I'd definitely have a chat with the neighbor. It doesn't need to be combative, just a "hey, I know you've probably been doing this with your trash can for years, but we just put in this sod, and I'm pretty anal and protective of my landscaping. Would you mind keeping your trash can in your garage to avoid dragging it over my lawn?"

If that doesn't work, consider putting in a fence to block her out.

Hey Weedy Acres, Thank you very much for your input... I really wanted to avoid any confrontation for the sake of maintaining a good relationship but I agree.. .It is my yard and she should be more considerate.. I know Storing your bin in the garage may not be optimal but it is a reality due to the layout of the lots in this community.. I wish people would have more common sense..

Thanks Jewel, Unfortunately the association prohibits fences towards the front portion of the lot.. I was thinking about planting a hedge bush along the lot line to prevent entry?

Yes, hedges would work too, especially ones like Barberry -- pretty leaves but thorny as all get out. There's probably something similar that is zoned for So Florida. Buy mature specimens and plant them on trash day (after she's taken her can to the curb for pick-up). Then, put up temporary stakes with string around the area to make extra sure she can't ignore that the game has changed. If you want to be nice, you can alert her a day before that you're going to do some planting in that area so "you'll want to find somewhere else to keep your garbage can as there won't be a way to get it to the curb through my yard anymore."

It's your lot. Try the talk first though.

Why would you "confront" anyone?

I would discuss the matter with the neighbor. Say that you recognize the problem your neighbor has, but would like to figure out a way to avoid damaging the sod in your yard. Don't dictate the solution! Jointly come with alternative solutions. Can in their garage? Maybe a small platform to allow neighbor to set her garbage can(s) on. Other?

If the neighbor tells you to buzz off, barbed wire disguised as ivy.

Or ask her not to drag the can. Just walking on the grass once a week shouldn't damage anything.

Hey Salti/all it just feels that these conversations can get very touchy quickly.. Despite a positive approach on my part.. .hopefully she does not take it the wrong way and understands... the property was being rented for 6 ears and apparently both next door neighbors slowly began claiming the lot from the uninformed renter... owners lived out of state.... The neighbor on my right side also feels that part of my lot belongs to him... I have hired a fence contractor to install a fence and reclaim lot according to survey... As far as the trash can dragger... I will have to approach her about this situation... hopefully she will be receptive... I was thinking about leaving my sprinkler on around the time she takes out her cannn... But that's just plain mean....

An offer to take her cans out might be a way to approach the subject. Two weeks ago we had an irrigation system and 26 pallets of zoysia sod put down, I know how costly it is and how you would like it to be maintained.

Thanks babbs, seems like a possible solution but If she stores her can in the back of her house I would still need to cross through my grass to make it up front.... 26 pallets is a lot of grass... must be a really big lot... I purchased 7 pallets of Palmetto SOD for my lot and had extra...

"I was thinking about leaving my sprinkler on around the time she takes out her cannn... But that's just plain mean...."

It's called a "passive deterrent". I like it.

I would personally let it go, but it all depends on your neighbors. The only person here who has possibly had an interraction with your neighbors, is you. We are all giving you advice based on our experience with our neighbors. I am pretty sure my neighbors have formed some kind of cult. Since I don't want to be sacrificed to the goat god, I try to avoid conflict when possible.

Hey Bry,

I wish I could but its just a nagging nuisance that I just cant ignore... I feel now is the time considering that we have only been living in our new home for a month... nip it in the bud .. right?? anyways I don't feel she is in good terms with the association... her house is the only pink house on the block and Is in violation of HOA guidelines... seems like a blatant disregard... I sure feel like an outsider being new and all so I can relate to your comment...

well lets see what happen

Hey Jewel, "Passive Deterrent" I like... Just need to get the timing right...

If your sod is St. Augustine, dragging a garbage can over it once it takes root should not hurt it.

ML

"nip it in the bud" - correct. FWIW - St. Augustine is not known for its ability to handle much traffic.

Whether the sod can handle having a garbage can dragged over it once a week isn't the point, Maddielee. The neighbor has become accustomed to routinely trespassing on the OP's property. He doesn't like it and shouldn't have to put up with it.

"Hey Salti/all it just feels that these conversations can get very touchy quickly.."

How would you know if you haven't had a conversation witt her at all yet?

What a screwed up design, you can only store trash in the garage or the backyard -- and if you use the backyard then you have to trespass on neighboring property to bring them to the street. I think you're being overly sensitive given the constraints of your housing development.

Just go over there, introduce yourself, and ask her if she has any alternative ideas regarding her trash and your sod. Maybe she could kick down for some stepping stones and you could make a little path. This should not be a big deal.

I agree. bake some cookies or cupcakes and go over and be a.... neighbor. Introduce yourself and tell them you're the owner of the home and not another renter.

Have we gotten to a point in today's society where we don't even talk to our neighbors out of fear of being "confrontational"? Really?

The OP's neighbors aren't trying to be mean, they're doing it because they can and now it's just routine.

I see posts about planting what we used to call "picker bushes" or turning on the sprinkler. Those are the last resorts, not the first option.

Hey Melle, tell me about it ... Originally I was fine with the plat.. a lot of Z lot designs like mines In SOFLO.... I wasn't aware neighbors could be this intrusive.. I guess there's a reason why ppl say tall fences make good neighbors... No big deal.. Im waiting for the right time to approach her about it... Thanks for the advice...

Hey Christopher, not much of a baker but definitely willing to have a conversation the neighbor.. just wanted to make sure I went about it the right way... thanks for your input..

Have we gotten to a point in today's society where we don't even talk to our neighbors out of fear of being "confrontational"? Really? -

The answer is simply, yes we have. But the problem isn't confrontation, it's conflict. We have become a society that thrives on conflict, and no longer are we satisfied with Gunsmoke and police procedurals, now our drama needs reality, from real courtroom shows and who could the father be drivel, to trapped on an island and racing accross the globe, to realtor vs. remodeler and flipper vs. market, to chef vs. chef and chef vs. clock.

I submit that we are not afraid of confrontation, it is that too many people look for it. The problem is that empathy and understanding have been replaced with a need for adrenaline without getting off the couch. You have a neighbor who paints their house pink to thumb their nose at the HOA, and you want your first interraction with them to be a friendly discussion about something they are doing wrong.

Time for another old adage...People in hell want ice water.

It's disappointing that the homes don't have shared concrete walks between them or something.

I think the best thing is to just introduce yourself first, maybe ask her about the neighborhood and how everyone gets along. Wait and see if the sod actually sustains damage. If it does, then try to address it later, as a "oh no, how sad this is. I am bummed about my sod. Do you have any suggestions, maybe i should plant some shrubs since grass didn't do well."

I would expect, given the constraints of your neighborhood design, that people could be more accommodating and gracious. It's impossible to walk around the home without going into the neighboring yard.

There's always this ...

http://www.forestershop.com/1000-x-3-keep-off-grass-yellow-safety-tape-bt1000.html

The combination motion detector sprinklers used to deter deer might work.

line the property line with large rocks?

"I wasn't aware neighbors could be this intrusive."

They keep their trash behind their home, rather than in their garage and must walk on your lawn to gain access to the street.

Those "intrusive" bas***ds!

I hope you're kidding. lol

Hey Salti, Maybe inconsiderate is the word... it took a common sense approach for me to make the decision to store my bins in my garage so that I wouldn't trample my neighbors garden.. As I had mentioned I have other neighbors that do the same... not the "Ideal" arrangement, but I feel the correct one.. there are no easements on surveys or covenants that should encourage her to do this... Maybe its an unreal expectation on my behalf.. regardless I will mention in to her... thanks for your input

Am I reading this correctly, one cannot get from the front yard to the backyard without going through the house? What happens if, for some reason, you are no longer able to cut your lawn and you need to hire a company to do it for you? There is no way for them to get their equipment to the backyard?

What happens if she wants to paint her house so it isn't pink? She can't do it because she needs to do it from your property?

Sounds like you need to have a good relationship with your neighbors if you want to live in a zero lot line community.

Bry, If we are all like you describe, we as a society are lost. But I respectfully submit you are dead wrong. What you describe may be true in urban areas, but out here in the real world, we're all neighbors. If there's a problem, the very first thing is to talk about it.

You would sit in wonder at one of our annual Town Meetings. We discuss the road department's budget and whether or not money should be spent on guard rails for a road that has maybe 5 cars travel on it per day. When the town budget or school budget is discussed things can get interesting.

When the meeting is over we all go into the hall and have cake and coffee provided by the fire department ladies auxiliary. Because we're neighbors.

"What you describe may be true in urban areas, but out here in the real
world, we're all neighbors. If there's a problem, the very first thing
is to talk about it."

Must be nice to live in Pleasantville :)

In most densely populated areas folks are very quick to anger. I think it is because we feel helpless in our lives and take control and power any time an opportunity presents itself in a very misguided attempt to matter.

Not my neighbors- mine are actually very wonderful. But we are just this side of rural and people tend to be more thoughtful in the wild for some reason.

First, my wife grew up in a town of 18,000 (my wife corrected me, the county is 18,000 and the city is only a few thousand), and she absolutely hates going back because of the drama. We are building in a town of 28,000 and the constant conflict in the community is one of the big drawbacks. I certainly think conflict is different in larger cities, it is probably faster and more intense, while rural conflict might be somewhat less likely it is far more disruptive and lasts longer. Simply put there is less chance your neighbors are going to have any overlap with your circle of friends in larger cities.

Second, do they really build zero lot line homes in rural areas?

Finally, I don't see this change as being an indicative of being lost as a society. We are changing, it has been happening for a long time now, and it is hard to predict the future until it is the past. It is important to remember that good, honest, and educated members of society thought that segregation was the right thing to do, or that women getting the vote would destroy society. This change may sparks amazing things in the future, or terrible, it is impossible to predict.

Edit: I think you assume me more metropolitan than I am. While I live in a fairly sizable city it is still on the small side. I am also the only member of my extended family to do so. Of my 14 aunts, uncles and cousins - I am the only nonfarmer. The reason being, I sold my farm to my uncle. While I am a city guy, I wasn't always.

I'm unclear on whether walking on your grass has actually damaged it or if it's just a fear that you have (perhaps totally unfounded).

Honestly, you say that you'd like your neighbour to be considerate and use common sense but in my mind, a considerate neighbour would let someone step onto their grass once a week.

To me (with the weird way your houses are set up) the common sense approach would be for everyone to allow access to their neighbour's backyard by taking a couple of steps over the boundary.

The people who are putting up boundaries and bushes and sprinklers that go off when someone approaches are the inconsiderate ones.

Bring the lady a bouquet of flowers with your kind request. OR, cookies! Let her know you understand the value of good neighbors, and then express to her that you wish she could find another way to get her trash to the street. You could volunteer to take it out for her even, thus avoiding your lawn.

I have lived with HOA's a few times. Here, rural, we have none and all the lot lines are a bit in dispute. They've been changed a zillion times by different assorted surveyors. Not a problem here though because we all own 1-12 acres. A foot this or that way doesn't matter, BUT the people across the street could have a beef.

The garbage collection company decided it's just too hard for them to pick up on both sides, so we are all forced to impose our trash on our neighbor's property across the street. It's OK so far. We are all friends... well most. There is one cranky dude, but he's next door. We'd all be in trouble if we had to line his yard with our trash.

Hi Greg, before I had layed the new SOD there was basically no grass in this area... I presumed its because it is a high traffic area... After 20 days of watering in the morning and evenings (irrigation system not functioning at the time) the grass is doing fine for now, seems to have grown roots and settled nicely... I just feel that she doesn't care.. her yard is basically a bed of weeds and seems to not care about maintaining her landscaping.. Of course it really isn't any of my business.. I just don't want her to treat my property with the same careless abandonment that she does her own..

It sounds like your sod is fine for now. If the PO of your place was a renter, they probably weren't working that hard to maintain landscape either...especially if there wasn't automatic irrigation. Grass is meant to tolerate foot traffic, so unless she is literally dragging a heavy can (in my part of the country our trash etc. is on wheeled bins so they roll) I can't imagine it would irreparably damage your new sod. If your cans aren't on wheels, maybe a good compromise would be to gift her with some dollies if she promises to place her cans on them.

It isn't right to trespass on a neighbor's property. Period. You have every right to want to maintain your newly planted sod. You take pride in your yard. From what you have stated, she has not taken care of her property and she doesn't care about yours, either. Go ahead and plant shrubs where they are allowed by the HOA. She can store her trash cans in her garage. Period.

So eduardo, have you done anything about this yet? We've given you plenty of ideas and advice and it has been a week....

Hey all, I have decided to not mention it for now ... I will be out of the country for over a month on business travel... I will let my wife monitor the grass, hopefully everything works out. In the meantime I will continue to store my bins in the garage as does most of the neighborhood... maybe she will jump on board and do the same soon... Thank you all for the excellent advice...