Issue With Neighbour Feeding Birds

Warhilt

hazyjo said:

Is he very elderly then? Not trying to write him off here 🙈 but let's just say is it likely to be a long term problem?

PS there's no campervan on the drive or dead dog in a bag for life in the garden is there lol? You write very similar to someone who once had a very famous thread on here 🤣

We don't know exactly but using educated estimates he's probably in his early 80s. He used to have a dove cote in the garden and shortly after we moved in (and realising we had cats), he accused our cats of killing his birds. I asked him to show me the evidence (bird's body, feathers on lawn etc.), but he always declined. Likewise when he's accused the cats of messing in his garden, I've asked him to show me and I'd clear it up and he's declined. Basically he just has a problem with cats in his garden even if they are just walking through. I actually reported him to the Police a couple of months ago after he threatened to kill the cats by any means, and throw their bodies into our garden. There are no less than 15 cats in the locality but we bear the brunt as we have cats and happen to live next door to him. He says he's not bothered whose cats they are, WE shouldn't be letting them in his garden!!

Jeepers_Creepers said:

Warhilt, have you kept a chronological record of these incidences, including as much other evidence as you could - eg photos of these dead pigeons, a recording on your phone of his 'talking' to the birds early in the mornings, a video of him spraying, etc?  If this issue cannot be resolved amicably and is intolerable to you (I do have sympathy), and you need to resort to a claim of harassment, disturbing the peace or environmental health, then a detailed evidence record will be pretty essential.

For him to announce loudly that 'the birds can come out now as it's safe' is almost certainly designed to be antagonistic to you. As for the repeated spraying of Jeyes, lawd help us. (Have you recorded every time he has done this?)

It would seem that his main issue is 'cats'. If you are not a cat owner or lover and other people's cats defecate in your garden and treat it like their own territory, that can be very annoying. On another thread I posted about a friend who has a neighb who lobs stones over the fence at her cat, and posts the collected faeces through her letterbox, so your cranky neighb is not alone. Although their behaviour is unreasonable, it is bludy annoying...

Worth an attempt at resolving this amicably, tho', even tho' I suspect you find him pretty much unapproachable due to his behaviour. Do you know of anything that works to keep cats out of gardens? Things like a PIR-triggered water jet (I bet they work real well...) or even sonic alarms (again triggered only when needed)? If you do, could you find it in yourself to suggest that, if he were amenable to this, you'd be happy to get one of these for him to use; you do understand his frustration at having cats in his garden, and would like to help him sort it in a mutually acceptable manner. 

Of course, he might take you up on your offer, set up the device, finds it works great - but still wakes you up every morning shouting to the birds... 

When I reported him to the Police a few months back, I was asked by the officers to maintain an ASBO diary containing any information about things he's doing which are likely to injure domestic pets and / or wildlife, or any other things we may consider anti-social (I think waking us and a 6 week old at 07:00 in the morning shouting to wild birds would be considered so). I was also told to include retrospective information to assist in building a picture of how we've got to where we are not. For example we can't remember the exact date we found the birds bodies behind the bricked up fire and we didn't take pictures, but the officer said it assists in building a case. The officer said if he makes one more threat whether that be to us or the cats, then we have to call them back on 101 and provide the ASBO diary as evidence. I've got recordings of him shouting along with timestamps, and I've gathered video footage of him spraying including clear evidence of overspraying onto our property. I've also got evidence of his latest stunt (see bottom of this post).

ripplyuk said:

If at all possible, I would cat-proof your garden to try to keep them on your own property. I’d worry this neighbour will harm them. He obviously hates cats. Let’s hope yours are good hunters because with that amount of bird feeders, rats will be the next problem. 

That is the other daft thing - he DOES get rats in his garden (both the flying kind aka. pigeons, and the rodent kind), but he blames our cats for this!! He says our cats bring them onto his property and release them! He also admits to placing uncovered rat poison in his garden and if our cats eat that or the rats that have consumed it and died, then that's our problem. As I understand it placing any rat poison in a way that makes it accessible to other animals and wildlife is highly illegal.

In the past both me and another householder who has a cat bought him £150 of ultrasonic cat scarers (x3) and 9V batteries to power them. We explained that they wouldn't stop cats coming into his garden, but they would prevent loitering long enough to mess or kill any birds. After 2 weeks he returned the lot to us and said they were useless because cats still came in his garden, despite us making it clear that they prevent loitering / defecation but not 'passing by'. He said unless it stopped cats setting foot in his garden at all he wanted to know nothing about it.

Lover_of_Lycra said:

The OP has cats that enter the neighbour's garden, cats that probably !!!!!! in the gardens surrounding the OP's house yet the OP has an issue with with a neighbour feeding wild birds and talking to the birds.

Don't deny our cats go in his garden and I don't have a problem with him feeding birds. What makes a point here is that I don't go out in my back garden EVERY morning (where it isn't raining), and shout "Come on, Come on", and whistle repeatedly. As I mentioned above I have asked the neighbour for evidence that OUR cats are toileting in his garden and I would clean it up, but he always refuses. My personal opinion is that this claim is false or some other cats are toileting. One thing I haven't mentioned yet is that when he was threatening us last, he claimed that a new UK-wide law came in on May the 1st that made it illegal to allow any cat outside - then came the threats and willingness to "do time" if it stops cats coming in his garden. This is why I thought if this guy thinks he knows the law and can fabricate them on the back of threats, I'll introduce him to someone who does - the Police.

Anyway his latest trick is that he's sneaked onto some private, unoccupied land next to and behind our house, and cut a load of big thick bramble branches. He's then brought them back to his garden (I have photo evidence), dried them, and has now woven them into my wire mesh fence in the front garden. He's only done this since he found out we've got a 6 week old and the bramble stems are from ground level to about 18 inches. Any child who touched the fence on our side would have their hand ripped to shreds. As the branches are woven into OUR fence, I'm going to unweave them and throw them back onto his property. He's scattered them all over his flowerbeds which is fair enough - it's his garden. It's NOT his fence however (the deeds to our house say that fence responsibility to the north elevation is ours).

Warhilt

onwards&upwards said:

He sounds like a slightly eccentric old man who likes birds. 

Just let him be and get on with your own life maybe?  

This is the exact point of the post. We can't get on with our life because we have an idiot living next door who wakes us and our newborn every morning with his whistling and shouting to wild birds, sprays a chemical round known to be carcinogenic and causes genetic defects (COSHH sheet confirms this), with no concern as to where it goes or what gets covered in it (our soil, fence, £1500+ patio set, ME!), and attaches things to my fence which are likely to cause injury to other wildlife and our child when he grows up.

From what I've seen on another forum the RSPCA will intervene in the case of anyone who indiscriminately sprays Jeyes around, because it's not just deadly to cats when 'wet', but also to a lot of other wildlife, aquatic organisms, and it strips 'good' bacteria out of the soil.

another_casualty

I cannot stand cruelty to animals , and if I said stronger feelings here then I would be banned from here . Hopefully , that nasty individual next door to you will keel over very soon and not get up very soon . I think that you are going above and beyond pleasing that piece of scum and enough is enough . 

As soon as I saw your posts, it is obvious you will have trouble with rats along with the other neighbours . If you have other neighbours on your side, then I think that you should all congregate on his doorstep at random times and  give as good as you get . 

Sending  a copy that evidence off to the respected charities ( and possibly your local newspaper ) needs to be done ASAP . 

I'd best simmer down , but hope you get this sorted ASAP . He needs to be taken out of that property and put into care . Or in a box ..

bouicca21

Well I would object to being woken at 7 a.m. but the I’m an owl rather than a lark. Almost everyone I know would consider 7 to be a reasonable hour to get up. When I had babies they woke the household at 6 on the dot, so 7 is scarcely unreasonable or unusual. 

I’m beginning to feel sorry for him.  He’s a lonely old man with a bee I. His bonnet.  Take him some cake and get to know him. Maybe even take him for an outing to a local bird watching site.

sammyjammy

Davesnave said:

moneysavinghero said:

Davesnave said:

" He would then find this to be true because he must sleep sometime, and when he did, and the wind was right, I'd be aiming some weak glyphosate weedkiller from a pressure sprayer lance at whatever he has growing. 

Unlike Jeyes, glyphosate breaks down fast, has no smell and doesn't cause any immediate effect, so it would be 2 weeks before he'd notice much.

That would be criminal damage. Would also be even more carcinogenic then the Jeyes so would not solve the concern that the OP had.

 It's a pity you've gone completely over the top with claims you cannot substantiate. It weakens your main argument that I've suggested criminal damage of a mild kind. That part of your post fair enough; I acknowledged that not everyone would approve.

Can you show me evidence that glyphosate is more carcinogenic than Jeyes fluid, especially at unknown dilutions?  I don't believe you can. I suggested a weak mix of glyphosate, such as I used to use on a neighbour's rambling roses, which would  have roughly the same carcinogenic potential as a bacon sandwich. The object would be to weaken the neighbour's plants, not kill them, and there would be no risk to animals at all. If it gave him pause for thought and stopped the persistent spraying of Jeyes, it would be beneficial to all.

Still waiting for your solution.......

And you wouldn't be spraying it in his face either!

moneysavinghero

When my neighbour had a new born, i got woken up several times a night, day in day out for months. So i doubt that you are the only ones that are suffering.

Smodlet

OP, I really feel for you.  I hope you can find a solution and your lovely tiggers remain safe.

Jeyes fluid should be confined to drains or, in very dilute form, to other disinfectant processes:  OH has used this in a greenhouse which had tomatoes in it one year so he could grow cucumbers the next; apparently toms make cukes sick (don't ask me)  It certainly should never be sprayed under any domestic circumstances I can think of, let alone where it can or could harm another person.

All I can do is wish you luck and your horrible neighbour consignment to a care home.