Neighbor Walking On My Lawn! (Do This to Make Them Stop)
Having a neighbor walk on your lawn can be a source of frustration for many homeowners. It can cause damage to your property and can also be a violation of personal boundaries. What can you do about it, though?
If your neighbor is walking on your lawn, there are several steps you can take to address the issue. You can have a conversation with your neighbor and try to reach a resolution, or you can consider installing physical barriers such as a fence to prevent them from accessing your lawn.
It’s vital to keep a cool head when addressing your neighbor. The chances of resolving a conflict peacefully are greatly reduced if you approach someone in anger. When simply talking to your neighbors does not work, here are some other methods for you to try in this article.
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Here’s a Quick Pro Tip!
To keep strangers off your property, you need to make it as difficult as possible for them to walk across your lawn (within reason). Here are a few products that you can utilize to ward anyone off.
Products to increase the security of your property:1. Fence– make your lawn inaccessible to strangers.
2. No Trespassing Sign– make sure that strangers know they are breaking the law and will be prosecuted.
3. Motion Detection Camera– can be used to gather evidence to be used later in a court of law.
Strangers and Neighbors
To stop your neighbors from walking on your lawn, your best option is to have an open conversation with them. Chances are that they are not walking on your lawn with malicious intent.
Approach them in an amicable matter and calmly explain that you’ve noticed them walking on your lawn and you’d appreciate it if they could stick to the sidewalk.
Here are a few ways to tell your neighbor to stop walking on your lawn:
- Have an agreeable conversation with your neighbor and calmly address your concerns.
- Ensure that you have a fence around your yard or some product that marks off exactly where your property is.
- Write a formal letter to your neighbor if you do not have a casual relationship. Be sure to keep a copy of this letter for your own future records.
A fence would also keep strangers from unintentionally walking on your lawn. Alternatively, you can also erect a ‘no trespassing’ sign where strangers tend to walk on your lawn. If you have large dogs, keeping them in the front yard (inside the fence) might be a good idea to warn strangers off.
It Might Be Trespassing
In short, trespassing occurs when you enter or stay on private property (that you do not own) without permission or legal reason to be there. In most cases, it is only considered trespassing if the person intended to enter the property while knowing they are not authorized to do so.
If you have no barriers around your property or no ‘trespasser warning’ signs – a stranger might not be aware that they are walking on your property, and thus they are legally not trespassing. On the other hand, if you have a clear ‘no trespassing’ sign on your property, it can be considered trespassing if someone walks across your lawn.
Someone Walking Their Dog On My Property Without Permission
If you see someone walking their dog across your lawn, you can calmly inform them that they are trespassing and ask them to step away. If they refuse to step off your property, you can contact the local authorities and have them handle the situation.
The exact laws surrounding trespassing differ slightly per state, but the overall definition we discussed above remains the same.
Deterring People From Walking On Your Lawn
Living in a busy area or on a busy street can mean that strangers take advantage of your lawn to walk their animals or simply use it as a shortcut between two streets. This could be extremely frustrating to property owners, so here are a few ways that you can encourage people to keep off your property:
- Mark off the boundary of your property clearly with a fence or any other marker.
- Place no trespassing signs on the edges of your property where strangers usually walk over.
- Motion detection cameras capture footage of potential trespassers and which can be used as evidence indeed needed in the future.
If all of these options fail to keep someone from maliciously walking over your property, call the authorities and present them with your collected evidence.
You might also enjoy our post on Whether You Can Put a No Trespassing Sign in You Yard
Final Thoughts
Erecting fences, putting up no trespassing signs, and even installing cameras are all methods to keep your neighbors and strangers off your property. As a last resort, you can also accuse someone of trespassing and use the law as a ‘scare tactic’ to get them off your property.
