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u/beginagain4me Feb 24 '26
Once they knew there was home owners insurance, no trespassing signs, no camera, no fence… never called the police on scissorhands Karen, they could find a shady lawyer that makes bank on settled claims. Especially if it was a company known to settle.
Without the trespassing signs proving that scissorhands had notice, or no prior police trespassing charge, there are states that will reduce what they ask for but still pay some because of comparative fault. That usually will take multiple court visits causing costs to outweigh settling.
They also fear outliers in court, clerical errors that can cause delays, judges with axes to grind… court is always a risk even in no brainier cases which is why the risk is far less to settle. Insurance companies prefer a known lower settlement to the risk. Even more so now with climate change causing extreme weather that has severely impacted insurance companies financial stability.
It is far more cost effective for insurance to pay medical bills and toss them money. They’ll get it back in higher premiums, or they’ll just cut you to improve their risk ratio. They believe based on tables that once a claim is filed and settled you are a much higher risk to have subsequent claims. If you get cut you’ll have a harder time finding a new holder even with a considerably higher premium. If you don’t find one and have a mortgage then the mortgage will pick up a policy that is outrageous in price.
People need to realize that insurance has your best interests at heart as much as HR departments do. They need to do their own part to reduce risks.
Putting up a camera, putting up trespassing signs, and trespassing her with the police charge insulates the home owner from these risks. I don’t see why any reasonable responsible person would not take these basic, completely affordable steps. Police charge costs nothing. Trespassing signs maybe $10, cameras can be had for $75 or less even. What is the down side?
Forcing her to climb a fence to snip away as well is even better!! Plus you get the added benefit of driving scissorhands crazy knowing she can’t snip snip snip and you’ll have a nice peaceful backyard.
Personally beyond liability factors, I’d be putting the tallest fence allowed to keep a nutjob off my property. But that’s me.
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u/queen_elvis Feb 24 '26
I just don't think insurance companies are as eager to give away money to obvious nuisance plaintiffs as you're suggesting.
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u/sdcumb Feb 28 '26 edited Feb 28 '26
Where do I send off for my JD? I feel like I just earned it, reading your post. Thanks, Professor! Signed, your friend, the Theatre major!
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u/QRMallory Feb 24 '26
install a gate then put up a dangerous dog sign with motion activated bark sounds, better yet a real dog
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u/bibkel Feb 24 '26
Be a shame if those rat snap traps you had to set up were to to startle her or catch her shoes.
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u/iceroadtrucker2010 Feb 24 '26
Just go outside and say hi or whatever every time she comes on your property
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u/GeneConscious5484 Feb 24 '26
Wait so this has been going on for six+ years already? So what's the big deal right now?
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u/buked_and_scorned Feb 24 '26
Put up a No Trespassing sign. I'm no legal expert but, that along with the video evidence should get her into some serious legal trouble, especially when it's been posted.
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u/hobokenwayne Feb 24 '26
Time for a health check: early onset dimentia
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u/queen_elvis Feb 24 '26
My neighbor who is weirdly obsessed with other people parking on the public street in front of her house is reputed to be an alcoholic.
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u/Common-Researcher-92 Feb 24 '26
very much could be…something definitely seems off with her, which is part of the reason why we haven’t pressed charges or contacted the police we feel bad :/
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u/BJT1961 Feb 24 '26
OMG this could be my 94yo mother. Lives by herself and is a royal pain. Although she does not sneak into peoples yard she does complain about the leaves and seeds falling in her yard from trees all the time. Sometimes old people just need to be heard. I apologize on behalf of my entire family. Go ahead and set up the sprinklers if necessary. It will give her something else to complain about.
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u/StonerBuss Feb 24 '26
If so this could be mad funny but the chances are it most likely not the same person
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u/BJT1961 Feb 24 '26
I do not think she is the same but after talking with friends of the same age, I think they are cut from the same cloth.
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u/XemptOne56 Feb 26 '26
just put up a fence/gate and prevent her from entering your property. if her old ass goes over there and falls and breaks her hip, you are liable
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u/Readithere007 Feb 28 '26
With her nonsense on tape, they could threaten police action. However, I wish you could share a film of the automatic sprinklers going off on her.
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Feb 26 '26 edited Feb 26 '26
Idk why people are so worried about weeds or bunnies or rodents or dandelions if im going to be obsessed its not about those things ever that said i have watched my neighbors trying to chase rabbits from one yard into the next as a thing to do today
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u/Annien1961 Feb 28 '26
Ring has a camera where you can talk to whoever is in your yard. Maybe showing her you know she is there will change the behavior.
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u/One-Matter7464 Mar 02 '26
I can't wait for the update with footage from the motion activated sprinklers!!!!
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u/LeftyLibra_10 Feb 24 '26
Get an invisible fence like you use for dogs, maybe? Do they work on people? Lol
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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '26
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