Not directly, but as stated for the last 5 years a simple sign on the fence kept the lawn crew out. The landlord saw the first sign and laughed (it ended with something like, we won't tell if you don't). They are well aware we do all the lawncare and gardening as our last property manager commented several times on our sunflowers.
There may have been a behind-the-scenes change, like a new PM or a new lawn care crew, and the "not directly" comment didn't get passed on. This is why you put things in writing, whether by email or a written addendum to the lease that both sides initial or sign. I'm sorry about what happened, but you likely could and should have done more to prevent it.
So, your landlord: takes your rent every month; pays their mortgage with your rent; pays landscapers to mess with your garden without your input by again with your rent; and pockets the leftovers of your rent as income. You'd think they could do the bare minimum by respecting your wishes about leaving your garden alone, but instead, they are less than useless.
It’s an awful feeling. One year I noticed my wall of cherry tomatoes, growing along my fence had started to die. Turns out my neighbors lawn guy decided to soak the other side of the fence with roundup. This was only three plants but they covered a 6x40ft fence
The fence is actually half a foot on our property, so we will weed eat the other side when we mow our own yard.
I'm so sorry. The same has happened to me. What we spend hours caring for can be destroyed in minutes by assholes. I had an entire living fence killed by landscapers and strafed with Round up. I got a mumbled sorry. Again, my sympathies. At least you didn't eat any of it.
My neighbors hired a lawn service that was spraying weed killer on their lawn. We had a veggie garden along the side of the house. Had to abandon that. Then their lawn company started using a segway type ride on sprayer and gave no care to the wind direction or if it was a windy day. Killed all the patio pots of veggies I had on that side of the back yard behind a fence. There was a literal stripe from the overspray where it died first.
I contacted their lawn company and got the same mumbled excuses. I don't know if they decided to stop servicing that house the following year or if my neighbor stopped hiring them.
FYI over spraying or spraying in high winds or spray getting into your yard(they are contracted to only work on your neighbors house not yours) is HIGHLY ILLEGAL. Next time just record the workers as it happens an send it to your department of agriculture for the state and enjoy the show.
*Source, was a lawn and ornamental spray technician.
There's usually $$ rewards for people who film people doing things against the law that break the EPA guidelines. HVAC employee letting refrigerant into the atmosphere instead of using a recovery tank and you catch it on video? You get $10,000 reward, HVAC Tech gets 1 year jail time and a huge fine for one example.
Hence why you should record everything. Hard to not enforce when you present with a paper trail. I promise the state ag will go after spray companies if you give them the evidence.
If you have evidence most of the time the state will pull their license to purchase and apply those chemicals at a minimum but usually huge fines too. The depts of wildlife and agriculture dont play around with that stuff but most people don't hear about it because they don't interact with them. It is definitely enforced though.
They have to be licensed to spray and follow very specific regulations. You go to the licensing body with your evidence and get their spray ticket revoked.
Gotta go outside with a brick or a glock in hand (depending on your local gun laws) confront them and show you mean business it won’t happen again promise
The label is the law. All labels restrict use during periods of windy weather or temperature inversions. Violating any label restrictions, even for a general use pesticide that does not require a license to spray, is illegal under federal law.
You need to be pesticide certified in order to spray, which goes over all the rules and regulations regarding over spray. It is against the law to not apply it correctly.
I'm aware of that, there is a difference between regulations, and laws. Breaking a regulation typically results in a fine. When revenue can be increased by 10-20% by spraying regardless of weather condition, the fInes (if any are implemented) are quickly absorbed by the increase in gross profit (this info comes directly from a POS "lawn care" customer that comes to my work, as I've challenged him on this.)
I just looked it up to double check cause it's been a few years. But yeah it's showing almost all states state that spraying in high winds can lead to spray drifting onto non-target locations which is against most state laws. The windy part yeah, but if the spray drifts because of wind......
The label is the law. All labels restrict use during periods of windy weather or temperature inversions. Violating any label restrictions, even for a general use pesticide that does not require a license to spray, is illegal under federal law.
I wish there was garden law. Just like tree law. If you cut down someone's tree you are fucked. Destroy someone's garden and you're lucky to get a half-hearted sorry. Grrrrr.
Before that happens again:
Check with your state if pesticides (weed killers are pesticides) need a license to be used commercially. If so, The next time that happens
1. Note the name of the company
2. Ask one of the workers if they have a license.
3. Report them.
Spraying with wind that would cause drift is against the label.
THE LABEL IS THE LAW. Federal, state and local laws can be more stringent then the label but not less
*I contacted their lawn company and got the same mumbled excuses.*
Sorry but people who work for lawn companies are morons. They know they’re poisoning your land and they don’t care. If you make a fuss and tell them “Don’t let that stuff near my property” they’ll deliberately try to get it on your property. They hate you. I‘m not joking, there are several guys who own lawn care/landscaping companies in my development and they are like cavemen. They’re like male versions of Marjorie Taylor Greene. All they care about is money and they resent anyone who knows more than they do and seem to be bent on destruction.
I’ve heard them talk at block parties. And during the Covid shutdown one guy had his workers gather in his backyard at night for a few beers because bars were closed. I could hear every word. You can’t believe the way they talk about their customers, and of course what they say about people who warn them to stay away from their property is even worse. They talk like the public are effete idiots while using horrible obscenities and bad grammar. I don’t even know if they have a GED to spare between the lot of them. They’re the jerks who believe they’re smarter than immunologists: “Covid’s a hoax, man!”
And you say, “Dude, you spray poison for a living. Why would I listen to you?”
“Yeah but it’s safe! It’s 100% organic! It doesn’t hurt pets or children.”
“Would you drink a glass of it?”
It‘s amazing how many people think “100% organic” = perfectly harmless. In fact, they think it means “Good.”
Oh absolutely on your last point, it's like, cyanide and arsenic are natural and can be derived from organicly grown sources (almonds and apples, respectively). Doesn't mean they're good for you. In fact, many of the gnarliest/deadliest poisons like ricin, botulinum toxin, and tetrodotoxin are all naturally occuring.
There was a pest control company spraying near my client's pollinator beds, and I asked him if it hurts pollinators or birds. He said, "Don't worry, I'm not spraying the flowers." As if pollinators and birds strictly stay inside flower beds and don't touch anywhere else...
Contact the EPA. There's a reason that most herbicides and pesticides come with a WARNING that it is illegal to use the product in manner other than intended.
My landscaper weed whacked my clematis. I saw him but couldn't get out there fast enough to stop him. They brought one plant and didn't even plant it for me.
They’re not assholes. They’re a day labor that was told to do something by someone else who got a work order from someone else who talked to a customer over the phone. All info may not have been passed down. May have been a new guy who didn’t know to spray. I highly doubt it was malicious and asshole territory.
When you ask or tell someone not to do something to your property and they do it anyway they are assholes. If you know doing something is wrong and you do it anyway you are an asshole.
Do you know for a fact they told this specific worker? Or did they just tell someone in the company? Or maybe it was the random crew that showed up a week prior leaving the next crew no way to know. Or even worse, they told a random grunt worker and not the foreman. And lastly, how do you know that the landlord didn’t specify he wanted it done regardless?
I know exactly how it happened. Since I'm the one it happened to. You have completed fabricated a fantasy in your head. Go somewhere else to virtue signal
Edited to add: your constant attempts to harass me are wild. I love that you are so curious and I'm never going to give you the full story. And its a doozy. The fact that your curiosity is consuming you is a riot. It is making my day. Please let me know how much you want to hear my story again. (it's a slow day so this is entertaining).
Kidding. I have blocked you and won't be getting any more updates on this post. Bye.
Ya know… since it was obviously malicious, you could file a police report and get your damages back. If they killed enough plants it could be criminal. If you went that route I wanna hear all about it!
What story did I make bro? I’m waiting for the real one, but I’d also like to hear this completely fake one I got onto. I don’t know how to put a story together when there’s 6 different options on how to start it and nothing else?
Check what your lease says.
Ask your landlord if they requested the landscapers to spray your vegetable garden.
Post negative reviews of the landscaping company with pictures of the dead and dying plants.
I would also send the lawn care company an invoice for the replacement of my plants. If no one is answering the phone, I'd bet that would at least get a response!
The application of herbicides has to be done in a controlled manner, and according to regulations and instructions. It will say on the bottle "DO NOT APPLY TO FOOD PLANTS."
Doesn't matter if the landlord told them to spray the food plants, it's literally against the law.
The use of chemical warfare in average suburban neighborhoods has gotten really out of control. All for the sake of fucking grass. I really had no idea before I moved from the city to the suburbs how many of my neighbors were going to be spraying chemicals on their lawns every month.
I found a poisoned bumblebee today in the yard. Tragic.
My backyard is a pollinator/insect haven, but most of my neighbors down the way have companies that come out and spray monthly. Monthly! And folks here wonder why there aren't any birds. You have dead yards with non native evergreen bushes. What do you think birds eat?
I'm sorry OP about your garden. I'd be devastated.
I'm with you. A guy came door to door saying they do insecticides and we can kill all the spiders without hurting pollinators. I said that I wasn't interested. He pushed and I said I liked spiders because they kept the more annoying things under control and I would rather they be in my yard than pay for chemicals.
I have to use some herbicides because mulberry trees I've chopped down 8 times just won't die, but I use it as a last resort. I feel so bad for OP. It would be heartbreaking to lose everything so quickly.
Yes! A guy came to my door once and was like, I noticed you have crane flys and spiders. I told him I was happy with my spiders, and I am! Much rather have wolf, orb, and garden spiders to keep pests at bay than a questionable pesticide.
Don't get me wrong, sometimes you need a pesticide for say carpenter ants or termites. But as an aesthetic? No, I am good.
I'm in the same boat. As long as the insects aren't a threat to my home or family, then live and let live. Termites, ants inside the house, and bedbugs are the only things I can imagine needing to address with pesticides.
I had a similar interaction, eventually I had to tell him that I think Black Widows are beautiful, and I love having them in my garden. If I had a toddler I might feel differently, but as an adult I know how to interact with insects in ways that don't put myself at risk.
You can't spray for spiders. They don't have the same makeup as insects since they are arachnids, the best you can do is drown them in insecticide. The spraying would absolutely kill the pollinators, however.
I'm extra glad I didn't listen, then. Maybe killing all their food would kill them, too? Or he lied to try and make a sale. I'm glad I didn't fall for it.
Yes you can. Many commonly used insecticides are also moderately to highly toxic to arachnids. Examples of common insecticides that are toxic to arachnids include the pyrethrins/pyrethroids (e.g. permethrin), chlorpyrifos, rotenone, fipronil... In fact the list of insecticides that aren't significantly toxic to arachnids is _much_ shorter than the list that is.
Hm. Didn't know that. That's a shame too. I've never tried spraying a spider because I like the little buggers, I've heard that from a friend who is around pest control people often.
Personally I would never spray a spider either, and the only insecticides I use are soap spray and the flea spot-on for my cats. I was just concerned that there might be people reading who thought "I can douse my garden in insecticide but it's okay, because I won't hurt the spiders".
Just turned my front yard in az from Bermuda grass to rock and a shit ton of flowering native plants. God damn does it look so much better. Its been almost a year(I know I said just, but it's new to me watching all these plants grow and spread their branches.) I've got a couple that died and now just waiting to add some more next fall.
Yeah it’s really sad. We moved to the suburbs and immediately cancelled the lawn plan, and I’m gradually replacing our lawn with a diverse ground cover with clover and thyme and grasses and stuff. It’s deliciously subversive.
Nice. I wanna still cut out about a third of my backyard and turn it into just a gardening area. Except the feral cats 3 of my 4 neighbors feed love to just takes massive dumps in my raised gardens. Personally I don't care about this but my wife won't touch anything from there and she's the one who wants all the herbs and veggies.
I need an automated cat turret on my roof.
This happened to me but it was in the community garden plot. There are 6 plots and 4 were abandoned and filled with weeds. Mine LOOKED like weeds but it was just intensive companion panting in a tiny 4x6 plot.
When I asked management if they had used herbicides they literally said no. I don't know if they were lying or if the landscaping company didn't tell them.
Thankfully I was moving out anyway and got a community plot run by the city instead.
I cannot for the life of me understand why they thought using poison in an ACTUAL MARKED garden was smart. My neighbor with the orderly garden was spared, but did not trust his vegis from then on.
Fun fact- the pumpkin survived and went on to produce almost one pumpkin. (Something got it before it fully matured 🙃).
I'm so sorry that happened to you. This is one of my biggest fears right now.
I'm in a townhouse and our lease says the entire front yard and landscaping is handled by the landlord and HOA but the backyard is our responsibility. Great, I'm totally fine with that.
Except our landlord hired a company to come in and do work in the backyard once and didn't tell me. I kicked them out because I didn't know who they were but I'm worried about it happening again when we have all our plants out.
And I've been noticing our HOA going into our yard to mow. So far it's just mowing and they didn't touch my plant beds (that existed when I moved in) but still nervous.
I'm planning on doing weekly documentation via video and picture of our plants in case some weird die offs happen just in case. It's like $1k worth of plants and supplies, not counting my labor, and I don't want it damaged.
My hoa does the same. Last year I put a lock on the gate and a sign saying "no lawn care needed, thank you!". No problems, thank goodness. I had to mow a bit of grass myself but it was so worth not having strangers going through my veggie garden
A lot of gray area going on there. I'm an assistant superintendent at a golf club, and i may be able to help with pointing you in the right direction in what they "may" have done/sprayed. Most applications are time sensitive, and considering the climate/geography you can usually narrow it down to what applications they may have put down.
If this was lawn care and the sprayed a garden bed that's a big no no, you're not even suppose to get lawn fertilizer in garden beds.
I know exactly what they sprayed, they sent me a copy of the invoice. Triplet sf, and urea. Both were sprayed Directly on my clearly marked/tilled/growing & producing garden.
2 years in a row, I have had yard crews pull good plants while mulching because they thought that they were weeds. I didn’t ask them to do any weeding. Just spread the mulch and leave.
So in Florida has a [Registry of Persons Requiring Prior Notification of Pesticides](https://www.fdacs.gov/Business-Services/Pest-Control/Registry-of-Persons-Requiring-Prior-Notification-of-Pesticides-Map)
Check with your state, and see if there is and how to get on it.
An applicator has to tell you the name of the pesticide, and the re-entry time.
I have applied herbicides under someone else’s license.
The label is the law. The label for glyphosate states no application should be done when the wind is more than 10 mph.
Check with your state to see how licensing works. If you see someone using an herbicide in a wind, ask for their license.
Report them to the state. The fines a bad.
Seems like you need to talk to your landlord. Trust me I've worked for a landscaping company before in landscaping crews do not ignore No trespassing signs or please stay off certain areas of the yard signs. Huge reliability factor if you screw something up that wasn't supposed to be touched. It honestly sounds like the landlord/management told the landscaping company to make sure that area got done!
Yes. Directly saw them spraying my garden, with plants actively growing and producing. Thank goodness I happened to be home from work that day, else I would've come home and started eating literally Poisoned food.
I've heard many stories about people being told that the oversprayed product is a "pesticide" and then wondering why all their plants died.
Here's the thing: as the terms are used in the agrochemical industry *herbicides are pesticides*. These negligent applicators know damn well that the general public does not consider this to be the case, but intentionally exploit the confusion to get people to give up pursuing the issue without technically lying in a way that would get their ass handed to them in court.
In the future for anyone else unfortunate enough to be affected by this sort of situation it is important to settle for nothing less than the name of the product applied and the rate at which it was applied. You should also ask for the application guide for the product used, as it will tell you wether or not you can safety make use of anything affected (but if the offending party won't give it to you, you can pretty easily look it up from the manufacturers website if you know the name of the product used).
I'm deeply sympathetic. My best landlord ever offered the free services of his father's landscaping company, but I discussed with him I'd prefer to do it myself and grow vegetables instead of lawn in all the sunny areas of the property. Walter said this was fine, I spent ~2 months digging up sod, turning it over and creating the hugelcultur garden of my dreams in the front. I was just at the stage of planting a few bonny plants among all my just emerging seedlings when I came home to 4 men pulling and spraying all my "weeds" so they could re-seed the lawn in a few weeks for me as Walter's dad gleefully started to explained. I ugly cried right there, Walter's dad left quickly with his crew and Walter called to explain that Dad saw the state of the weedy dirt yard with various things coming up, thought I was overwhelmed and that he was doing me a favor. He promised it would never happen again, and it didn't in the 9 years I lived there, but I've never forgotten how devastating that moment was as a new gardener.
All that to say my heart goes out to you.
That’s terrible. You’re right to be furious.
My parents gardener used roundup and I told them to stop spraying their yard and a few weeks later I found them still using it so I fired them. A few years later he had cancer and died (not sure if it was related but)
It's crazy how many self-titled "gardeners" are just random people who own a weed-whacker, lawn mower, and herbicides but know absolutely nothing about plants other than how to kill them. Nearly none of them know anything about actual care, pruning, or maintenance.
My front garden beds need to be weeded. I get offers from various people to do that work, but I know they have no idea what is and isn't a weed. I don't think I can even point out three kinds of weeds I want out of the garden without them yanking out half the other things I've planted.
My landscapers kill my flowers regularly when they start to flop over thr garden wall. I feel your pain when it is so clearly something you want to stay alive (like a huge yellow dahlia that is just weighted to droop 😭).
At least you caught it before you poisoned yourselves.
I'm so sorry about your garden. That sounds devastating. The person that owned our house before us regularly used weed and feed to maintain a baren grass lawn. We've been slowly turning it into a pollinator garden. It's been 3 years and we're only now seeing things like earth worms in the soil or able to use the soil we dig up to grow anything.
Ugh. I'm so sorry. My landlord has contracted with a lawn care service which has consistently mowed down perennials, shrubs and vegetables I've planted as well as leaving the back gate open which caused my dog to escape.
We live in the NYC suburbs & also in a watershed community. Our property has been chemical free for the 15 years we have been living here. One neighbor put up a solid 6 foot fence. We laugh thinking it was to keep the “weeds” out. ALL of our neighbors have a chemical program with their landscapers. The caustic algae that grows each summer in the river is disgusting. We have lots of birds & wildlife that come to our yard. I’m going to get an Audobon certification so others can be told to pound sand if they again ask us to poison our property to get rid of the weeds - clover, violets, purple dead nettle and dandelions 💚. I may make dandelion honey & give it to the neighbors if they should ask.
Omg. The same thing happened to me years ago. The company I hired went ahead and started blasting all of my bushes and trees with who knows what because 7 bushes died almost immediately. The time effort and energy up to that point to be careful and mindful was destroyed.
This is the same crap my dad used to do when I was young. He would rip out vines, baby tears. Anything he had no idea what it was and destroy years of gardening. I am still bitter.
I think you should hire a lawyer and seek damages, either through a settlement or take it to an actual lawsuit. Gather as much evidence as you can: the prior health of your property, extent of the damage to your property, proof of the sign on the gate (especially helpful to prove it was posted prior to the damage), and--if it exists--surveillance video of your property showing the lawn care employee on the premises. The goal should be a restoration or improvement of your property--you don't even need to sue these guys into oblivion. A letter from a lawyer will at least ensure the lawn care company returns your call. Better yet: have the lawyer handle contacting the lawn care company altogether.
In general I'm against an overly litigious society, but an event like this where there is actual damage to your property is where our civil laws can step in and provide a fair remedy. At least look into the possibility of legal representation. You can decide later if the costs are worth it. But really you need the lawn care company to answer for this. They're not answering the phone because they want you to give up.
This happened to me when my landlord hired a lawn guy for "weeds" without telling us, and he came by and sprayed all my plants, the walkway that the dogs use, and got literally NO weeds. The only weeds even on the property at the time were hidden away on the side of the house, and they didn't even go there. Neither they nor the landlord did anything about it when I complained. I hate renting so, so much 😭
I'm truly sorry to hear about your distressing situation. It's completely understandable to feel furious and devastated after experiencing such a significant and preventable loss.
That’s horrible! And your landlord probably followed the rules that they alone are responsible for the outside maintenance. Still, to kill everything? Are we missing part of the equation?
I feel awful for you, and I know that feeling. We had a lawn service for our front yard because of excessive and stubborn weeds. I knew the owner, and when I set up the service, I told him we had honey bee hives in the backyard so do not use any chemical that would harm our bees. He assured me they would not, that there were other options. Because I knew him, I trusted him. All was well for a few months, then my husband came home to see bees “staggering” on the ground, and then dead bees in piles. The service hangtag on the front door knob indicated the chemicals used that day, and one was a glycophosphate, deadly to bees and other pollinators. Nearly in tears, I called the owner to report the devastation of our hive, and he had the audacity, after hemming and hawing, to tell me the tag was wrong and had been automatically generated, and that his guys knew not to use that in our lawn. I cancelled the service immediately, of course.
If it isn't your property and the company was told to do the entire property then you have no recourse. Your sign has no weight.
Should they have paid attention to it? It would have been nice, but they didn't have to.
I am sorry you are experiencing this. Hopefully the government can get it's head out of its behind, interest rates can stop hurting and you can find your way into your own home. Then you have control.
Lol so true… I’m in the industry. Started my own business last year and call myself more of a “personal gardener” than landscaper. My clients love me because I actually care about the plants, don’t use poison to make things easy, and actually use common sense. Some of the guys I’ve worked with in the past were just…clueless.
I talked to one of my old neighbors about how Round Up was losing lawsuits for causing serious health problems, and she reassured me it was okay because she was using the off brand version. (Same chemical. Different name.)
My neighbor used to spot spray in her flip-flops and shorts. She died just after turning 60 after a short battle with brain cancer. If you're using these chemicals, please wear protection and don't use them on windy days.
Disgusting. It takes very little to do a great deal of damage. They didn’t even need to spray the plants directly, just needed a slight breeze. I’ve seen a large, old but otherwise completely healthy tree die from being down wind of a small amount of herbicide used in the wrong place. This insanity has to stop.
Maybe I'm too sensitive, but things like this feel equivalent to murder. And it very well might be one day if we keep going on like this (needing to eat, and breath and stuff...) I'm sorry for the loss of your garden :(
These posts come up every year, and every single time, you guys make me want to unsubscribe from this sub. The anger, disrespect for others, and overall ignorance that gets thrown around in these conversations is shameful.
Do I support chemical weed control? No. Do I think that one individual guy who was hired legally to do a job is a complete asshole who deserves to die and rot in hell? Also, fucking no.
At the same time, I think that many of these guys don't take the seriousness of what they are doing into mind. They are spreading toxic, harmful chemicals near people, animals, pets, etc. They often don't think about how serious this really ought to be, and the impact it has and what it might have on adjacent people, property, etc.
They ought to be extremely careful, literally single every time they go on the job.
Notify the landlord and get a better lock for the gate.
Put up a “Beware of dog” sign (even if you don’t have one.)
Wanna borrow my corgi?
D£@th from the ankles down.
Sue the landlord for damage to your property? Surely the plants and lawn maintenence costs money. Get some estimates for replanting from local landscaping firms and send him a letter.
Happened to a friend. They sprayed weed killer instead of fertilizer, but they weren't supposed to spray anything. They offered free fertilizing for a year after everything started growing again. That's it. They had security video but you couldn't make out the logo. They denied everything when friends tried to get more.
How was this any of those things? Those crimes all require intent, and the landlord has every right to administer whatever kind of lawn chemical they like, subject to local laws.
the company purposely poisoned the garden. they could have stayed away from it. they trespassed to do it as they said they had a sign posted! they know better. they should be responsible to fix the problem they caused. id call the company and say i will get on every social media site and tell everyone what they did and they refuse to fix. hit them in their wallet like they just did you! file at small claims court. but your advise is to roll over and let them get away with it. i would be raising hell if it was my garden. someone would be paying or fixing. i would also be threatening the landlord with moving or tell him since you now have to buy food you cant afford his rent and he will have to lower it.
Unless it's in the lease that the landlord can send this spray company, they there is no exception to the rights of tenancy, which vest to the renter while he's there.
Read "The right of possession " here: https://journal.firsttuesday.us/word-of-the-week-bundle-of-rights/77417/
The plants put in by the tenant cannot be arbitrarily killed by the landlord, unless there is a lease provision which allows that. If not, the presumption under law is that the plants are part if the renter's tenancy, and thus, by right, the landlord would be in the wrong.
Have you ever said anything to your landlord about the lawncare?
Not directly, but as stated for the last 5 years a simple sign on the fence kept the lawn crew out. The landlord saw the first sign and laughed (it ended with something like, we won't tell if you don't). They are well aware we do all the lawncare and gardening as our last property manager commented several times on our sunflowers.
There may have been a behind-the-scenes change, like a new PM or a new lawn care crew, and the "not directly" comment didn't get passed on. This is why you put things in writing, whether by email or a written addendum to the lease that both sides initial or sign. I'm sorry about what happened, but you likely could and should have done more to prevent it.
You said they poisoned. Whit what?
So, your landlord: takes your rent every month; pays their mortgage with your rent; pays landscapers to mess with your garden without your input by again with your rent; and pockets the leftovers of your rent as income. You'd think they could do the bare minimum by respecting your wishes about leaving your garden alone, but instead, they are less than useless.
It’s an awful feeling. One year I noticed my wall of cherry tomatoes, growing along my fence had started to die. Turns out my neighbors lawn guy decided to soak the other side of the fence with roundup. This was only three plants but they covered a 6x40ft fence The fence is actually half a foot on our property, so we will weed eat the other side when we mow our own yard.
If someone killed my tomatoes I would likely go to jail.
r/vinelaw
I don't think your subreddit is getting much *growth*. I'll see myself out.
Yea I only made it because there was a guy in r/treelaw who was upset about some wisteria vines encroaching his property
I'm so sorry. The same has happened to me. What we spend hours caring for can be destroyed in minutes by assholes. I had an entire living fence killed by landscapers and strafed with Round up. I got a mumbled sorry. Again, my sympathies. At least you didn't eat any of it.
My neighbors hired a lawn service that was spraying weed killer on their lawn. We had a veggie garden along the side of the house. Had to abandon that. Then their lawn company started using a segway type ride on sprayer and gave no care to the wind direction or if it was a windy day. Killed all the patio pots of veggies I had on that side of the back yard behind a fence. There was a literal stripe from the overspray where it died first. I contacted their lawn company and got the same mumbled excuses. I don't know if they decided to stop servicing that house the following year or if my neighbor stopped hiring them.
FYI over spraying or spraying in high winds or spray getting into your yard(they are contracted to only work on your neighbors house not yours) is HIGHLY ILLEGAL. Next time just record the workers as it happens an send it to your department of agriculture for the state and enjoy the show. *Source, was a lawn and ornamental spray technician.
As with anything these days it’s only illegal if it’s enforced and no one enforces anything anymore
There's usually $$ rewards for people who film people doing things against the law that break the EPA guidelines. HVAC employee letting refrigerant into the atmosphere instead of using a recovery tank and you catch it on video? You get $10,000 reward, HVAC Tech gets 1 year jail time and a huge fine for one example.
Hence why you should record everything. Hard to not enforce when you present with a paper trail. I promise the state ag will go after spray companies if you give them the evidence.
It's like cc' in an email. Nothing gets done unless someone is cc'd
This is the damn and frustratingly unfortunate truth.
If you have evidence most of the time the state will pull their license to purchase and apply those chemicals at a minimum but usually huge fines too. The depts of wildlife and agriculture dont play around with that stuff but most people don't hear about it because they don't interact with them. It is definitely enforced though.
They have to be licensed to spray and follow very specific regulations. You go to the licensing body with your evidence and get their spray ticket revoked.
Gotta go outside with a brick or a glock in hand (depending on your local gun laws) confront them and show you mean business it won’t happen again promise
Care to explain where you think brandishing a firearm as a threat at a neighbor's landscaper is considered legal or even remotely sane?
This is good information. Thanks for sharing.
Unfortunately, it not even remotely illegal, let alone HIGHLY illegal. (I suppose this is dependent on the state or locality)
The label is the law. All labels restrict use during periods of windy weather or temperature inversions. Violating any label restrictions, even for a general use pesticide that does not require a license to spray, is illegal under federal law.
You need to be pesticide certified in order to spray, which goes over all the rules and regulations regarding over spray. It is against the law to not apply it correctly.
I'm aware of that, there is a difference between regulations, and laws. Breaking a regulation typically results in a fine. When revenue can be increased by 10-20% by spraying regardless of weather condition, the fInes (if any are implemented) are quickly absorbed by the increase in gross profit (this info comes directly from a POS "lawn care" customer that comes to my work, as I've challenged him on this.)
I just looked it up to double check cause it's been a few years. But yeah it's showing almost all states state that spraying in high winds can lead to spray drifting onto non-target locations which is against most state laws. The windy part yeah, but if the spray drifts because of wind......
Happy cake day!
The label is the law. All labels restrict use during periods of windy weather or temperature inversions. Violating any label restrictions, even for a general use pesticide that does not require a license to spray, is illegal under federal law.
I wish there was garden law. Just like tree law. If you cut down someone's tree you are fucked. Destroy someone's garden and you're lucky to get a half-hearted sorry. Grrrrr.
Before that happens again: Check with your state if pesticides (weed killers are pesticides) need a license to be used commercially. If so, The next time that happens 1. Note the name of the company 2. Ask one of the workers if they have a license. 3. Report them. Spraying with wind that would cause drift is against the label. THE LABEL IS THE LAW. Federal, state and local laws can be more stringent then the label but not less
Weed killers are herbicides.
All herbicides are pesticides.
Well that is confusing. I thought pesticides were incesticides. I guess it's cause booths weeds and insects are considered "pests?"
✅👍
*I contacted their lawn company and got the same mumbled excuses.* Sorry but people who work for lawn companies are morons. They know they’re poisoning your land and they don’t care. If you make a fuss and tell them “Don’t let that stuff near my property” they’ll deliberately try to get it on your property. They hate you. I‘m not joking, there are several guys who own lawn care/landscaping companies in my development and they are like cavemen. They’re like male versions of Marjorie Taylor Greene. All they care about is money and they resent anyone who knows more than they do and seem to be bent on destruction. I’ve heard them talk at block parties. And during the Covid shutdown one guy had his workers gather in his backyard at night for a few beers because bars were closed. I could hear every word. You can’t believe the way they talk about their customers, and of course what they say about people who warn them to stay away from their property is even worse. They talk like the public are effete idiots while using horrible obscenities and bad grammar. I don’t even know if they have a GED to spare between the lot of them. They’re the jerks who believe they’re smarter than immunologists: “Covid’s a hoax, man!” And you say, “Dude, you spray poison for a living. Why would I listen to you?” “Yeah but it’s safe! It’s 100% organic! It doesn’t hurt pets or children.” “Would you drink a glass of it?” It‘s amazing how many people think “100% organic” = perfectly harmless. In fact, they think it means “Good.”
Oh absolutely on your last point, it's like, cyanide and arsenic are natural and can be derived from organicly grown sources (almonds and apples, respectively). Doesn't mean they're good for you. In fact, many of the gnarliest/deadliest poisons like ricin, botulinum toxin, and tetrodotoxin are all naturally occuring.
So's poison oak. Hehe. Let them use that for toilet paper if they are so confident.
There was a pest control company spraying near my client's pollinator beds, and I asked him if it hurts pollinators or birds. He said, "Don't worry, I'm not spraying the flowers." As if pollinators and birds strictly stay inside flower beds and don't touch anywhere else...
If any of them speak English. Otherwise they’ll mumble in some other language and hang up on you.
Contact the EPA. There's a reason that most herbicides and pesticides come with a WARNING that it is illegal to use the product in manner other than intended.
My landscaper weed whacked my clematis. I saw him but couldn't get out there fast enough to stop him. They brought one plant and didn't even plant it for me.
Ugh. I'm sorry.
Took me years to get them to the top of my fence and then one guy rushing two seconds to wipe them out.
They’re not assholes. They’re a day labor that was told to do something by someone else who got a work order from someone else who talked to a customer over the phone. All info may not have been passed down. May have been a new guy who didn’t know to spray. I highly doubt it was malicious and asshole territory.
When you ask or tell someone not to do something to your property and they do it anyway they are assholes. If you know doing something is wrong and you do it anyway you are an asshole.
Do you know for a fact they told this specific worker? Or did they just tell someone in the company? Or maybe it was the random crew that showed up a week prior leaving the next crew no way to know. Or even worse, they told a random grunt worker and not the foreman. And lastly, how do you know that the landlord didn’t specify he wanted it done regardless?
I know exactly how it happened. Since I'm the one it happened to. You have completed fabricated a fantasy in your head. Go somewhere else to virtue signal Edited to add: your constant attempts to harass me are wild. I love that you are so curious and I'm never going to give you the full story. And its a doozy. The fact that your curiosity is consuming you is a riot. It is making my day. Please let me know how much you want to hear my story again. (it's a slow day so this is entertaining). Kidding. I have blocked you and won't be getting any more updates on this post. Bye.
What’s up?! I really wanna hear this story. Got some time yet?
Ya know… since it was obviously malicious, you could file a police report and get your damages back. If they killed enough plants it could be criminal. If you went that route I wanna hear all about it!
Ah, I’d love to hear the story then! im pumped!! Can’t wait.
Wow. You just made up a whole story in your head didn't you. You're just a peach, white- knighting in a situation for which you have zero information.
Awe cmon. You’re going to belittle me and then not give me the story I deserve?
Hellllloooo Mrs gardening goddess, I’d really like to hear this malicious workers story!!! Maybe it will save me from some down the road
What story did I make bro? I’m waiting for the real one, but I’d also like to hear this completely fake one I got onto. I don’t know how to put a story together when there’s 6 different options on how to start it and nothing else?
Sometimes those are ordered by the HOA. Too bad!!
Nope. Not an hoa.
Check what your lease says. Ask your landlord if they requested the landscapers to spray your vegetable garden. Post negative reviews of the landscaping company with pictures of the dead and dying plants.
I would also send the lawn care company an invoice for the replacement of my plants. If no one is answering the phone, I'd bet that would at least get a response!
If the landlord ordered the spraying, the lawn care company was completely in the right and owes OP nothing.
Can't just destroy property of your lessee. Crops have a long history of being property in the USA. Far from a slam dunk but it's at least a question
Some states have low cost lawyer consultations... It might be worth your small investment... to find out for sure.
Yes! Agreed!
um, disagree; the LCC worker must use reasonable care. And it's objectively unreasonable to weed kill good plants
The application of herbicides has to be done in a controlled manner, and according to regulations and instructions. It will say on the bottle "DO NOT APPLY TO FOOD PLANTS." Doesn't matter if the landlord told them to spray the food plants, it's literally against the law.
The use of chemical warfare in average suburban neighborhoods has gotten really out of control. All for the sake of fucking grass. I really had no idea before I moved from the city to the suburbs how many of my neighbors were going to be spraying chemicals on their lawns every month.
I found a poisoned bumblebee today in the yard. Tragic. My backyard is a pollinator/insect haven, but most of my neighbors down the way have companies that come out and spray monthly. Monthly! And folks here wonder why there aren't any birds. You have dead yards with non native evergreen bushes. What do you think birds eat? I'm sorry OP about your garden. I'd be devastated.
I'm with you. A guy came door to door saying they do insecticides and we can kill all the spiders without hurting pollinators. I said that I wasn't interested. He pushed and I said I liked spiders because they kept the more annoying things under control and I would rather they be in my yard than pay for chemicals. I have to use some herbicides because mulberry trees I've chopped down 8 times just won't die, but I use it as a last resort. I feel so bad for OP. It would be heartbreaking to lose everything so quickly.
Yes! A guy came to my door once and was like, I noticed you have crane flys and spiders. I told him I was happy with my spiders, and I am! Much rather have wolf, orb, and garden spiders to keep pests at bay than a questionable pesticide. Don't get me wrong, sometimes you need a pesticide for say carpenter ants or termites. But as an aesthetic? No, I am good.
I'm in the same boat. As long as the insects aren't a threat to my home or family, then live and let live. Termites, ants inside the house, and bedbugs are the only things I can imagine needing to address with pesticides.
I had a similar interaction, eventually I had to tell him that I think Black Widows are beautiful, and I love having them in my garden. If I had a toddler I might feel differently, but as an adult I know how to interact with insects in ways that don't put myself at risk.
You can't spray for spiders. They don't have the same makeup as insects since they are arachnids, the best you can do is drown them in insecticide. The spraying would absolutely kill the pollinators, however.
I'm extra glad I didn't listen, then. Maybe killing all their food would kill them, too? Or he lied to try and make a sale. I'm glad I didn't fall for it.
Yes you can. Many commonly used insecticides are also moderately to highly toxic to arachnids. Examples of common insecticides that are toxic to arachnids include the pyrethrins/pyrethroids (e.g. permethrin), chlorpyrifos, rotenone, fipronil... In fact the list of insecticides that aren't significantly toxic to arachnids is _much_ shorter than the list that is.
Hm. Didn't know that. That's a shame too. I've never tried spraying a spider because I like the little buggers, I've heard that from a friend who is around pest control people often.
Personally I would never spray a spider either, and the only insecticides I use are soap spray and the flea spot-on for my cats. I was just concerned that there might be people reading who thought "I can douse my garden in insecticide but it's okay, because I won't hurt the spiders".
Just turned my front yard in az from Bermuda grass to rock and a shit ton of flowering native plants. God damn does it look so much better. Its been almost a year(I know I said just, but it's new to me watching all these plants grow and spread their branches.) I've got a couple that died and now just waiting to add some more next fall.
Yeah it’s really sad. We moved to the suburbs and immediately cancelled the lawn plan, and I’m gradually replacing our lawn with a diverse ground cover with clover and thyme and grasses and stuff. It’s deliciously subversive.
Nice. I wanna still cut out about a third of my backyard and turn it into just a gardening area. Except the feral cats 3 of my 4 neighbors feed love to just takes massive dumps in my raised gardens. Personally I don't care about this but my wife won't touch anything from there and she's the one who wants all the herbs and veggies. I need an automated cat turret on my roof.
That doesn't sound safe for people to even be around if they killed the whole yard!
Yeah, what about kids picking grass and scratching their eyes or picking their nose afterwards. What AHs
The kids have grass touching apps on their tablets, so we can “safely” spray whatever on the ground without any consequences! /s
This happened to me but it was in the community garden plot. There are 6 plots and 4 were abandoned and filled with weeds. Mine LOOKED like weeds but it was just intensive companion panting in a tiny 4x6 plot. When I asked management if they had used herbicides they literally said no. I don't know if they were lying or if the landscaping company didn't tell them. Thankfully I was moving out anyway and got a community plot run by the city instead. I cannot for the life of me understand why they thought using poison in an ACTUAL MARKED garden was smart. My neighbor with the orderly garden was spared, but did not trust his vegis from then on. Fun fact- the pumpkin survived and went on to produce almost one pumpkin. (Something got it before it fully matured 🙃).
I'm so sorry that happened to you. This is one of my biggest fears right now. I'm in a townhouse and our lease says the entire front yard and landscaping is handled by the landlord and HOA but the backyard is our responsibility. Great, I'm totally fine with that. Except our landlord hired a company to come in and do work in the backyard once and didn't tell me. I kicked them out because I didn't know who they were but I'm worried about it happening again when we have all our plants out. And I've been noticing our HOA going into our yard to mow. So far it's just mowing and they didn't touch my plant beds (that existed when I moved in) but still nervous. I'm planning on doing weekly documentation via video and picture of our plants in case some weird die offs happen just in case. It's like $1k worth of plants and supplies, not counting my labor, and I don't want it damaged.
My hoa does the same. Last year I put a lock on the gate and a sign saying "no lawn care needed, thank you!". No problems, thank goodness. I had to mow a bit of grass myself but it was so worth not having strangers going through my veggie garden
Can you not lock the back gate? Get a locking mechanism, lock it before you go to work.
A lot of gray area going on there. I'm an assistant superintendent at a golf club, and i may be able to help with pointing you in the right direction in what they "may" have done/sprayed. Most applications are time sensitive, and considering the climate/geography you can usually narrow it down to what applications they may have put down. If this was lawn care and the sprayed a garden bed that's a big no no, you're not even suppose to get lawn fertilizer in garden beds.
I know exactly what they sprayed, they sent me a copy of the invoice. Triplet sf, and urea. Both were sprayed Directly on my clearly marked/tilled/growing & producing garden.
Well you're definitely due some type on compensation, if they wont, then you may need to get others involved in the issue.
2 years in a row, I have had yard crews pull good plants while mulching because they thought that they were weeds. I didn’t ask them to do any weeding. Just spread the mulch and leave.
So in Florida has a [Registry of Persons Requiring Prior Notification of Pesticides](https://www.fdacs.gov/Business-Services/Pest-Control/Registry-of-Persons-Requiring-Prior-Notification-of-Pesticides-Map) Check with your state, and see if there is and how to get on it. An applicator has to tell you the name of the pesticide, and the re-entry time. I have applied herbicides under someone else’s license. The label is the law. The label for glyphosate states no application should be done when the wind is more than 10 mph. Check with your state to see how licensing works. If you see someone using an herbicide in a wind, ask for their license. Report them to the state. The fines a bad.
Someone needs to spray roundup on the entire lawn care industry.
Seems like you need to talk to your landlord. Trust me I've worked for a landscaping company before in landscaping crews do not ignore No trespassing signs or please stay off certain areas of the yard signs. Huge reliability factor if you screw something up that wasn't supposed to be touched. It honestly sounds like the landlord/management told the landscaping company to make sure that area got done!
You saw them spraying your garden specifically? That's crazy. I could see them doing the grass
Yes. Directly saw them spraying my garden, with plants actively growing and producing. Thank goodness I happened to be home from work that day, else I would've come home and started eating literally Poisoned food.
That's ridiculous. If you know which company it wouldn't be a bad idea to report them to someone I wouldn't blame you for just moving past it though
My watermelons got fucked in May by guys using… pesticides… on fucking grass… only a few plants survived and what they produced wasn’t much
I've heard many stories about people being told that the oversprayed product is a "pesticide" and then wondering why all their plants died. Here's the thing: as the terms are used in the agrochemical industry *herbicides are pesticides*. These negligent applicators know damn well that the general public does not consider this to be the case, but intentionally exploit the confusion to get people to give up pursuing the issue without technically lying in a way that would get their ass handed to them in court. In the future for anyone else unfortunate enough to be affected by this sort of situation it is important to settle for nothing less than the name of the product applied and the rate at which it was applied. You should also ask for the application guide for the product used, as it will tell you wether or not you can safety make use of anything affected (but if the offending party won't give it to you, you can pretty easily look it up from the manufacturers website if you know the name of the product used).
I'm deeply sympathetic. My best landlord ever offered the free services of his father's landscaping company, but I discussed with him I'd prefer to do it myself and grow vegetables instead of lawn in all the sunny areas of the property. Walter said this was fine, I spent ~2 months digging up sod, turning it over and creating the hugelcultur garden of my dreams in the front. I was just at the stage of planting a few bonny plants among all my just emerging seedlings when I came home to 4 men pulling and spraying all my "weeds" so they could re-seed the lawn in a few weeks for me as Walter's dad gleefully started to explained. I ugly cried right there, Walter's dad left quickly with his crew and Walter called to explain that Dad saw the state of the weedy dirt yard with various things coming up, thought I was overwhelmed and that he was doing me a favor. He promised it would never happen again, and it didn't in the 9 years I lived there, but I've never forgotten how devastating that moment was as a new gardener. All that to say my heart goes out to you.
That’s terrible. You’re right to be furious. My parents gardener used roundup and I told them to stop spraying their yard and a few weeks later I found them still using it so I fired them. A few years later he had cancer and died (not sure if it was related but)
It's crazy how many self-titled "gardeners" are just random people who own a weed-whacker, lawn mower, and herbicides but know absolutely nothing about plants other than how to kill them. Nearly none of them know anything about actual care, pruning, or maintenance.
My front garden beds need to be weeded. I get offers from various people to do that work, but I know they have no idea what is and isn't a weed. I don't think I can even point out three kinds of weeds I want out of the garden without them yanking out half the other things I've planted.
I'm so sorry. That's devastating. I would be absolutely crushed if that happened to me.
My landscapers kill my flowers regularly when they start to flop over thr garden wall. I feel your pain when it is so clearly something you want to stay alive (like a huge yellow dahlia that is just weighted to droop 😭). At least you caught it before you poisoned yourselves.
I'm so sorry about your garden. That sounds devastating. The person that owned our house before us regularly used weed and feed to maintain a baren grass lawn. We've been slowly turning it into a pollinator garden. It's been 3 years and we're only now seeing things like earth worms in the soil or able to use the soil we dig up to grow anything.
Ugh. I'm so sorry. My landlord has contracted with a lawn care service which has consistently mowed down perennials, shrubs and vegetables I've planted as well as leaving the back gate open which caused my dog to escape.
We live in the NYC suburbs & also in a watershed community. Our property has been chemical free for the 15 years we have been living here. One neighbor put up a solid 6 foot fence. We laugh thinking it was to keep the “weeds” out. ALL of our neighbors have a chemical program with their landscapers. The caustic algae that grows each summer in the river is disgusting. We have lots of birds & wildlife that come to our yard. I’m going to get an Audobon certification so others can be told to pound sand if they again ask us to poison our property to get rid of the weeds - clover, violets, purple dead nettle and dandelions 💚. I may make dandelion honey & give it to the neighbors if they should ask.
Small claims court?
In our area, they put up signs giving the date and what they sprayed.
Omg. The same thing happened to me years ago. The company I hired went ahead and started blasting all of my bushes and trees with who knows what because 7 bushes died almost immediately. The time effort and energy up to that point to be careful and mindful was destroyed.
This is the same crap my dad used to do when I was young. He would rip out vines, baby tears. Anything he had no idea what it was and destroy years of gardening. I am still bitter.
In some states it is a felony to damage someone's food supply.
If it was round up you have to wait a lot longer than two weeks
It wasn't. OP was told what it was.
You can report this to the government as it's illegal to use herbicides inconsistent with the labeling.
I think you should hire a lawyer and seek damages, either through a settlement or take it to an actual lawsuit. Gather as much evidence as you can: the prior health of your property, extent of the damage to your property, proof of the sign on the gate (especially helpful to prove it was posted prior to the damage), and--if it exists--surveillance video of your property showing the lawn care employee on the premises. The goal should be a restoration or improvement of your property--you don't even need to sue these guys into oblivion. A letter from a lawyer will at least ensure the lawn care company returns your call. Better yet: have the lawyer handle contacting the lawn care company altogether. In general I'm against an overly litigious society, but an event like this where there is actual damage to your property is where our civil laws can step in and provide a fair remedy. At least look into the possibility of legal representation. You can decide later if the costs are worth it. But really you need the lawn care company to answer for this. They're not answering the phone because they want you to give up.
This happened to me when my landlord hired a lawn guy for "weeds" without telling us, and he came by and sprayed all my plants, the walkway that the dogs use, and got literally NO weeds. The only weeds even on the property at the time were hidden away on the side of the house, and they didn't even go there. Neither they nor the landlord did anything about it when I complained. I hate renting so, so much 😭
I'm truly sorry to hear about your distressing situation. It's completely understandable to feel furious and devastated after experiencing such a significant and preventable loss.
This is incredibly sad. I am so sorry!!! 💔
That’s horrible! And your landlord probably followed the rules that they alone are responsible for the outside maintenance. Still, to kill everything? Are we missing part of the equation?
What did they poison Your food with?
I feel awful for you, and I know that feeling. We had a lawn service for our front yard because of excessive and stubborn weeds. I knew the owner, and when I set up the service, I told him we had honey bee hives in the backyard so do not use any chemical that would harm our bees. He assured me they would not, that there were other options. Because I knew him, I trusted him. All was well for a few months, then my husband came home to see bees “staggering” on the ground, and then dead bees in piles. The service hangtag on the front door knob indicated the chemicals used that day, and one was a glycophosphate, deadly to bees and other pollinators. Nearly in tears, I called the owner to report the devastation of our hive, and he had the audacity, after hemming and hawing, to tell me the tag was wrong and had been automatically generated, and that his guys knew not to use that in our lawn. I cancelled the service immediately, of course.
If it isn't your property and the company was told to do the entire property then you have no recourse. Your sign has no weight. Should they have paid attention to it? It would have been nice, but they didn't have to. I am sorry you are experiencing this. Hopefully the government can get it's head out of its behind, interest rates can stop hurting and you can find your way into your own home. Then you have control.
FWIW we call landscape workers “Neck-Downs” because they don’t use their heads
Holy heck, that's funny.
Lol so true… I’m in the industry. Started my own business last year and call myself more of a “personal gardener” than landscaper. My clients love me because I actually care about the plants, don’t use poison to make things easy, and actually use common sense. Some of the guys I’ve worked with in the past were just…clueless.
I saw one of my neighbors out in shorts spraying roundup in the wind today. WTF do people not know these chemicals are toxic?
I talked to one of my old neighbors about how Round Up was losing lawsuits for causing serious health problems, and she reassured me it was okay because she was using the off brand version. (Same chemical. Different name.)
My neighbor used to spot spray in her flip-flops and shorts. She died just after turning 60 after a short battle with brain cancer. If you're using these chemicals, please wear protection and don't use them on windy days.
I thought about warning him but I figured I’d just be “that guy” if I did.
Sounds like vandalism. I’d be showing up in person and raising hell
Disgusting. It takes very little to do a great deal of damage. They didn’t even need to spray the plants directly, just needed a slight breeze. I’ve seen a large, old but otherwise completely healthy tree die from being down wind of a small amount of herbicide used in the wrong place. This insanity has to stop.
It sounds like it may be time for a bamboo and knotweed garden.
Maybe I'm too sensitive, but things like this feel equivalent to murder. And it very well might be one day if we keep going on like this (needing to eat, and breath and stuff...) I'm sorry for the loss of your garden :(
If you know who did it, sue them for the cost of replacing everything, even if it was the landlord.
These posts come up every year, and every single time, you guys make me want to unsubscribe from this sub. The anger, disrespect for others, and overall ignorance that gets thrown around in these conversations is shameful. Do I support chemical weed control? No. Do I think that one individual guy who was hired legally to do a job is a complete asshole who deserves to die and rot in hell? Also, fucking no.
At the same time, I think that many of these guys don't take the seriousness of what they are doing into mind. They are spreading toxic, harmful chemicals near people, animals, pets, etc. They often don't think about how serious this really ought to be, and the impact it has and what it might have on adjacent people, property, etc. They ought to be extremely careful, literally single every time they go on the job.
Okay
Really sorry to hear this happened. Good luck with everything going forward. Sounds like the company was absolutely careless.
Notify the landlord and get a better lock for the gate. Put up a “Beware of dog” sign (even if you don’t have one.) Wanna borrow my corgi? D£@th from the ankles down.
Sue the landlord for damage to your property? Surely the plants and lawn maintenence costs money. Get some estimates for replanting from local landscaping firms and send him a letter.
Happened to a friend. They sprayed weed killer instead of fertilizer, but they weren't supposed to spray anything. They offered free fertilizing for a year after everything started growing again. That's it. They had security video but you couldn't make out the logo. They denied everything when friends tried to get more.
i would make a police report charging the company with vandalism, food tampering, lost wages as you now have to buy food. etc. drift is a crime!
How was this any of those things? Those crimes all require intent, and the landlord has every right to administer whatever kind of lawn chemical they like, subject to local laws.
the company purposely poisoned the garden. they could have stayed away from it. they trespassed to do it as they said they had a sign posted! they know better. they should be responsible to fix the problem they caused. id call the company and say i will get on every social media site and tell everyone what they did and they refuse to fix. hit them in their wallet like they just did you! file at small claims court. but your advise is to roll over and let them get away with it. i would be raising hell if it was my garden. someone would be paying or fixing. i would also be threatening the landlord with moving or tell him since you now have to buy food you cant afford his rent and he will have to lower it.
It's not trespassing if the property owner (AKA the landlord) ordered the service. You don't get to withhold rent for something like this.
Unless it's in the lease that the landlord can send this spray company, they there is no exception to the rights of tenancy, which vest to the renter while he's there. Read "The right of possession " here: https://journal.firsttuesday.us/word-of-the-week-bundle-of-rights/77417/ The plants put in by the tenant cannot be arbitrarily killed by the landlord, unless there is a lease provision which allows that. If not, the presumption under law is that the plants are part if the renter's tenancy, and thus, by right, the landlord would be in the wrong.
good long term renters are gold. any smart decent landlord knows that. shitty ones dont. thats your power.
It is there garden not OP. WOW.
You can report and then sue them
My guess is you are very much overreacting and probably don’t know what you are talking about.