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Add this complaint to the list of reasons why people want to leave New Jersey.
Well, in certain parts of New Mexico, Nevada, and Arizona, the OP wouldn't have to deal with leaves falling!
Perhaps he might want to move to those arid climes...
I'm all for good neighbor relations. A big branch from my tree fell onto neighbors fence. I handled the clean-up and paid for fence repair... even though the incident was an "act of God" and I had no responsibility.
But come on... leaves fall... and guess what... they blow around too. So unless this is the only tree in neighborhood, leaves tend to end up all over, not just directly under the offending tree. And while I feel for the stumbling blind dog, I'm guessing the tree and roots were there when the house was purchased.
If it's clear that it is coming from your tree and they have none, I don't see a problem with bringing up the subject. Some people just care that you mentioned it and will take care of it themselves. But if they say they would appreciate you doing that, a simple act of kindness goes a long way. You have no idea how stressful it is to live next door to someone who upsets you. I've talked to people like this and all they are looking for is some common courtesy. What people don't like, is if they tell you about a problem you give them an attitude that it's not your fault and don't care about it that it's bothering you.
You took care of the fallen limb and paid for the fence to be repaired. Imagine if you took the position with the neighbor that it's an act of god, not your fault and you aren't responsible for what goes on in their property and went so far to deny the limb was from your tree anyway. No, you didn't do that, you did the right thing. This is the same thing here. As I mentioned, it has to be clear it's coming from your tree.
The issue isn't who is at fault here and if the problem is entirely valid or not. You have to live near these people and being sympathetic and cooperative to their concerns is important.
If it's clear that it is coming from your tree and they have none, I don't see a problem with bringing up the subject. Some people just care that you mentioned it and will take care of it themselves. But if they say they would appreciate you doing that, a simple act of kindness goes a long way. You have no idea how stressful it is to live next door to someone who upsets you. I've talked to people like this and all they are looking for is some common courtesy. What people don't like, is if they tell you about a problem you give them an attitude that it's not your fault and don't care about it that it's bothering you.
You took care of the fallen limb and paid for the fence to be repaired. Imagine if you took the position with the neighbor that it's an act of god, not your fault and you aren't responsible for what goes on in their property and went so far to deny the limb was from your tree anyway. No, you didn't do that, you did the right thing. This is the same thing here. As I mentioned, it has to be clear it's coming from your tree.
The issue isn't who is at fault here and if the problem is entirely valid or not. You have to live near these people and being sympathetic and cooperative to their concerns is important.
Sorry, I don't see it as the same thing at all.
There's being courteous and responsible. And then there's trying to accommodate expectations that go far beyond the usual or ordinary.
Genuine question, is your dog blind? Edit: I kept reading, I saw you write that your dog is blind. That explains it. In this case, that is actually quite sad that she trips over the roots.
I'm with you on the branches thing, but the leaves thing is stretching it. Leaves fall. Leaves blow. If you want a leaf-free property you are living in the wrong state - or wrong type of property. As for the branches, trim whatever hangs on your property. You have the right to do so. We have done it with our property.
Last edited by JerseyGirl415; 11-13-2014 at 11:00 AM..
To be fair, raking leaves IS hard work and time consuming, depending on the amount. Our neighbors have large trees (we have one in our backyard as well), and the leaves literally blanket the entire ground several layers deep. These are different species of trees as well, so the leaves don't all fall within the same time frame, rather it's pretty much just constantly raining leaves throughout all of fall :T I bought a gas-powered blower, and while it's hella fun to use, it still takes a lot of time to clean up the leaves. We just hire a guy to do it now.
Also, you are legally allowed to trim the branches that hang over the property line. Might not help much w/ the leaves, but it does reduce the risk of large branches falling on and damaging your deck/roof/property during storms and hurricanes.
I don't want to say any thing, but my dog was born blind. It's common in white animals (cats, too). I was told that when I adopted her.
Sorry your dog is blind and kudos to you for adopting her......but you want your neighbor to cut down their tree and have all of the roots removed because she trips over them?
Tell me, when she walks into a wall or the furniture in your house, do you tear down the wall and throw out the furniture?
Trim the tree, it won't solve your leaf 'problem', but it may help, certainly with fallen branches.
Don't try to sneakily kill the tree as one poster suggested. Trees are property and a surprisingly huge value can be attached to them, thousands of dollars so if you are caught, you can be sued. Not to mention it is incredibly unethical.
These are different species of trees as well, so the leaves don't all fall within the same time frame, rather it's pretty much just constantly raining leaves throughout all of fall
Majority of my trees are Tulip trees (poplar family). They're enormous and start dropping leaves in mid August as soon as they get stressed out even a little bit (lack of rain, too hot etc.). They finished dropping a week ago but I also have oak and maple which will keep dropping until Thanksgiving. Good times.
Don't try to sneakily kill the tree as one poster suggested. Trees are property and a surprisingly huge value can be attached to them, thousands of dollars so if you are caught, you can be sued. Not to mention it is incredibly unethical.
If my neighbor offed my 400 year old oak tree in the backyard I would be pissed and probably look into legal action.
I know it'll have to come down in my lifetime given how some of the trimming was done in the past, but it's probably one of the oldest trees in town and I don't look forward to that day.
All kidding aside there is no amount of maintenance your neighbor can do on the tree short of cutting it down that will stop their leaves from falling into your yard. Even if you trim every branch at your property line the wind is still going to carry leaves into your yard as they fall. Then what? I suppose maybe you could install giant fans in your yard blowing toward your neighbor's property every October and leave them running until December
Or..... he could put up a fence between his yard and his neighbor's, like this:
Don't laugh......this is EXACTLY what my neighbor put between our front yards the first year he moved in 10 or so years ago, to keep the leaves from my tress from blowing into his yard. My trees are bigger than his and have more leaves.
About 6 weeks after he put it up, the wind blew half of it off the poles and he had that beautiful, orange plastic fence laying across his front yard until spring. Yep, that looked a whole lot better than a few leaves! {Learned his lesson and never did it again.}
He would rake the leaves from his trees, put them in garbage bags, and then toss the full garbage bags into the woods behind his house. Never dawned on him to just empty the leaves into the woods....nope....garbage bags and all.
After watching me and everyone else mow and mulch their leaves into smithereens {no raking required} for about five years, he finally caught on and just started mowing his too.
Real particular about his yard? Ummm........NO.
His yard always looks like crap because he just wants to ride his yard tractor around, only breaks out his weed wacker to do the trimming once or twice all summer.
He also used to mow his yard at 7:30 in the morning. It took a couple of years for the dimwit to figure out that mowing wet grass isn't a good idea.
I could go on and on about the stupid things I have watched this guy do over the years. It has been amusing, to say the least.
BTW....when I pick up dead branches from my trees, I pick his up too. I might as well take his along with mine out to the woods. He won't pick up a branch unless it is in his way when he mows. I started just picking his up in the winter, now I just pick them up all the time.
Last edited by Annie53; 11-13-2014 at 12:45 PM..
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{Learned his lesson and never did it again.}
} for about five years, he finally caught on and just started mowing his too.
It took a couple of years for the dimwit to figure out that mowing wet grass isn't a good idea.
