Hate is a strong word and my parents taught me to avoid it, but I truly hate one of my neighbors I have had to live next to for the last 24 years. When his kids were young, I had to listen to him screaming and verbally abusing them on a daily basis. He would and still does yell at the top of his lungs at his wife calling her stupid out in the backyard. Now his kids have kids and when they visit, he yells at his grandkids and his children yell at their kids like he does and did. I could write a book on all the things this guy does.

Our HOA only allows for 4 pets. He has 7 dogs many of which just sit and bark absolutely nonstop all day long for no reason. Probably because they are bored. I have no idea why he keeps buying dogs as he just leaves them in the backyard, never walks them, never interacts with them, and just yells at them like his family.

So many times his dogs dig holes under our fence and end up coming in my yard leaving shit piles. He does absolutely nothing so it is me that has to fill the holes and place ugly bricks against my fence to try to keep them out. They eventually stopped digging so I removed the bricks.

This brings us to today. I wasn’t home and I saw on camera he went into my backyard looking around. When I got home I went to my backyard to try to figure out why and could hear loud rustling under my back deck I built and could smell the scent of a skunk. When I looked at my fence, there were holes dug under it and a hole dug under my deck. I looked under the deck and saw two of his dogs and a skunk. I went and got him and told him his dogs were under my deck. He came and they would not come to him. I had to rip off all of the trellis siding I had to keep things out so we could try to get them out as there is only about one foot of clearance. After about five minutes he just said “stupid dogs” and went back into his house into the AC. I called animal control and they wouldn’t do anything. I spent two hours in the hot Texas heat and sun trying to get the dogs out and they wouldn’t come. When my wife got home I was about to cut a hole through my deck to make an access hole, which would have pissed me off, because it seemed one of the dogs might be injured and I didn’t want them dying even though they drive me nuts. My wife said to spray water at them through the planks to see if we could get them out and after about an hour of that, we finally got them out and put them back into his yard. I don’t own dogs, but if I had a dog in that situation I never would just walk away shrugging my shoulders. I would stay as I did and do everything to get them out, as I did. Jerk.

Now I see it appears the skunk or skunks burrowed under my foundation under the deck and now I have to deal with them. I set up a live trap and we will see if I get it and can remove it without getting sprayed. Even if I get the skunk out, I won’t be able to fill the hole as I can’t get to it unless I go back to the idea of cutting a hole through my deck. I built an enclosure on my deck so I could bring my birds outside so I can’t just unscrew a few of the planks and temporarily remove them.

UGH!!!!

Well, I wish you well with it. Reading that makes me feel blessed as the entire surrounding area by me, not just next door neighbors but for a solid city block or so, is filled with wonderful neighbors.

When we moved in here the next door neighbors were worse than yours. Mom moved out of the home and in with her boyfriend, no dad anywhere, and she left her 2 teenage boys alone, massive stereo system which they loved to crank, they had 17 dogs (one had given birth to a large litter), and approx 10,000 fleas. Hope your's do what ours did and move out.

Good luck!

WOW! I thought that our redneck hillbilly neighbors were bad, but your situation is worse.

Just remember:

You are not allowed to shoot them.
You are not allowed to shoot them.
You are not allowed to shoot them.
You are not allowed to shoot them.
You are not allowed to shoot them.
You are not allowed to shoot them.
You are not allowed to shoot them.

Pour concrete in holes under the fence to within about 5-6 of the surface. After it sets, finish filling the holes with dirt. When the dogs dig down and hit the concrete they will not dig again!!

quote:

Originally posted by 610:
Pour concrete in holes under the fence to within about 5-6 of the surface. After it sets, finish filling the holes with dirt. When the dogs dig down and hit the concrete they will not dig again!!

That is absolutely what HE should do. I am 52 with a bad back.

Does the HOA have enforcement ability? What about city ordinance limitations on number of dogs?

If the HOA won't enforce their rule, can you threaten to sue them to do so?

Next time one of his dogs gets into your yard, you could call animal control and tell them it is a stray, or you could drive it yourself to a no-kill shelter.

I did this to keep my dogs in but might work in your situation.
I bought a roll of 12 inch chicken wire. I took my garden spade and created a slit along the fence about 8 inches deep and worked the chicken wire in as deep as I could. I trimmed the excess wire off about 2 inches above the ground and stapled it to the bottom of the fence.
I never had them get out and they actually gave up trying to dig under the fence pretty quick.

quote:

Originally posted by Fly-Sig:
Does the HOA have enforcement ability? What about city ordinance limitations on number of dogs?

If the HOA won't enforce their rule, can you threaten to sue them to do so?

Next time one of his dogs gets into your yard, you could call animal control and tell them it is a stray, or you could drive it yourself to a no-kill shelter.

Yes, he is exceeding what is allowed by the HOA and we live at the dead end so I am the only house next to him and the proof of the number of dogs is a camera I have on the side of my house and can see into his yard. Our HOA would enforce it, but I just have to be willing for him to know it was me who reported him and then deal with that. I limit any interactions with him since he gets under my skin so much.

As far as now my skunk situation, I installed a camera under my deck this morning pointing at their burrow so I can know how many there are. It records 24/7, tracks motion, will send me notifications, and can be viewed remotely from anywhere. A wildlife removal company wanted $800 to do this plus the catching of them. Once I know how many there are, I will trap them.

Care to share what kind of camera you’re using?

What gets me is he went into your backyard without telling you first. That wouldn’t sit right with me.

The problem though is you’ve allowed this to continue for 24 years. I understand your predicament.

Any update on the skunks?

You need a trained to fight Pit Bull!

Neighbors .... I could tell some stories .

Stormin- Are the gaps between your deck boards wide enough to pour granular type stuff between them? Amazon has some stuff called Bonide Repels-All. for $15. It has 15k mostly positive reviews. It might work with a whole lot less labor than pulling up decking planks... and it won't make you look like a violence-first asshat like Sailor1911.

Wow. Just wow. I have a lot of experience with abusers and that dude is an abusive asshole. Today that is called domestic violence. And he spread it, as you said, to his children, and their children. 3 generations and counting as the grandkids will grow up, have their own children, and do the same to them. This fuckhead deserves castration.

I have a lot of experience with this shit. Neighbors drive me nuts. Guy behind me, across the alley, over-mows. He is out there 2-3 days a week mowing his property, etc. He said “I’m trying to lose weight”. Yeah instead of eating right and exercising, you are gonna mow in the TX heat 2-3 times a week. Fucking brilliant.

Next to him, across the alley, it’s the opposite problem. They won’t mow until the shit is a foot high.

Neighbor next to me is solo, and a weirdo. He broke my got damn sprinkler system when he installed his fence. Cost me $1000 to fix it. I told him about it, and bitched him out, and he said he would loan me the money if it was a money issue. I am still surprised I didn’t deck him right then and there.

2 houses down is the Brady Bunch. Dad Brady and Mom Brady are narcissists. The adult male I refer to as Timmy the Builder. He’s out in the driveway running power tools every night, every weekend. You ought to see his Brady Bunch jungle gym in the backyard that he made. They think they are really something and I think they are really white trash. Timmy also likes to leave shit in the alley constantly. Toilets, HVAC parts, you name it, it’ll be out there. The problem is the city picks up from the front of the house, not the back, so his shit will sit out there for week(s). And they teach their children to scream bloody murder. You know when his kids are outside because you can hear them from inside your house.

End of the street, in the cul de sac, some Kalifornian assholes bought the house. Except they don’t live here yet, so they rent it out. Last school year it was a set of college students. This school year a different set of college students. Cars go up and down the street at all times of the day and night. Every day, every week. They throw parties and have party busses come in. The whole street will be lined with vehicles. Homeowners can’t even park in front of their own homes, which they pay sky high property tax and homeowners insurance for. I call the PD each and every time. Last time they did this two different homeowners were on the sidewalk bitching when I joined in and the PD rolled in a Burbo. Whole street was filled with vehicles. In fact there were so many they filled half of the next street over. After the LEO left, and talked to us, the punk ass renters came out, two of them. They claimed they were having a Bible study. I said to one of them, pull my other leg and it plays jingle bells. He didn’t understand. I said where is anyone’s Bible or Quran? Not one of them had one. I then explained to his dumb ass that one of the tenants in the Bible is love thy neighbor. I motioned my whole arm and hand like I was opening up door #3 on a game show. I then said “Really? This is loving thy neighbor?” One of the other ones, when he figured out I wasn’t buying any of the bullshit said “I have a Football game to go to.”

I wish it was legal to fuck people up. And this shit is why I bought rural acreage to move to. Fuck all the subdivisions. Sorry about the dogs and skunk. I’d report that mother fucker to your HOA for every got damn infraction possible. He’s made your life hell so enforce all the rules. He gets angry with you, call the PD and file a Police Report. Then give the Police Report to the HOA. He wants to fuck around, make him find out. FAFO. He is a bully, and the only thing you can do with a bully is stand up to them. If you don’t, they will bully you the entire time you around them or in close proximity. I would not be intimidated in the slightest. That dog situation is long past out of control.

quote:

Originally posted by Johnny 3eagles:
Any update on the skunks?

I have had the camera up and only seen a skunk one time, and it entered under my deck, walked around, didn’t go into the den hole, and left!

Every single night an opossum comes and look into den but leaves.

I threw mesh bags of natural skunk repellant into the den and nothing!

I think I am just going to trap the opossum and relocate him and then fill the hole. I just don’t get it though as it still smells slightly skunky.

quote:

Originally posted by 10-96:
Stormin- Are the gaps between your deck boards wide enough to pour granular type stuff between them? Amazon has some stuff called Bonide Repels-All. for $15. It has 15k mostly positive reviews. It might work with a whole lot less labor than pulling up decking planks... and it won't make you look like a violence-first asshat like Sailor1911.

Yes, so far I bought little mesh bags and filled them with repellent and used a long pole to drop them at the entrance. I will next probably also drop some spread of the product, but I am beginning to wonder if anything is still in there right now.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
Wow. Just wow.

Yeah I hear you. He seriously pisses me off and I have to decide what I am going to do.

quote:

Originally posted by StorminNormin:

He seriously pisses me off and I have to decide what I am going to do.

You prolly should not shoot him.

If the neighbor's dog gets in my yard and he won't come get it , that dog is going for a long ride to another town. No man , I haven't seen your dog ....