Maybe you need to get physical. Proposition his wife or something. You'll either get some real friendly neighbors, or you'll cross the taboo line and they'll begin to avoid you. :P

YUCK!!!! Do you have any Mylanta?

I think the best thing to do is be very straight-forward.

"Mr. Jones, I know you like to come visit when I am outside. I am flattered. However, I am an extremely private person and really don't need or appreciate visitors to my house or yard unless I personally invite them. If that seems odd, then consider me odd. I am politely asking you to refrain from coming into my yard at any time."

Then nod politely and walk away even if he is telling you what a jerk you are, how un-neighborly, etc. If he still doesn't get the hint, call the cops. No matter how you look at it, uninvited guests are an intrusion of privacy. Your neighbor may just be lonely but if that's the case, he needs to do volunteer work or find a job.

I'm a loner and even though I am with people all day at work and many people consider me their "best friend" in the workplace, friendly and out-going, when I get home, leave...me...alone!
Mimi

Here is what I do when people bother me as you described. "Come on around back (front , to the garden, etc.) with me. I have lots to do and too little time to do it. I know you'll understand if I work and talk to you at the same time." I always have some job that is hot, nasty or both that I put off until a better time. When the neighbor starts his visit, tell him you need to do that nasty job. Then when you need a hand, "...since you are standing here ..." ask for his help. It won't take long until they get the message and start avoiding YOU. We have some relatives who drop by unannounced and think I should stop to entertain them. Since I began entertaining them by including them in my activities, they don't "drop by" anymore.

Terry, that is too funny. My h does the same thing and it works great.

We have a neighbor who is harmless and lonely but we were feeling constantly cornered. My h realized that, when he kept working and might actually ask for a hand with a difficult task, the elderly gentleman wasn't so quick to come on over, lol. He may watch us working, but he won't (much of the time) come over now.

There are some neighborhood children who have me ready to put up a sign that would say:

"If you weren't invited, why are you here?"

I'm normally pretty friendly, and ready to drop work for play, but when someone crosses the line it makes me nuts.

OMG, you must be the person who bought my old house!!!

our neighbors were hopelessly intrusive. husband in early stages of alzheimer's (yes, it was sad). he would set up a lawn chair smack in the middle of his backyard and literally watch DH mow the lawn. the wife would relentlessly come out to chit-chat while we were engaged in hard yard labor. we laid all the sod in a 1/2 acre backyard on our own. when it started to rain on us and we just kept going, she had the nerve to come stand over us and say "you two will NEVER get this finished." once, the husband chased down my DH who was backing out of the driveway to go to work. DH rolled down the window to ask what he needed. the guy asked permission to hunt the ducks in our backyard (ducks were all in his head).

I'm a loner and even though I am with people all day at work and many people consider me their "best friend" in the workplace, friendly and out-going, when I get home, leave...me...alone!

mimi, i can SO relate! my garden is my place to come home from a day of minimal progress at the office and MAKE A DENT IN SOMETHING! at work, i constantly have to be "on." i am chipper, kind, and exceedingly paitent with people. when i come home, i don't want to have to "work at it" anymore. i want to be alone with my plants--they don't expect me to be "polite company." LOL

my current complaint about neighbors is the annoying people behind us who insist on leaving their floodlight on until sometimes 11:00 at night. they are also exceedingly loud people. we call them the "loudniks." seriously, i think the wife has banned the husband from talking on the phone in the house b/c he is so d*** loud! the worst is when their cousins come over and the kids are outside playing all night with the adults sitting around on the patio talking. i mean, how late is too late for kids to be outside screaming "Bubba, look at me! Look at MEEEEEEEEE! Hey BUBBBBBBBBA!!!! Look what I can do! LOOOOOOOOOOKKKK!" Is 10:30 PM too late for that? I mean, I wouldn't dare compain that kids are outside yelling and playing during the day--I mean, geez that's what a neighborhood is about. But c'mon, when can I expect to sit out on my porch and drink my tea without the screaming and blaring spotlights?!?!

gotta love neighbors. maybe one day i will save up enough to buy a farm--or buy new neighbors ;-)

i feel for you.it looks like "bebe's'" kids have moved in.they play IN THE STREET till 11 or 12 at night on their trikes and where the &*%$ is the mom? , who knows?loud and obnoxous,in my yard,in my cuckoo cat loving neighbor's yard,i can't wait to move.this is the last straw.all her flea ridden cats were bad enough,now peacefully sitting on my front porch is out too.tsmith's is by far the best suggestion,cause you know they won't want to help,only want to drive you mad.good luck to you,maybe they'll get the hint and leave you ALONE,colabama(surrounded by nuts in birmingham)

Geez........I wouldn't live in the city for anything. I don't have to worry about noisy neighbors, bratty kids, nor flea ridden anything, out here on my peaceful patch of heaven in the country!!! Good luck to all you city folk out there! :) I'll just stay out here in the good old country side and enjoy my front porch, garden, and any place else I might be. LOL

Jan

Maybe you could set a certain time -- e.g., 5:00 p.m. Mon and Wed. -- and ask that your neighbors come spend a half hour with you then when you will not be busy with the garden and can (maybe) enjoy a visit. They may accept the compromise and you won't have angry or hurt neighbors instead of intrusive ones.
Your neighbors are a pain, but you should hear the stories I hear through my work: Neighbors who sell drugs, keep pit bulls that run loose, yell curse words at the neighbors and each other, etc. The obsessive compulsive fellow next door to me complained when the house on the other side was sold to a man who owns a wrecker service and parks his wrecker at the house so he can answer calls in the middle of the night. I suggested that a neighborhood wrecker might come in handy and that as long as he's making an honest living and not delivering drugs in it, he's welcome as far as I'm concerned. He's now paved an area in the back yard to park the truck, so it's not so visible.

I'm with you TweetyPye, theres nothing like living in the country. No one to bother you. Funny how working your neigbors will stop the visits. Years ago my dh's friends would come visit (guy's). We had just bought some property and no matter who they were I always need something done that couldn't be done by myself. Now at the time I wasn't doing this intentional, I REALLY needed help. I did notice the visits came less frequently. So it works great. Although I like our friends, sometimes you just don't want to be bothered. Now if I can stop a coworker from calling me EVERYDAY after work, to talk shop I'll be in good shape. When I leave work I don't take it home with me and could care less about talking on the phone about it. But she has no friends or family as she has run them all off. Why was I picked to be her buddy? Just "lucky" I guess. lol. trudyjean

GOT DOGS.....Everyone in this small town knows I have 9 yes 9 dogs....I couldn't get a neighbor to visit if I tried..ha ha ha.. well some people know I raise tropicals plants from seed...from all over the world..so they want to see what I have growing...but seeing me walk around with a PACK of dogs in my field of seed stock...changes some minds...I get notes left in my mail box with numbers to call so they can come over...not a dog person....attack frogs...lol

I have a beautiful white chow that stays in the back yard and on the screened porch during the day. And I have recently discovered that my annoying neighbor is giving her treats when I am not at home. Would never have figured this out if the neighbor across the street hadn't told me.

{{gwi:364525}}

She is 100 percent beautiful.. treats..thats funny....so how is being nice doing for you....O.K. get ugly...tell him what you think....a person can only be nice for so long..he will get over it..in time, then the process will start all over again..sorry..

What about a sign saying not to feed her because of her health?