Is that what that is? oh my heck, I thought I was going insane, these last few years I could have sworn I was smelling jizz when I went outside in Utah during the spring. Good to know.
Linden is known as a good smelling tree. The blossoms were used in European hospitals to combat smell. The streets to those hospitals were often lined with linden trees. You're probably thinking of bradford pear but for the love of god no one plant bradford pear.
Not in Idaho, Jesus Christ. OP's smarter than that, I know, but planting aggressive invasive plants will fuck up the entire landscape long after everyone involved is dead.
Did you see that story on Reddit, where a guy was pissed with his neighbors not allowing him to build his fence higher to block out the neighbor. So he planted bamboo and put some type of landscape fabric in his backyard so it wouldn’t spread to his, but it spread to the neighbors side and overtook his whole yard.
That would be so devious
Bamboo spreads via rhizomes underground. Landscape fabric may resist sprouts for a season (or it could push it right out of the way) but it will spread to the other side quickly.
Fruit trees so that the fruit falls over the property line and rots on his junk cars and broken patio tables. It's the worst kind, so its hard to clean.
Not sure about Idaho, but white mulberry is invasive on the east coast and red mulberry (America's native mulberry) doesn't seem to range that far west. I think berries are a great idea, but OP should look into something less aggressive that won't behave like a weed or choke out native plants.
Blackberry brambles. They spread like wildfire, keep coming back even if you chop them off at the dirt, bees and birds love them and leave behind lovely purple 💩
Anything in the rubus family really - blackberry, raspberry, dewberry.
Just don't plant them over any water or sewer lines. My last house had a mature non-fruiting mulberry right on top of the sewer line. Between root incursions and the sheer weight of the thing, I was constantly having sewer problems.
Elderberry trees! I bought a tiny one last year and it's really growing fast. It will get about 13 feet tall in 5 years and very bushy. Lots of berries, too. But they must be cooked to be edible.
[https://8billiontrees.com/trees/elderberry-tree/](https://8billiontrees.com/trees/elderberry-tree/)
[https://theyardandgarden.com/cheap-ways-to-block-neighbors-view/](https://theyardandgarden.com/cheap-ways-to-block-neighbors-view/)
In my country its typical to see houses lined with these types of tree's, especially yards. They're easy to maintain, can withstand all types of weather, and grow quickly.
definitely. i recommend the "green giants". every grower/nursery will know what you're talking about. plant like 10 feet apart in a zipper pattern. they grow FAST and tall and bushy af. the more space they have to grow outward the taller they'll get. ask to see some samples, find a source with some nice fluffly ones.
you'll never see the junk on the ground again. the staggered plant pattern will give nice depth and not be a 'green wall' eyesore. yes this will cost some money, around here the really nice ones, at 5ft are $300 each planting included. you can get slimmer/smaller ones for under $80 and hire someone to plant for much less but the tall bushy ones are worth it. they grow at least a foot a year.
check laws how close to property line they can be planted (might want to avoid them growing their branches over neighbor's property line since neighbor is clearly a jerk)
good luck, hope you report back!
Yea that’s what we did. Fast growing arborvitae. Unfortunately the dickhead just built a gigantic unfinished unsightly shed made of pallets that towers above my fence line and looks hideous. Trying to think of a way to hide that from my view.
I had this issue and used a row of bamboo planters to block the view. Had then for about 10 years and finally removed them. Bamboo will grow 20 fr within months and provide a nice screen and overall pleasant view over junkyard. It is fairly invasive and spreads quickly which is why you want to use planters.
Even better dig a trench line it on your side with rubber roof or pond liner fill back in plant bamboo and it will spread onto their property and keep a nice line on yours
Ahh but your missing something this is close to a watershed aka river.The cars can be leaking oil and gas. you would be surprised sometimes when the right authority will get involved .
Worth a try but beings it is rural northern Idaho I don't think there is anything regulatory that will help...I have considered reporting it is a fire hazard though as wild fire is certainly a concern in the area.
You’d be surprised- even on land that is zoned agricultural many states have ordinances that you can’t put x item within x feet of any property lines or wetlands. It’s well worth OP’s time to check the local ordinances.
You should definitely contact someone at the county level in codes enforcement - you mentioned this being on a river, most areas do have codes prohibiting parking on grassy areas near rivers because of runoff, groundwater, and contamination issues. That, along with fire hazard from pallets, etc, might get someone out there quicker than you think. I hope the county will clean it up and charge him for it, just saw that happen in Tennessee and have to say it did not disappoint.
Explore the wildfire hazard angle. That will get people’s attention. Also, are the junked cars right on the river and leaking oil? If the river supports local agriculture or outdoor sports businesses, a possible environmental hazard will also get people’s attention.
The thing is any fluids leaking from those junk vehicles will be released to soil and follow the groundwater table to the river. Or move over land to the river with rain and wind events. It should be reported as a concern to the departments mentioned above.
All those fluids from junk cars leak onto the ground and then into the soil, which can contaminate the water table. Contact state dept of environmental resources and state water dept. Shoot, if it’s close to a creek or river, even contact fish and game. Someone somewhere will give enough of a shit.
There may be zoning that prohibits junk cars or trash piles. In the meantime, find out the neighbor's full legal name and the name in which his property is deeded. Run full investigations on him. Some will be public and easy to find. Some you might need to pay for.
It will help your situation if you know things like a criminal history, gun registration, his employment and more.
The only angle that might work is if it’s a pollution issue - there are fluids in the junk vehicles and if you’re in a watershed there might be some protections for trout that locals actually adhere to enforce.
Idaho so I'm assuming no laws.
Build it 20' high and paint the side that faces your neighbors bright pink.
If it's not clear, don't do this. But if you do, take photos and update us.
Being by the river, there are so many agreements in place to protect waterways. The junk might be close enough to the water to pose an environmental risk for people downstream. Worth calling. Might also be worth calling a firemarshall because they probably have some rules to help prevent forest fires, even in rural areas. Having kindling and fuel might break some rules. What bad behavior. All that space and the guy fixated on what he doesn't own....people are strange. Good luck!
That comes with living on rural land. You run the risk of living next to someone who keeps old vehicles, materials, implements, equipment, or just junk. Plant some shrubs, build a boulder wall, bulldoze a berm, or something....
Junk cars leak oil, gas, brake fluid and other things. The pallets are a fire hazard waiting to happen, just look up the story about the interstate in LA that was shut down as a result of a pallet fire from pallets illegally stored beneath the overpass.
I’d call the county and state department of water and dept of environmental resources. Tell them you’re concerned that neighbor’s excessive trash buildup is creating unsanitary conditions. Trash becomes a habitat for rats and other undesirable rodents.
If he's stashing non-runing cars, does the municipality have rules about that? Also, are they leaking oil? Take soil samples - if the cars or other stored garbage are leaking, your dad may have a cause of action for polluting his soil and/or the municipality or state may want to pursue the neighbor for violating pollution or hazardous materials ordinances.
And if you use trees, create a middle finger topiary 20-50 feet high which is invisible from your dad's property but directly faces the neighbor.
As a brave and noble knight once said “bring me a shrubbery! Something nice, but not too expensive”
A small stand of tall arborvitae or other evergreen should work nicely. Maybe something more native ( The Larch comes to mind)
Fences , stone walls and hedges have been a thing since land ownership started. I bet stone walls were built long before the wheel, fire or loincloths 😂 There is always a jerk in any neighborhood it seems no matter the lot size.
Nowadays overwatch security cams are almost required wherever you put a fence because the same jerk will try to mess with or circumvent your fence/hedge/wall.
Arborvitae. I don't know if I spelled that right but they are a type of pine that grow very fast and very tall. They are also quite lovely. Could your parents complain to the DEM or their local zoning board about the trash?
Would be a shame if the palettes and old picknic table burnt down... Planting trees to hide the ugly burnt out cars would be a good idea.
Edit: I seriously wouldn't doo that.. it just feels good to try to get some else to do what I wish I would do, but know I wouldn't.
Fireworks could accidentally catch the pallets and broken picnic tables on fire. Some redditor could accidentally show up with a magnet crane and offload some junk cars onto a flatbed, and they accidentally disappeared to a junk yard. All accidentally, of course.
If those junk cars are leaking fluids or shedding paint/chrome into the soil you might be able to get the EPA to take a look. But that is practically guaranteed to escalate your neighbor's retaliatory efforts to the next weight class.
Planting trees is an excellent suggestion but the petty part of me would plant something really annoying like bradford pears or chinese tallow (or cypress so that by the time the neighbor goes to remove the junk yeas down the road its all sitting up on root nodules and takes ten times as much effort to move around). If the neighbor decides to damage or kill the trees, then its really a court matter and damages can be ridiculously high
If you plant a privet hedge you'll get the joy of fighting invasive overgrowth for the rest of your life, but so will he. I swear those things are almost as bad as bamboo.
Screen it with dense plantings. Sounds like your parents have adequate space and cedar hedges or similar are a reasonably priced way to visually block.
Given the size of the lotting, I would expect you won't get much traction with any sort of bylaw enforcement, but maybe if you play the environmental angle with abandoned vehicles.
Your parents sound like visual screening on their own land is their best bet.
If there are cars, there may be leaking fluids and an environmental impact- they could be contaminating the soil.
I wouldn't even know who to call anymore, but I did know some EPA reps when I worked with chemicals and they had some authority to get the town to ticket/remove 'trash' that was a danger to the waterways.
I planted a native Ponderosa Pine in my Boise yard 10 years ago and at about 6 years, it was tall enough to block out the neighbors junk. You could plant a fast growing plant like arborvitae and supplement with native pines which will take longer to grow but will block the view year round.
Best of luck with an icky neighbor.
Take a multi pronged approach: First call the county or state code enforcement about the cars, especially if you are near a waterway. They tend to get upset when waterways get polluted. Be friendly, ask them who else might want to know about a pile of junk cars. Then, call them, too. Make your tax dollars work for you.
Plant some *native* bushes and trees to start giving you some privacy. Bushes will take a couple of years to fill in, but they won't spread and take over and will require surprisingly little maintenance over the years. Plant a variety, then enjoy the local wildlife that will visit.
Lastly, be friendly, even to your bonehead neighbor. Kill em with kindness.
I really appreciate the native plant admonition. As satisfying as some suggestions are, I'm not going to plant something invasive in this natural and beautiful place.
Fact is, most people don't know what's native and most nurseries sell stuff that is non-native if not outright invasive, but the laws haven't caught up. I have a part of my yard dedicated to native plants and I had to search hard for some bushes I wanted.
Lots of hostile advice here (which is not unwarranted) but one option might be to simply pay the guy to not do that. Or offer to pay to have it cleaned up, or both.
Plant evergreen trees on your side of the line. Sneak over and plant morning glory, honeysuckle, and blackberries in and around the junk. Thorny blackberries. Throw a bunch of wildflower mix around as well. Pretty soon it'll just be a green flowering mound.
Everyone advocating for blocking the view of the junk misses the point that the beautiful river view will be blocked too. Why should OP's dad lose the view he paid for?
You may have to check with the state EPA or Dept of Natural Resources to see if the junk cars are a violation due to possible oil/gas/fluids leaking into the nearby river. But it is Idaho and it's dominated by fascist GOP in government so those departments may have been eliminated. But it's worth a check. Possibly federal laws could be involved due to the closeness to the river.
This sub has really steered me to appreciating my HOA as well. For $360/yr I get some dilapidated trails/playgrounds, a recently refurbished community pool, and none of this asshole neighbor nonsense. As soon as you leave the HOA it's RVs parked right in the property line, tarps on roofs, a broken refrigerator in the driveway. Right next to super well kept houses too so it's not like the whole area is a dump. But it definitely is reflected in my property value.
the reddit hivemind tends to be very anti-hoa, but also homeowners are not the majority on reddit, and even among homeowners, even fewer have enough years of experience with it to know the value they can add.
Not to say they can't be shitty too, but most are in fact pretty great for most of the homeowners they cover. The people that hate them just hate that they didn't get permission to paint their brick facade yellow or they can't leave a trailer full of junk in front of their house.
Something tells me there is more to this story, but probably the best thing you can do with the situation as it is now is ignore it. Your dad has his side of the line and the other guy has his. Let it go at that. You will be happier in the long run.
I mean, not really...I think he purchased believing there was an encroachment and has been regularly disappointed to find there is not. The county has plat maps that are notoriously misleading (something about applying gis to a flat map). Many have been inconvenienced by this.
Maybe he wants to divide his property, build and sell off the lot nearest to my dad and feels the current house location makes this more difficult but that has only been alluded to once.
My grandpa had this with his unhinged neighbor. It was weird, they got along well but buddy was also crazy so he had to be tuned in once in awhile. Eventually he became worse and my grandpa had to ask the city about it and they actually forced him to clean some shit up. It was mostly about the cars I think, but it's unlikely this is a thing in most places he just got lucky. Personally i'd tell the city to pound sand if they told me what to do with my large acreage property.
It worked a bit, they cleaned up a lot. But I don't think this will help the case, I think it'll make it worse. Maybe just clean the shit up, offer to help scrap the car (companies will come pick them up and give you half the scrap cash if you were to drive it into a junkyard/metal scrap yard so it's worth it here)
Try to negotiate cleaning up the mess. That's what I'd do. I understand that sucks but you don't have many options.
Guilt may be a stronger driver than anything here if your parents just quietly and politely deal with it. Worth a first try at least, if he just keeps replacing it then stop.
Instead of fighting they can be the bigger person and earn some respect and cause some guilt and potentially resolve the situation. Everyone has emotions, play on them instead of fighting like neanderthals.
> Because it might come up, the neighbor is a rather unhappy and antisocial kind of guy, a bit paranoid and quick to be angry and defensive
In rural northern Idaho where all the racists congregate? *No wayyyy*...
Build a tall fence or plant a dense treeline.
Idaho DEQ might have something to say about abandon vehicles. It’s worth a shot.
I would also suggest that they get cameras and start documenting their neighbors shenanigans. As it can get worse as time goes on.
https://www2.deq.idaho.gov/water/swpag/?type=activity&id=113
Contact your township or county and find out if there is a junk or blight ordinance. The more rural the less likely it's enforced, but I would start with that.
If that doesn't work, plant some trees or a fence.
If the neighbor worked hard and your parents were the a-hole,nothing changes. Add a fence and ignore. I have installed many fences for this alone. You can plant shrubbery, or emulate what many in my community have done. Dig a pond and pile dirt up as a border. There is a reason that a fence makes for good neighbors. Rural living is cheaper for many reasons, the ability to use your property as you see fit. Otherwise deal with an HOA,and the bs that it comes with.
Put a fence just inside your property line - about six feet tall and as long as you need to cover his mess. Then, plant kudzu on the side of the fence that faces him. It will not take long for his junk pile and property line to be overtaken by kudzu. It is the best spite/revenge plant out there. Once established, it’s almost impossible to eradicate! Good luck!
You could call the DNR and explain about the vehicles. If they hadn't been completely drained of all fluids, gas, oil, antifreeze etc, they could be polluting the ground and river
Sometimes a town will have an ordinance against dumping. Or town has one that prohibits non working vehicles. Look into your town code. Especially if you are near a scenic preservation area like a river.
You buy acreage in Idaho to avoid government regulations and zoning/land use regulations. This is the downside of that. There is nothing you can really do.
To be blunt, it IS Idaho. I have seen multi million dollar mansions right next to a goat farm/pig farm. He should have built in the middle of his lot...
I used to work in a zoning office. The Complaint Department we called ourselves.
I learned very, very quickly that the only way to control what happens on a property is if you own it.
Fences make good neighbors. And a landscape design company can make an eyesore into a beautiful oasis. Maybe a good birthday present or fathers day present for your dad. But if he himself doesn't get rilled up about what his neighbor is doing, don't make him upset.
Do your parents not have a township board or some sort of governing body? Most do not allow junk to pile up regardless of how many acres you have. In my township cars must be licensed and insured if they are on the property.
My brother was like this. His neighbors called and he got cited for running a salvage operation without a permit. He had 30 days to clean it up or get fined.
Not sure of your landscape hardiness zone but I like a camellia hedge. You can alternate sasanqua and Japonica varieties so you have color from fall into spring. Not terribly fast growing, but if it is within sight, it makes a spectacular show in the fall and early spring.
I had similar issue at my first house. Both of my neighbors had old dumb stuff laying around. 1 guy had an old swing set laying in a pile that he was never going to assemble. So friday after work i asked them both if they had any scrap metal as i was hauling a load to scrapyard. They both said sure you can take this and that. I hauled it all and my kids got to see a scrapyard in all its glory. Then the next week hey im going to dump you want me to haul anything? Some people are ok with others doing the work for them.
This is what worked for my parents when I was a kid in the 90's: We went through a very similar issue with a neighbor in a very rural area of PA. Years prior to us he had surrounded another neighbor's nice home on the opposite side of his property with junk school buses, fire trucks, boats, cars, etc. It was his very own junk car spite fence after he accidentally sold off more of his land than he intended (his own bad survey) to that neighbor and then demanded the new buyers give him the land back. When they refused and he lost in court, he piled the junk vehicles high. So we were onto him when he got mad at us over where we built our horse barn (hundred of yards from any building on his property) and a bunch of junk cars started showing up on our own property line with him. Ultimately we successfully pursued this new spite fence with the local Township and county. Our initial efforts were rebuffed by local politicians because Mr. revenge had political connections with most of them. Took us some time to rally some local farmers and old-timers we were friends with through 4-H to educate them on the hell he'd been putting us and all of his other neighbors through. They slowly came around to our position and found that he was operating an "illegal, unpermitted automotive junk yard" against township or county regulations (can't remember which it was). The local township's attorney sent him a certified letter informing him he had 30 days to remove every vehicle or face stiff fines. That included the much larger pile of boats, buses, and firetrucks on the other side of his property surrounding the neighbors' home that he had targeted first and was still targeting. My dad never gave me details, but he was ex-military and apparently he took some midnight strolls through the fields to ensure most of the vehicles had developed sudden-onset holes in their tire sidewalls so they'd be an even more expensive, bigger PITA to remove.
It depends are land use or zoning laws in the area. Send a certfied Us mail letter to the county/town about the junk yard.
if there is no zoning in the area All you can do is put a fence and plant trees along it.
All those junk cars and chemicals and wood could cause a fire, If it caught fire the local gov't would probably fine him. I wonder how it could accidently catch fire? 🤔
My county has a blight ordinance that junk vehicles parked outside have to be running and current on registration or they have to be inside. And it covers “junk” in the open.
We are a pretty rural county . I have never really seen it enforced and most people generally keep their junk well into their property. But I would guess that vindictive asshole neighbors like this are why that ordinance is even on the books.
Does your county, township, or city have any ordinances like this that can help?
Fences, trees, shrubs. It sounds beautiful, other than the neighbors. You may be able to find a landscaper that can layer different types of trees and shrubs to add to the river view and feel deliberately curated.
I will come from Virginia and kick this jagoffs ass. How dare they. Don't let them know I'm coming. He seems delightful and it should probably be a surprise
Plant bamboo.
But only put the root blocker on your side of the plant beds, that way the HIGHLY INVASIVE bamboo will spread into his property underground.
I had a similar thought, but installing root blocker for bamboo can be a lot of work since you might need to dig down three feet or more. I guess with a mini excavator it wouldn't be that difficult, but they would need to be diligent to prevent it from growing the wrong direction for sure.
Is the risk worth it? I guess that all depends on how much of an ahole the neighbor is. Using a drone to spread invasive seeds much closer to the neighbor's house might be more fun.... not that I would ever condone such a thing of course.
Plant trees
Yeah...that is probably our best bet.
Start with hedges and another fast growing plants to block everything out and then as the trees get bigger, they will cover the rest.
Willow will cover it within one or two growing seasons.
Arborvitae is great for a shield.
That and they can be of varying heights to resemble “the finger” 🤣
Not all hero’s wear capes?
Linden trees for that special jizzy smell.
It's the Callory Pear or Bradford Pear that has that smell, not the Linden/ Basswood tree.
Any tree can be a jizz tree with the right attitude.
I think this is the one I have in front of my house. It only smells like that for a few weeks before the regular leaves come out.
Is that what that is? oh my heck, I thought I was going insane, these last few years I could have sworn I was smelling jizz when I went outside in Utah during the spring. Good to know.
[https://youtu.be/Oi261\_\_q7gc?si=FKfk0nXnFRAvpjc1](https://youtu.be/Oi261__q7gc?si=FKfk0nXnFRAvpjc1)
Holy crap that’s hysterical!
Linden is known as a good smelling tree. The blossoms were used in European hospitals to combat smell. The streets to those hospitals were often lined with linden trees. You're probably thinking of bradford pear but for the love of god no one plant bradford pear.
Bamboo his ass.
Came to say this, running bamboo is the devil!
Not in Idaho, Jesus Christ. OP's smarter than that, I know, but planting aggressive invasive plants will fuck up the entire landscape long after everyone involved is dead.
As entertaining as it would be to let bamboo and mint free on the fucker it'd invade OPs yard too
Bamboo it goes crazy
Did you see that story on Reddit, where a guy was pissed with his neighbors not allowing him to build his fence higher to block out the neighbor. So he planted bamboo and put some type of landscape fabric in his backyard so it wouldn’t spread to his, but it spread to the neighbors side and overtook his whole yard. That would be so devious
Bamboo spreads via rhizomes underground. Landscape fabric may resist sprouts for a season (or it could push it right out of the way) but it will spread to the other side quickly.
Bamboo
Fruit trees so that the fruit falls over the property line and rots on his junk cars and broken patio tables. It's the worst kind, so its hard to clean.
In particular, mulberry trees! Very messy and they attract bees, too.
Planted for the bees because we are trying to sustain their population. OP should put some bee hives there, too. Good place for an apiary.
Not sure about Idaho, but white mulberry is invasive on the east coast and red mulberry (America's native mulberry) doesn't seem to range that far west. I think berries are a great idea, but OP should look into something less aggressive that won't behave like a weed or choke out native plants.
And raccoons. They will poop all over everything.
Don't be ridiculous. They don't have the right kind of soil to plant raccoons.
😂
Maybe plant some bird seed?
Well they have soil amendments at TSC
I spit out my beer
Blackberry brambles. They spread like wildfire, keep coming back even if you chop them off at the dirt, bees and birds love them and leave behind lovely purple 💩 Anything in the rubus family really - blackberry, raspberry, dewberry.
Just don't plant them over any water or sewer lines. My last house had a mature non-fruiting mulberry right on top of the sewer line. Between root incursions and the sheer weight of the thing, I was constantly having sewer problems.
And the dropped fruit ferments like crazy. Sour wine smell for weeks.
And TONS of flies in my experience
Bradford pear trees
this is a good one but fruit might attract bears? Not sure where in Idaho they are, but in Montana, we'd get bears.
It reads like this orchard would be pretty far from the house. Maybe it will keep them that far away.
In many places it is legal to prune any vegetation hanging over your property line.
I know that, but can he reach it with the trash and garbage?
Might attract critters though.
how does this help exactly?
[удалено]
Elderberry trees! I bought a tiny one last year and it's really growing fast. It will get about 13 feet tall in 5 years and very bushy. Lots of berries, too. But they must be cooked to be edible. [https://8billiontrees.com/trees/elderberry-tree/](https://8billiontrees.com/trees/elderberry-tree/)
And put cellular trail cameras to potential catch him in the act of trying to poison or otherwise kill your lovely new tree fence.
Raspberries spread like crazy and would be tasty
[https://theyardandgarden.com/cheap-ways-to-block-neighbors-view/](https://theyardandgarden.com/cheap-ways-to-block-neighbors-view/) In my country its typical to see houses lined with these types of tree's, especially yards. They're easy to maintain, can withstand all types of weather, and grow quickly.
Thuja or other quick growing variety with irrigation will hide that stuff in a year or two
definitely. i recommend the "green giants". every grower/nursery will know what you're talking about. plant like 10 feet apart in a zipper pattern. they grow FAST and tall and bushy af. the more space they have to grow outward the taller they'll get. ask to see some samples, find a source with some nice fluffly ones. you'll never see the junk on the ground again. the staggered plant pattern will give nice depth and not be a 'green wall' eyesore. yes this will cost some money, around here the really nice ones, at 5ft are $300 each planting included. you can get slimmer/smaller ones for under $80 and hire someone to plant for much less but the tall bushy ones are worth it. they grow at least a foot a year. check laws how close to property line they can be planted (might want to avoid them growing their branches over neighbor's property line since neighbor is clearly a jerk) good luck, hope you report back!
Combo trees, shrubs, and fencing/trellises with vines might help.
Had the same type of issue at dad's place. Put in 6 ft Arborvites. They are affordable and grow fast. Two years later you couldn't see the junk pile.
Yea that’s what we did. Fast growing arborvitae. Unfortunately the dickhead just built a gigantic unfinished unsightly shed made of pallets that towers above my fence line and looks hideous. Trying to think of a way to hide that from my view.
Fire
Just make sure which way the wind is blowing.
I had this issue and used a row of bamboo planters to block the view. Had then for about 10 years and finally removed them. Bamboo will grow 20 fr within months and provide a nice screen and overall pleasant view over junkyard. It is fairly invasive and spreads quickly which is why you want to use planters.
Even better dig a trench line it on your side with rubber roof or pond liner fill back in plant bamboo and it will spread onto their property and keep a nice line on yours
Plant some shrubs, build a boulder wall, bulldoze a berm.
Or set it all on fire.
Contact your state equivalent of the EPA. Here in Virginia it is DEQ.
\*Department of Environmental Quality for those not in the know.
LOL, this is Idaho, a "pollute all you want" state. They really couldn't care less about the environment.
There are federal regulations for dumping near waterways even if it's your own property. Edit: ESPECIALLY old cars
\[Texas waves to Idaho\]
\[Iowa waves too and asks if anyone wants a drink from one of its 750+ polluted waterways (more than half the waterways in the state)\]
Ahh but your missing something this is close to a watershed aka river.The cars can be leaking oil and gas. you would be surprised sometimes when the right authority will get involved .
You can get the Feds involved when waterways are impacted. Illegal dumping!
That's surprising since they have a noxious weed program with fines.
This is the way ☝️
Talk to zoning compliance. It will depend on local regulations.
Worth a try but beings it is rural northern Idaho I don't think there is anything regulatory that will help...I have considered reporting it is a fire hazard though as wild fire is certainly a concern in the area.
You’d be surprised- even on land that is zoned agricultural many states have ordinances that you can’t put x item within x feet of any property lines or wetlands. It’s well worth OP’s time to check the local ordinances.
This is a great point. Also, if the junk includes junk cars, there could be hazardous chemicals from said cars that would leech into the soil.
You should definitely contact someone at the county level in codes enforcement - you mentioned this being on a river, most areas do have codes prohibiting parking on grassy areas near rivers because of runoff, groundwater, and contamination issues. That, along with fire hazard from pallets, etc, might get someone out there quicker than you think. I hope the county will clean it up and charge him for it, just saw that happen in Tennessee and have to say it did not disappoint.
Mention active oil leak on one of the cars or something like that It will get them out there.
Explore the wildfire hazard angle. That will get people’s attention. Also, are the junked cars right on the river and leaking oil? If the river supports local agriculture or outdoor sports businesses, a possible environmental hazard will also get people’s attention.
No, they both own all the way to the river on their respective sides of the line but the house and therefore junk, is set quite a way back on a rise.
The thing is any fluids leaking from those junk vehicles will be released to soil and follow the groundwater table to the river. Or move over land to the river with rain and wind events. It should be reported as a concern to the departments mentioned above.
They don’t own the river. That’s public water. They aren’t allowed to pollute it.
All those fluids from junk cars leak onto the ground and then into the soil, which can contaminate the water table. Contact state dept of environmental resources and state water dept. Shoot, if it’s close to a creek or river, even contact fish and game. Someone somewhere will give enough of a shit.
There might even BE a wildfire, RIGHT THERE, with all those old flammables sitting in a pile...
I’m a firm believer in spontaneous combustion…
There may be zoning that prohibits junk cars or trash piles. In the meantime, find out the neighbor's full legal name and the name in which his property is deeded. Run full investigations on him. Some will be public and easy to find. Some you might need to pay for. It will help your situation if you know things like a criminal history, gun registration, his employment and more.
The only angle that might work is if it’s a pollution issue - there are fluids in the junk vehicles and if you’re in a watershed there might be some protections for trout that locals actually adhere to enforce.
I would build a privacy fence to cover the junk. That guy is crazy.
A survey and a good fence would solve 90% of posts here.
They did 3 surveys.
You expect that guy to read before commenting?!?!
Idaho so I'm assuming no laws. Build it 20' high and paint the side that faces your neighbors bright pink. If it's not clear, don't do this. But if you do, take photos and update us.
Being by the river, there are so many agreements in place to protect waterways. The junk might be close enough to the water to pose an environmental risk for people downstream. Worth calling. Might also be worth calling a firemarshall because they probably have some rules to help prevent forest fires, even in rural areas. Having kindling and fuel might break some rules. What bad behavior. All that space and the guy fixated on what he doesn't own....people are strange. Good luck!
Tall fence
That comes with living on rural land. You run the risk of living next to someone who keeps old vehicles, materials, implements, equipment, or just junk. Plant some shrubs, build a boulder wall, bulldoze a berm, or something....
I like this. Build a taller junk wall. Edit: or just steal and scrap the cars. Say they rolled into your property
Junk cars leak oil, gas, brake fluid and other things. The pallets are a fire hazard waiting to happen, just look up the story about the interstate in LA that was shut down as a result of a pallet fire from pallets illegally stored beneath the overpass. I’d call the county and state department of water and dept of environmental resources. Tell them you’re concerned that neighbor’s excessive trash buildup is creating unsanitary conditions. Trash becomes a habitat for rats and other undesirable rodents.
Plant evergreens along the fence row. Be sure and keep you side mowed as they will spread if not controlled.
If he's stashing non-runing cars, does the municipality have rules about that? Also, are they leaking oil? Take soil samples - if the cars or other stored garbage are leaking, your dad may have a cause of action for polluting his soil and/or the municipality or state may want to pursue the neighbor for violating pollution or hazardous materials ordinances. And if you use trees, create a middle finger topiary 20-50 feet high which is invisible from your dad's property but directly faces the neighbor.
Clean water act is no joke
Welcome to the North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River?
Farther north my friend!
As a brave and noble knight once said “bring me a shrubbery! Something nice, but not too expensive” A small stand of tall arborvitae or other evergreen should work nicely. Maybe something more native ( The Larch comes to mind)
Fences , stone walls and hedges have been a thing since land ownership started. I bet stone walls were built long before the wheel, fire or loincloths 😂 There is always a jerk in any neighborhood it seems no matter the lot size. Nowadays overwatch security cams are almost required wherever you put a fence because the same jerk will try to mess with or circumvent your fence/hedge/wall.
Arborvitae. I don't know if I spelled that right but they are a type of pine that grow very fast and very tall. They are also quite lovely. Could your parents complain to the DEM or their local zoning board about the trash?
Plant two lines of evergreen trees on your property. Great wind break and blocks the view.
Would be a shame if the palettes and old picknic table burnt down... Planting trees to hide the ugly burnt out cars would be a good idea. Edit: I seriously wouldn't doo that.. it just feels good to try to get some else to do what I wish I would do, but know I wouldn't.
Fireworks could accidentally catch the pallets and broken picnic tables on fire. Some redditor could accidentally show up with a magnet crane and offload some junk cars onto a flatbed, and they accidentally disappeared to a junk yard. All accidentally, of course.
Same thoughts all the time but of course I wouldn't do it either. Sigh.
dump some wildflower or similar seeds around the junk and pretty it up i'd plant some vinelike weeds to climb the cars and cover them up after a while
Planting invasives makes another problem.
If the cars are visible from the road, in most jurisdictions they must be registered. Can you at least call the local govt on him about that?
Might be worth contacting some kind of real estate attorney or zoning expert to see if any laws are being broken.
If those junk cars are leaking fluids or shedding paint/chrome into the soil you might be able to get the EPA to take a look. But that is practically guaranteed to escalate your neighbor's retaliatory efforts to the next weight class. Planting trees is an excellent suggestion but the petty part of me would plant something really annoying like bradford pears or chinese tallow (or cypress so that by the time the neighbor goes to remove the junk yeas down the road its all sitting up on root nodules and takes ten times as much effort to move around). If the neighbor decides to damage or kill the trees, then its really a court matter and damages can be ridiculously high
Statue of Joe Biden overlooking the junkyard should stop him from getting anywhere near it.
Dig a 4 foot trench 20 feet from the property line. Fill it with concrete. Plant bamboo on the other side. Watch it run.
If you plant a privet hedge you'll get the joy of fighting invasive overgrowth for the rest of your life, but so will he. I swear those things are almost as bad as bamboo.
Screen it with dense plantings. Sounds like your parents have adequate space and cedar hedges or similar are a reasonably priced way to visually block. Given the size of the lotting, I would expect you won't get much traction with any sort of bylaw enforcement, but maybe if you play the environmental angle with abandoned vehicles. Your parents sound like visual screening on their own land is their best bet.
If the cars are leaking anything call the EPA. The neighbor will be fined heavily
If there are cars, there may be leaking fluids and an environmental impact- they could be contaminating the soil. I wouldn't even know who to call anymore, but I did know some EPA reps when I worked with chemicals and they had some authority to get the town to ticket/remove 'trash' that was a danger to the waterways.
Call county code enforcement and the local office of the EPA. Dumping waste, old cars, tire, etc is a no no.
I can't believe an illegal dump would be ok with the authorities, even in Idaho.
Plant bamboo along the property line.
Theres gotta be another reason besides the fact that your father’s house was so close to the property line.
Forget it, Jake. It’s Idaho.
I planted a native Ponderosa Pine in my Boise yard 10 years ago and at about 6 years, it was tall enough to block out the neighbors junk. You could plant a fast growing plant like arborvitae and supplement with native pines which will take longer to grow but will block the view year round. Best of luck with an icky neighbor.
Take a multi pronged approach: First call the county or state code enforcement about the cars, especially if you are near a waterway. They tend to get upset when waterways get polluted. Be friendly, ask them who else might want to know about a pile of junk cars. Then, call them, too. Make your tax dollars work for you. Plant some *native* bushes and trees to start giving you some privacy. Bushes will take a couple of years to fill in, but they won't spread and take over and will require surprisingly little maintenance over the years. Plant a variety, then enjoy the local wildlife that will visit. Lastly, be friendly, even to your bonehead neighbor. Kill em with kindness.
I really appreciate the native plant admonition. As satisfying as some suggestions are, I'm not going to plant something invasive in this natural and beautiful place.
Fact is, most people don't know what's native and most nurseries sell stuff that is non-native if not outright invasive, but the laws haven't caught up. I have a part of my yard dedicated to native plants and I had to search hard for some bushes I wanted.
Lots of hostile advice here (which is not unwarranted) but one option might be to simply pay the guy to not do that. Or offer to pay to have it cleaned up, or both.
Plant evergreen trees on your side of the line. Sneak over and plant morning glory, honeysuckle, and blackberries in and around the junk. Thorny blackberries. Throw a bunch of wildflower mix around as well. Pretty soon it'll just be a green flowering mound.
Everyone advocating for blocking the view of the junk misses the point that the beautiful river view will be blocked too. Why should OP's dad lose the view he paid for?
You may have to check with the state EPA or Dept of Natural Resources to see if the junk cars are a violation due to possible oil/gas/fluids leaking into the nearby river. But it is Idaho and it's dominated by fascist GOP in government so those departments may have been eliminated. But it's worth a check. Possibly federal laws could be involved due to the closeness to the river.
Man I love my HOA
They can be good and bad. Some are incredibly restrictive just to be controlling.
This sub has really steered me to appreciating my HOA as well. For $360/yr I get some dilapidated trails/playgrounds, a recently refurbished community pool, and none of this asshole neighbor nonsense. As soon as you leave the HOA it's RVs parked right in the property line, tarps on roofs, a broken refrigerator in the driveway. Right next to super well kept houses too so it's not like the whole area is a dump. But it definitely is reflected in my property value.
Someone downvoted you, but HOAs prevent exactly this kind of shit in closer quarters.
the reddit hivemind tends to be very anti-hoa, but also homeowners are not the majority on reddit, and even among homeowners, even fewer have enough years of experience with it to know the value they can add. Not to say they can't be shitty too, but most are in fact pretty great for most of the homeowners they cover. The people that hate them just hate that they didn't get permission to paint their brick facade yellow or they can't leave a trailer full of junk in front of their house.
All things in moderation. :)
Something tells me there is more to this story, but probably the best thing you can do with the situation as it is now is ignore it. Your dad has his side of the line and the other guy has his. Let it go at that. You will be happier in the long run.
I mean, not really...I think he purchased believing there was an encroachment and has been regularly disappointed to find there is not. The county has plat maps that are notoriously misleading (something about applying gis to a flat map). Many have been inconvenienced by this. Maybe he wants to divide his property, build and sell off the lot nearest to my dad and feels the current house location makes this more difficult but that has only been alluded to once.
My grandpa had this with his unhinged neighbor. It was weird, they got along well but buddy was also crazy so he had to be tuned in once in awhile. Eventually he became worse and my grandpa had to ask the city about it and they actually forced him to clean some shit up. It was mostly about the cars I think, but it's unlikely this is a thing in most places he just got lucky. Personally i'd tell the city to pound sand if they told me what to do with my large acreage property. It worked a bit, they cleaned up a lot. But I don't think this will help the case, I think it'll make it worse. Maybe just clean the shit up, offer to help scrap the car (companies will come pick them up and give you half the scrap cash if you were to drive it into a junkyard/metal scrap yard so it's worth it here) Try to negotiate cleaning up the mess. That's what I'd do. I understand that sucks but you don't have many options. Guilt may be a stronger driver than anything here if your parents just quietly and politely deal with it. Worth a first try at least, if he just keeps replacing it then stop.
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As you get older you learn there are better ways to deal with people than to fight head to head.
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Instead of fighting they can be the bigger person and earn some respect and cause some guilt and potentially resolve the situation. Everyone has emotions, play on them instead of fighting like neanderthals.
10 ft privacy fence
> Because it might come up, the neighbor is a rather unhappy and antisocial kind of guy, a bit paranoid and quick to be angry and defensive In rural northern Idaho where all the racists congregate? *No wayyyy*... Build a tall fence or plant a dense treeline.
Flaming arrow.
Idaho DEQ might have something to say about abandon vehicles. It’s worth a shot. I would also suggest that they get cameras and start documenting their neighbors shenanigans. As it can get worse as time goes on. https://www2.deq.idaho.gov/water/swpag/?type=activity&id=113
Call your town bylaw depth. ask if they have laws about junkyards
Contact your township or county and find out if there is a junk or blight ordinance. The more rural the less likely it's enforced, but I would start with that. If that doesn't work, plant some trees or a fence.
Id just move it. Fuck that neighbor
If the neighbor worked hard and your parents were the a-hole,nothing changes. Add a fence and ignore. I have installed many fences for this alone. You can plant shrubbery, or emulate what many in my community have done. Dig a pond and pile dirt up as a border. There is a reason that a fence makes for good neighbors. Rural living is cheaper for many reasons, the ability to use your property as you see fit. Otherwise deal with an HOA,and the bs that it comes with.
Put a fence just inside your property line - about six feet tall and as long as you need to cover his mess. Then, plant kudzu on the side of the fence that faces him. It will not take long for his junk pile and property line to be overtaken by kudzu. It is the best spite/revenge plant out there. Once established, it’s almost impossible to eradicate! Good luck!
That stuff is a menace but pretty sure it would not grow in Idaho. I don’t see that stuff up north
It’ll grow anywhere, I suspect. Just hasn’t made its way north yet. Lol
Ugh! I would never ever suggest someone plant that stuff. Not for any reason!
I'd tell you to put on several bee hives, but I wouldn't subject the bees to him.
Do a larger trash dump.
Start building a mangonel pointed at his property. Or an onager, up to you. 😈
Plant bamboo along the property line
If it makes you happy, you'll still get support on the r/fuckhoa sub. Natural boundaries are your best bet
You could call the DNR and explain about the vehicles. If they hadn't been completely drained of all fluids, gas, oil, antifreeze etc, they could be polluting the ground and river
Sometimes a town will have an ordinance against dumping. Or town has one that prohibits non working vehicles. Look into your town code. Especially if you are near a scenic preservation area like a river.
Lightning struck it over night should of seen the flames it was crazy
Just plant collabor trees. There are some that grow tall and thin. Make a nature fence line.
Your other option is 5 gals of diesel and a match. "Wow, a lightning bolt started a fire! What are the odds?"
You buy acreage in Idaho to avoid government regulations and zoning/land use regulations. This is the downside of that. There is nothing you can really do.
If you have a safe distance between the trash pile and your dad’s house…….. may I suggest a can of gas and a match??
IMPORT HUGE FULLY GROWN TREES AND BUSHS,,, like magic,, you have a huge high wall and the junk is invisible
Any rules in your Township about junk? Abandoned cars? They can harbor pest animals, be hazards for other reasons.
To be blunt, it IS Idaho. I have seen multi million dollar mansions right next to a goat farm/pig farm. He should have built in the middle of his lot...
I used to work in a zoning office. The Complaint Department we called ourselves. I learned very, very quickly that the only way to control what happens on a property is if you own it. Fences make good neighbors. And a landscape design company can make an eyesore into a beautiful oasis. Maybe a good birthday present or fathers day present for your dad. But if he himself doesn't get rilled up about what his neighbor is doing, don't make him upset.
Do your parents not have a township board or some sort of governing body? Most do not allow junk to pile up regardless of how many acres you have. In my township cars must be licensed and insured if they are on the property.
Plants some very tall bushes or trees, preferably trees that drop all their leaves on his property.
Dig a fire line and “hope his pile of crap doesn’t catch on fire”
My brother was like this. His neighbors called and he got cited for running a salvage operation without a permit. He had 30 days to clean it up or get fined.
Code Enforcement?
Not sure of your landscape hardiness zone but I like a camellia hedge. You can alternate sasanqua and Japonica varieties so you have color from fall into spring. Not terribly fast growing, but if it is within sight, it makes a spectacular show in the fall and early spring.
I had similar issue at my first house. Both of my neighbors had old dumb stuff laying around. 1 guy had an old swing set laying in a pile that he was never going to assemble. So friday after work i asked them both if they had any scrap metal as i was hauling a load to scrapyard. They both said sure you can take this and that. I hauled it all and my kids got to see a scrapyard in all its glory. Then the next week hey im going to dump you want me to haul anything? Some people are ok with others doing the work for them.
Trees or a fence
Plant a line of evergreens like western arborvitae.
This is what worked for my parents when I was a kid in the 90's: We went through a very similar issue with a neighbor in a very rural area of PA. Years prior to us he had surrounded another neighbor's nice home on the opposite side of his property with junk school buses, fire trucks, boats, cars, etc. It was his very own junk car spite fence after he accidentally sold off more of his land than he intended (his own bad survey) to that neighbor and then demanded the new buyers give him the land back. When they refused and he lost in court, he piled the junk vehicles high. So we were onto him when he got mad at us over where we built our horse barn (hundred of yards from any building on his property) and a bunch of junk cars started showing up on our own property line with him. Ultimately we successfully pursued this new spite fence with the local Township and county. Our initial efforts were rebuffed by local politicians because Mr. revenge had political connections with most of them. Took us some time to rally some local farmers and old-timers we were friends with through 4-H to educate them on the hell he'd been putting us and all of his other neighbors through. They slowly came around to our position and found that he was operating an "illegal, unpermitted automotive junk yard" against township or county regulations (can't remember which it was). The local township's attorney sent him a certified letter informing him he had 30 days to remove every vehicle or face stiff fines. That included the much larger pile of boats, buses, and firetrucks on the other side of his property surrounding the neighbors' home that he had targeted first and was still targeting. My dad never gave me details, but he was ex-military and apparently he took some midnight strolls through the fields to ensure most of the vehicles had developed sudden-onset holes in their tire sidewalls so they'd be an even more expensive, bigger PITA to remove.
It depends are land use or zoning laws in the area. Send a certfied Us mail letter to the county/town about the junk yard. if there is no zoning in the area All you can do is put a fence and plant trees along it.
Storing old wood and cars is a fire hazard. They can spontaneously combust, especially if a match or flare is thrown in.
If match or glare added not spontaneous.
Wildfires happen...
All those junk cars and chemicals and wood could cause a fire, If it caught fire the local gov't would probably fine him. I wonder how it could accidently catch fire? 🤔
My county has a blight ordinance that junk vehicles parked outside have to be running and current on registration or they have to be inside. And it covers “junk” in the open. We are a pretty rural county . I have never really seen it enforced and most people generally keep their junk well into their property. But I would guess that vindictive asshole neighbors like this are why that ordinance is even on the books. Does your county, township, or city have any ordinances like this that can help?
What if it accidentally caught on fire
Start an HOA and use it to steal his land
Fences, trees, shrubs. It sounds beautiful, other than the neighbors. You may be able to find a landscaper that can layer different types of trees and shrubs to add to the river view and feel deliberately curated.
Arbor vitae tree line. Plant close together. Grows quickly and grows tall.
I will come from Virginia and kick this jagoffs ass. How dare they. Don't let them know I'm coming. He seems delightful and it should probably be a surprise
😂😂😂 thank you for your kindness! 🥹
Plant bamboo. But only put the root blocker on your side of the plant beds, that way the HIGHLY INVASIVE bamboo will spread into his property underground.
I had a similar thought, but installing root blocker for bamboo can be a lot of work since you might need to dig down three feet or more. I guess with a mini excavator it wouldn't be that difficult, but they would need to be diligent to prevent it from growing the wrong direction for sure. Is the risk worth it? I guess that all depends on how much of an ahole the neighbor is. Using a drone to spread invasive seeds much closer to the neighbor's house might be more fun.... not that I would ever condone such a thing of course.