Re: Neighbors, Vandals, KO Reaction

[Guest guest]

Annie has it right--noise curfews are law. In my neighborhood, it's after 10pm

at night and before 7am in the morning. However, here's an interesting fact:

that booming bass is illegal ALL the time where I live, at least. Cops routinely

arrest drivers with that bass going full blast through residential

neighborhoods. I think the bottom line is that if noise is disturbing you at any

hour of the day or night, and it goes on beyond a reasonable length of time,

which is the time it takes to say, mow a lawn or blow leaves away, then it

deserves a call to the police. That bass qualifies.

Finally, please know that the police WANT to hear from you. They want good

peaceful neighborhoods to stay that way. They want to know about the bad apples

before the situation gets out of hand. They would much rather deal with these

people than have you struggle on your own with it. When cops see bad apples

bothering " good " taxpayers, they make it a personal project to deal effectively

with the situation. Because they know if it isn't handled, the law-abiders start

moving out and more bad apples move in. Then they have a real headache to deal

with. So they will be only to happy to take your calls and respond until this is

resolved for good.

From experience,

AFB

> >

> > Thanks, Annie. It helps to feel that I'm not just overreacting to the

> > noise, etc. Right now as I type this at 1:27 a.m. we have just had to shut

all

> > the windows on that side of the house due to the stereo bass boom boom boom

> > - it woke up my poor husband. He said L, the landlord-neighbor must hear

> > it. I said I suspect she's trying to ignore it.

> > For whatever reason I am extremely noise sensitive too, which doesn't help

> > matters. It's making me miserable. I just told hubby we shouldn't have to

> > live like this - it's making me really furious. I had a migraine this

> > morning and I feel certain that the trigger was stress from their screaming

> > episode last night as it got my adrenalin pumping so.

> > I've been mulling it over since my original post, and I believe that one

> > component of my upset is also L's reaction to the vandalism - she more or

> > less laughed at it, said it was real strange, etc., but didn't display the

> > kind of outrage I would have liked to see. Regardless of who did it, if

> > someone did that to her I would have been very angry on her behalf and she

would

> > have known it. She almost acted like it wasn't THAT big of a deal. Maybe I

> > am just supersensitive right now, maybe not.

> > I just put on Facebook that I hope someone will bail me out if I get

> > arrested for smashing the neighbor's stereo - ha ha. What a tempting thought

> > that is. But I won't do it. Can't really call the cops for booming bass,

> > either, I suppose.

> > What I may do is bring DD's digital recorder up to the house and start

> > recording the noise that isn't cop-call worthy.

> >

> > Em

>

[Guest guest]

Annie has it right--noise curfews are law. In my neighborhood, it's after 10pm

at night and before 7am in the morning. However, here's an interesting fact:

that booming bass is illegal ALL the time where I live, at least. Cops routinely

arrest drivers with that bass going full blast through residential

neighborhoods. I think the bottom line is that if noise is disturbing you at any

hour of the day or night, and it goes on beyond a reasonable length of time,

which is the time it takes to say, mow a lawn or blow leaves away, then it

deserves a call to the police. That bass qualifies.

Finally, please know that the police WANT to hear from you. They want good

peaceful neighborhoods to stay that way. They want to know about the bad apples

before the situation gets out of hand. They would much rather deal with these

people than have you struggle on your own with it. When cops see bad apples

bothering " good " taxpayers, they make it a personal project to deal effectively

with the situation. Because they know if it isn't handled, the law-abiders start

moving out and more bad apples move in. Then they have a real headache to deal

with. So they will be only to happy to take your calls and respond until this is

resolved for good.

From experience,

AFB

> >

> > Thanks, Annie. It helps to feel that I'm not just overreacting to the

> > noise, etc. Right now as I type this at 1:27 a.m. we have just had to shut

all

> > the windows on that side of the house due to the stereo bass boom boom boom

> > - it woke up my poor husband. He said L, the landlord-neighbor must hear

> > it. I said I suspect she's trying to ignore it.

> > For whatever reason I am extremely noise sensitive too, which doesn't help

> > matters. It's making me miserable. I just told hubby we shouldn't have to

> > live like this - it's making me really furious. I had a migraine this

> > morning and I feel certain that the trigger was stress from their screaming

> > episode last night as it got my adrenalin pumping so.

> > I've been mulling it over since my original post, and I believe that one

> > component of my upset is also L's reaction to the vandalism - she more or

> > less laughed at it, said it was real strange, etc., but didn't display the

> > kind of outrage I would have liked to see. Regardless of who did it, if

> > someone did that to her I would have been very angry on her behalf and she

would

> > have known it. She almost acted like it wasn't THAT big of a deal. Maybe I

> > am just supersensitive right now, maybe not.

> > I just put on Facebook that I hope someone will bail me out if I get

> > arrested for smashing the neighbor's stereo - ha ha. What a tempting thought

> > that is. But I won't do it. Can't really call the cops for booming bass,

> > either, I suppose.

> > What I may do is bring DD's digital recorder up to the house and start

> > recording the noise that isn't cop-call worthy.

> >

> > Em

>

[Guest guest]

Annie has it right--noise curfews are law. In my neighborhood, it's after 10pm

at night and before 7am in the morning. However, here's an interesting fact:

that booming bass is illegal ALL the time where I live, at least. Cops routinely

arrest drivers with that bass going full blast through residential

neighborhoods. I think the bottom line is that if noise is disturbing you at any

hour of the day or night, and it goes on beyond a reasonable length of time,

which is the time it takes to say, mow a lawn or blow leaves away, then it

deserves a call to the police. That bass qualifies.

Finally, please know that the police WANT to hear from you. They want good

peaceful neighborhoods to stay that way. They want to know about the bad apples

before the situation gets out of hand. They would much rather deal with these

people than have you struggle on your own with it. When cops see bad apples

bothering " good " taxpayers, they make it a personal project to deal effectively

with the situation. Because they know if it isn't handled, the law-abiders start

moving out and more bad apples move in. Then they have a real headache to deal

with. So they will be only to happy to take your calls and respond until this is

resolved for good.

From experience,

AFB

> >

> > Thanks, Annie. It helps to feel that I'm not just overreacting to the

> > noise, etc. Right now as I type this at 1:27 a.m. we have just had to shut

all

> > the windows on that side of the house due to the stereo bass boom boom boom

> > - it woke up my poor husband. He said L, the landlord-neighbor must hear

> > it. I said I suspect she's trying to ignore it.

> > For whatever reason I am extremely noise sensitive too, which doesn't help

> > matters. It's making me miserable. I just told hubby we shouldn't have to

> > live like this - it's making me really furious. I had a migraine this

> > morning and I feel certain that the trigger was stress from their screaming

> > episode last night as it got my adrenalin pumping so.

> > I've been mulling it over since my original post, and I believe that one

> > component of my upset is also L's reaction to the vandalism - she more or

> > less laughed at it, said it was real strange, etc., but didn't display the

> > kind of outrage I would have liked to see. Regardless of who did it, if

> > someone did that to her I would have been very angry on her behalf and she

would

> > have known it. She almost acted like it wasn't THAT big of a deal. Maybe I

> > am just supersensitive right now, maybe not.

> > I just put on Facebook that I hope someone will bail me out if I get

> > arrested for smashing the neighbor's stereo - ha ha. What a tempting thought

> > that is. But I won't do it. Can't really call the cops for booming bass,

> > either, I suppose.

> > What I may do is bring DD's digital recorder up to the house and start

> > recording the noise that isn't cop-call worthy.

> >

> > Em

>

[Guest guest]

Annie has it right--noise curfews are law. In my neighborhood, it's after 10pm

at night and before 7am in the morning. However, here's an interesting fact:

that booming bass is illegal ALL the time where I live, at least. Cops routinely

arrest drivers with that bass going full blast through residential

neighborhoods. I think the bottom line is that if noise is disturbing you at any

hour of the day or night, and it goes on beyond a reasonable length of time,

which is the time it takes to say, mow a lawn or blow leaves away, then it

deserves a call to the police. That bass qualifies.

Finally, please know that the police WANT to hear from you. They want good

peaceful neighborhoods to stay that way. They want to know about the bad apples

before the situation gets out of hand. They would much rather deal with these

people than have you struggle on your own with it. When cops see bad apples

bothering " good " taxpayers, they make it a personal project to deal effectively

with the situation. Because they know if it isn't handled, the law-abiders start

moving out and more bad apples move in. Then they have a real headache to deal

with. So they will be only to happy to take your calls and respond until this is

resolved for good.

From experience,

AFB

> >

> > Thanks, Annie. It helps to feel that I'm not just overreacting to the

> > noise, etc. Right now as I type this at 1:27 a.m. we have just had to shut

all

> > the windows on that side of the house due to the stereo bass boom boom boom

> > - it woke up my poor husband. He said L, the landlord-neighbor must hear

> > it. I said I suspect she's trying to ignore it.

> > For whatever reason I am extremely noise sensitive too, which doesn't help

> > matters. It's making me miserable. I just told hubby we shouldn't have to

> > live like this - it's making me really furious. I had a migraine this

> > morning and I feel certain that the trigger was stress from their screaming

> > episode last night as it got my adrenalin pumping so.

> > I've been mulling it over since my original post, and I believe that one

> > component of my upset is also L's reaction to the vandalism - she more or

> > less laughed at it, said it was real strange, etc., but didn't display the

> > kind of outrage I would have liked to see. Regardless of who did it, if

> > someone did that to her I would have been very angry on her behalf and she

would

> > have known it. She almost acted like it wasn't THAT big of a deal. Maybe I

> > am just supersensitive right now, maybe not.

> > I just put on Facebook that I hope someone will bail me out if I get

> > arrested for smashing the neighbor's stereo - ha ha. What a tempting thought

> > that is. But I won't do it. Can't really call the cops for booming bass,

> > either, I suppose.

> > What I may do is bring DD's digital recorder up to the house and start

> > recording the noise that isn't cop-call worthy.

> >

> > Em

>

[Guest guest]

Annie has it right--noise curfews are law. In my neighborhood, it's after 10pm

at night and before 7am in the morning. However, here's an interesting fact:

that booming bass is illegal ALL the time where I live, at least. Cops routinely

arrest drivers with that bass going full blast through residential

neighborhoods. I think the bottom line is that if noise is disturbing you at any

hour of the day or night, and it goes on beyond a reasonable length of time,

which is the time it takes to say, mow a lawn or blow leaves away, then it

deserves a call to the police. That bass qualifies.

Finally, please know that the police WANT to hear from you. They want good

peaceful neighborhoods to stay that way. They want to know about the bad apples

before the situation gets out of hand. They would much rather deal with these

people than have you struggle on your own with it. When cops see bad apples

bothering " good " taxpayers, they make it a personal project to deal effectively

with the situation. Because they know if it isn't handled, the law-abiders start

moving out and more bad apples move in. Then they have a real headache to deal

with. So they will be only to happy to take your calls and respond until this is

resolved for good.

From experience,

AFB

> >

> > Thanks, Annie. It helps to feel that I'm not just overreacting to the

> > noise, etc. Right now as I type this at 1:27 a.m. we have just had to shut

all

> > the windows on that side of the house due to the stereo bass boom boom boom

> > - it woke up my poor husband. He said L, the landlord-neighbor must hear

> > it. I said I suspect she's trying to ignore it.

> > For whatever reason I am extremely noise sensitive too, which doesn't help

> > matters. It's making me miserable. I just told hubby we shouldn't have to

> > live like this - it's making me really furious. I had a migraine this

> > morning and I feel certain that the trigger was stress from their screaming

> > episode last night as it got my adrenalin pumping so.

> > I've been mulling it over since my original post, and I believe that one

> > component of my upset is also L's reaction to the vandalism - she more or

> > less laughed at it, said it was real strange, etc., but didn't display the

> > kind of outrage I would have liked to see. Regardless of who did it, if

> > someone did that to her I would have been very angry on her behalf and she

would

> > have known it. She almost acted like it wasn't THAT big of a deal. Maybe I

> > am just supersensitive right now, maybe not.

> > I just put on Facebook that I hope someone will bail me out if I get

> > arrested for smashing the neighbor's stereo - ha ha. What a tempting thought

> > that is. But I won't do it. Can't really call the cops for booming bass,

> > either, I suppose.

> > What I may do is bring DD's digital recorder up to the house and start

> > recording the noise that isn't cop-call worthy.

> >

> > Em

>

[Guest guest]

Annie has it right--noise curfews are law. In my neighborhood, it's after 10pm

at night and before 7am in the morning. However, here's an interesting fact:

that booming bass is illegal ALL the time where I live, at least. Cops routinely

arrest drivers with that bass going full blast through residential

neighborhoods. I think the bottom line is that if noise is disturbing you at any

hour of the day or night, and it goes on beyond a reasonable length of time,

which is the time it takes to say, mow a lawn or blow leaves away, then it

deserves a call to the police. That bass qualifies.

Finally, please know that the police WANT to hear from you. They want good

peaceful neighborhoods to stay that way. They want to know about the bad apples

before the situation gets out of hand. They would much rather deal with these

people than have you struggle on your own with it. When cops see bad apples

bothering " good " taxpayers, they make it a personal project to deal effectively

with the situation. Because they know if it isn't handled, the law-abiders start

moving out and more bad apples move in. Then they have a real headache to deal

with. So they will be only to happy to take your calls and respond until this is

resolved for good.

From experience,

AFB

> >

> > Thanks, Annie. It helps to feel that I'm not just overreacting to the

> > noise, etc. Right now as I type this at 1:27 a.m. we have just had to shut

all

> > the windows on that side of the house due to the stereo bass boom boom boom

> > - it woke up my poor husband. He said L, the landlord-neighbor must hear

> > it. I said I suspect she's trying to ignore it.

> > For whatever reason I am extremely noise sensitive too, which doesn't help

> > matters. It's making me miserable. I just told hubby we shouldn't have to

> > live like this - it's making me really furious. I had a migraine this

> > morning and I feel certain that the trigger was stress from their screaming

> > episode last night as it got my adrenalin pumping so.

> > I've been mulling it over since my original post, and I believe that one

> > component of my upset is also L's reaction to the vandalism - she more or

> > less laughed at it, said it was real strange, etc., but didn't display the

> > kind of outrage I would have liked to see. Regardless of who did it, if

> > someone did that to her I would have been very angry on her behalf and she

would

> > have known it. She almost acted like it wasn't THAT big of a deal. Maybe I

> > am just supersensitive right now, maybe not.

> > I just put on Facebook that I hope someone will bail me out if I get

> > arrested for smashing the neighbor's stereo - ha ha. What a tempting thought

> > that is. But I won't do it. Can't really call the cops for booming bass,

> > either, I suppose.

> > What I may do is bring DD's digital recorder up to the house and start

> > recording the noise that isn't cop-call worthy.

> >

> > Em

>

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/3/2011 9:44:09 AM Eastern Standard Time,

bettababy@... writes:

Hi Em, sorry I'm so late responding to your post. I finally managed to get

some sleep last night.. what a relief that is.

I agree with what the others have said about letting the cops handle

things, and the voice recorder is also a great idea... however, I know all too

well how ineffective the cops can be at times. I spent 13 yrs battling an ex

husband who harassed me so badly I went into hiding with my kids for fear

he would eventually kill me and/or my kids. It took me that long to learn

how to effectively fight back, at which time the harassment did stop. Cops

were ineffective, the courts were ineffective, telling me they wouldn't give

me a restraining order because " he hasn't hurt me yet " .

I don't know how much of this has to do with the abuse I was raised with,

the abuse I married into (the first time) or the abuse I suffered at school

as a child... but a day came along when I was in my mid 20's that I

finally said, no more. I tried so hard to always do " the right thing " and to do

it " the right way " and never got any effective results.

Do you or a friend or family member own a video camera you could use for a

week or 2? Documenting what is happening is the best way to fight back, a

way to offer solid proof that there is pot smoking, underage drinking going

on, excessive noise in the middle of the night. There are laws about those

kinds of things, but even if the cops don't handle it appropriately, there

are still ways to get it stopped. A video showing an underage person

drinking alcohol, smoking pot, and carrying on in such ways at night would give

the local district attorney an OBLIGATION to do something about it, all

you'd need to do is present the tape (and possibly write a statement or

testify in court... and no, that doesn't have to be as scary as it sounds...

been

there/done that).

Also, maybe its time for you to get together with some of the other

neighbors who have been doing the complaining? Having more than 1 person

document

the drama can also help A LOT! I remember once setting my video camera up

in a dark room, on the tripod, in the window... duct tape over the little

red light to hide the fact that it was recording... it worked fairly well as

I could just walk away and go back every 6 hrs to change the tape. It took

a few nights of this before I captured anything useful, but by looking at

the time I heard the crap begin I was able to find it easily on the video

tape without having to play the whole way through.

Have you consulted any of the other neighbors about going over there

together when this is all happening? A group of you, never 1 or 2 alone... but

if you have the power of 10 people standing there demanding they stop, it

does 2 things... it takes the finger pointing away from any 1 person and then

it lets them know that you have all had enough and are working together to

make them stop or leave/move. Intimidation does not have to be

threatening, but it sure is a powerful tool.

The problems with their " gifts " being left in your yard... I know what my

approach would be to that. Yes, it would cost me a few bucks I can't

afford, but I would (and have done) this before, it works VERY well. They make

sprinkler systems that go into the yard on a spike and can be anchored with a

chain so as not to be stolen. These are motion activated so only turn on

when they detect movement. (I can offer a link to one online if needed) I

found these when I grew tired of the entire neighborhood thinking our yard was

a sidewalk and leaving their garbage behind as well. I had 70+ yr old

ladies with canes stepping right over the small fence I could afford to put up

to line the boundary of our yard... it made me crazy and none of them

seemed to care when I tried to handle it " the right way " or when I called the

cops. Most outdoor/hunting stores sell animal scents for hunting purposes...

Cabella's has a huge selection. After the sprinkler I went sho pping for a

small (cheap) bottle of skunk scent, with the idea of loading up a squirt

gun and the sprinkler both. Thus far I have never had to open the skunk

scent, (thankfully) but it is here just in case. After my shopping trip I made

a point to spend time outdoors greeting the few neighbors I knew at that

time, and told ALL of them what I had done and reminded them that it was all

LEGAL because it was my property and I was chasing " stray animals " away

with it. Worked like a charm... have not had a single person walk through my

yard since word got out that I was prepared to fight back. The neighbor dog

that was crapping in my yard every day... also stopped in a big hurry. He

no longer roams the neighborhood as freely as he used to. (yes, I tried

handling that " the right way " but that didn't work either)

Yes, I know this all sounds like a lot of work... but, if you think about

it, aren't you doing a lot of work already and getting no results? The way

I approach these types of situations is with the thought that if I have to

go through the trouble to " work " at resolving an issue someone else is

causing for me, then I, at very least expect my work to pay off and offer some

results.

Some other examples of how effective my ideas have been... one of the

worst neighborhoods I have lived in during my life, full of drug dealers and

gangs, etc. but I had my own fenced in yard that was my haven away from it

all, we lived peacefully... for a while. Eventually we bought rabbits and

built them a hutch out in the yard and they began breeding (which is what we

wanted). With 3 wk old baby rabbits out there the neighborhood kids started

climbing over the fence to steal them in the middle of the night. 1 at a

time they began to disappear and we were unable to catch anyone in the act.

By the time the last baby bunny (the 5th) was taken I was beside myself...

and I called the cops yet again. The cop that came to my house explained

that if nobody witnessed the theft then there was nothing they could do to

prove who had taken the rabbits or how. So... in a very loud voice that I was

sure my neighbors would hear, I told the cop thanks for nothing, I could

see I would just have to handle it myself by hooking a car battery up to my

fence with jumper cables when I couldn't be out there to watch it.

Of course the cop warned me that I couldn't do such a thing, that he would

then be back to arrest me... and I told him, even louder... " it takes you

guys about 30 minutes or more to show up when I call, so that's 30 minutes

for me to put the battery and cables in the garage. How are you going to

prove I did it anymore than you can do so for my rabbits? " The cop said

nothing. After the cop left I went to the garage and found an old car battery

that was no good that my then bf had laying around and a pair of jumper

cables. I set the battery where it was in plain view and then proceeded to hook

it to my fence before I went into the house for the night.

Guess what? All of my rabbits were safe that night, and every other night

after that. Had someone tested it they would have discovered that I used an

garbage battery and it wasn't really " active " ... but who was gonna go

touch it and try just to find out? ;-)

Sometimes we have to take care of ourselves, and if we are thoughtful

about the process, there ARE effective ways to avoid continued harassment from

others. And, when the cops realize that you've been pushed over the edge

enough to act on your own, they get a lot more helpful in doing their duty,

which can be quite effective also. I refer to it as " pm " (police motivation).

So to sum it all up, there are 3 things to approaching this sort of thing,

and it helps rid you of the stress because you begin to feel like you're

actually doing something about the problem. Be sure the police are actively

involved. Get the other neighbors involved as much as possible and get

PROOF of what is happening, such as voice recordings and video of the activity.

And, above all... be creative! This is the part that relieves the most

stress. For as angry as I was at the time, I never thought I could laugh so

hard after the incident with the skunk scent and sprinkler... the look on my

neighbor's face when I told him about it, and the days we began counting

where nobody came through our yard, we got a great laugh out of how " easy " it

was to fix such a big problem.

Best of luck to you!

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/3/2011 9:44:09 AM Eastern Standard Time,

bettababy@... writes:

Hi Em, sorry I'm so late responding to your post. I finally managed to get

some sleep last night.. what a relief that is.

I agree with what the others have said about letting the cops handle

things, and the voice recorder is also a great idea... however, I know all too

well how ineffective the cops can be at times. I spent 13 yrs battling an ex

husband who harassed me so badly I went into hiding with my kids for fear

he would eventually kill me and/or my kids. It took me that long to learn

how to effectively fight back, at which time the harassment did stop. Cops

were ineffective, the courts were ineffective, telling me they wouldn't give

me a restraining order because " he hasn't hurt me yet " .

I don't know how much of this has to do with the abuse I was raised with,

the abuse I married into (the first time) or the abuse I suffered at school

as a child... but a day came along when I was in my mid 20's that I

finally said, no more. I tried so hard to always do " the right thing " and to do

it " the right way " and never got any effective results.

Do you or a friend or family member own a video camera you could use for a

week or 2? Documenting what is happening is the best way to fight back, a

way to offer solid proof that there is pot smoking, underage drinking going

on, excessive noise in the middle of the night. There are laws about those

kinds of things, but even if the cops don't handle it appropriately, there

are still ways to get it stopped. A video showing an underage person

drinking alcohol, smoking pot, and carrying on in such ways at night would give

the local district attorney an OBLIGATION to do something about it, all

you'd need to do is present the tape (and possibly write a statement or

testify in court... and no, that doesn't have to be as scary as it sounds...

been

there/done that).

Also, maybe its time for you to get together with some of the other

neighbors who have been doing the complaining? Having more than 1 person

document

the drama can also help A LOT! I remember once setting my video camera up

in a dark room, on the tripod, in the window... duct tape over the little

red light to hide the fact that it was recording... it worked fairly well as

I could just walk away and go back every 6 hrs to change the tape. It took

a few nights of this before I captured anything useful, but by looking at

the time I heard the crap begin I was able to find it easily on the video

tape without having to play the whole way through.

Have you consulted any of the other neighbors about going over there

together when this is all happening? A group of you, never 1 or 2 alone... but

if you have the power of 10 people standing there demanding they stop, it

does 2 things... it takes the finger pointing away from any 1 person and then

it lets them know that you have all had enough and are working together to

make them stop or leave/move. Intimidation does not have to be

threatening, but it sure is a powerful tool.

The problems with their " gifts " being left in your yard... I know what my

approach would be to that. Yes, it would cost me a few bucks I can't

afford, but I would (and have done) this before, it works VERY well. They make

sprinkler systems that go into the yard on a spike and can be anchored with a

chain so as not to be stolen. These are motion activated so only turn on

when they detect movement. (I can offer a link to one online if needed) I

found these when I grew tired of the entire neighborhood thinking our yard was

a sidewalk and leaving their garbage behind as well. I had 70+ yr old

ladies with canes stepping right over the small fence I could afford to put up

to line the boundary of our yard... it made me crazy and none of them

seemed to care when I tried to handle it " the right way " or when I called the

cops. Most outdoor/hunting stores sell animal scents for hunting purposes...

Cabella's has a huge selection. After the sprinkler I went sho pping for a

small (cheap) bottle of skunk scent, with the idea of loading up a squirt

gun and the sprinkler both. Thus far I have never had to open the skunk

scent, (thankfully) but it is here just in case. After my shopping trip I made

a point to spend time outdoors greeting the few neighbors I knew at that

time, and told ALL of them what I had done and reminded them that it was all

LEGAL because it was my property and I was chasing " stray animals " away

with it. Worked like a charm... have not had a single person walk through my

yard since word got out that I was prepared to fight back. The neighbor dog

that was crapping in my yard every day... also stopped in a big hurry. He

no longer roams the neighborhood as freely as he used to. (yes, I tried

handling that " the right way " but that didn't work either)

Yes, I know this all sounds like a lot of work... but, if you think about

it, aren't you doing a lot of work already and getting no results? The way

I approach these types of situations is with the thought that if I have to

go through the trouble to " work " at resolving an issue someone else is

causing for me, then I, at very least expect my work to pay off and offer some

results.

Some other examples of how effective my ideas have been... one of the

worst neighborhoods I have lived in during my life, full of drug dealers and

gangs, etc. but I had my own fenced in yard that was my haven away from it

all, we lived peacefully... for a while. Eventually we bought rabbits and

built them a hutch out in the yard and they began breeding (which is what we

wanted). With 3 wk old baby rabbits out there the neighborhood kids started

climbing over the fence to steal them in the middle of the night. 1 at a

time they began to disappear and we were unable to catch anyone in the act.

By the time the last baby bunny (the 5th) was taken I was beside myself...

and I called the cops yet again. The cop that came to my house explained

that if nobody witnessed the theft then there was nothing they could do to

prove who had taken the rabbits or how. So... in a very loud voice that I was

sure my neighbors would hear, I told the cop thanks for nothing, I could

see I would just have to handle it myself by hooking a car battery up to my

fence with jumper cables when I couldn't be out there to watch it.

Of course the cop warned me that I couldn't do such a thing, that he would

then be back to arrest me... and I told him, even louder... " it takes you

guys about 30 minutes or more to show up when I call, so that's 30 minutes

for me to put the battery and cables in the garage. How are you going to

prove I did it anymore than you can do so for my rabbits? " The cop said

nothing. After the cop left I went to the garage and found an old car battery

that was no good that my then bf had laying around and a pair of jumper

cables. I set the battery where it was in plain view and then proceeded to hook

it to my fence before I went into the house for the night.

Guess what? All of my rabbits were safe that night, and every other night

after that. Had someone tested it they would have discovered that I used an

garbage battery and it wasn't really " active " ... but who was gonna go

touch it and try just to find out? ;-)

Sometimes we have to take care of ourselves, and if we are thoughtful

about the process, there ARE effective ways to avoid continued harassment from

others. And, when the cops realize that you've been pushed over the edge

enough to act on your own, they get a lot more helpful in doing their duty,

which can be quite effective also. I refer to it as " pm " (police motivation).

So to sum it all up, there are 3 things to approaching this sort of thing,

and it helps rid you of the stress because you begin to feel like you're

actually doing something about the problem. Be sure the police are actively

involved. Get the other neighbors involved as much as possible and get

PROOF of what is happening, such as voice recordings and video of the activity.

And, above all... be creative! This is the part that relieves the most

stress. For as angry as I was at the time, I never thought I could laugh so

hard after the incident with the skunk scent and sprinkler... the look on my

neighbor's face when I told him about it, and the days we began counting

where nobody came through our yard, we got a great laugh out of how " easy " it

was to fix such a big problem.

Best of luck to you!

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/3/2011 9:44:09 AM Eastern Standard Time,

bettababy@... writes:

Hi Em, sorry I'm so late responding to your post. I finally managed to get

some sleep last night.. what a relief that is.

I agree with what the others have said about letting the cops handle

things, and the voice recorder is also a great idea... however, I know all too

well how ineffective the cops can be at times. I spent 13 yrs battling an ex

husband who harassed me so badly I went into hiding with my kids for fear

he would eventually kill me and/or my kids. It took me that long to learn

how to effectively fight back, at which time the harassment did stop. Cops

were ineffective, the courts were ineffective, telling me they wouldn't give

me a restraining order because " he hasn't hurt me yet " .

I don't know how much of this has to do with the abuse I was raised with,

the abuse I married into (the first time) or the abuse I suffered at school

as a child... but a day came along when I was in my mid 20's that I

finally said, no more. I tried so hard to always do " the right thing " and to do

it " the right way " and never got any effective results.

Do you or a friend or family member own a video camera you could use for a

week or 2? Documenting what is happening is the best way to fight back, a

way to offer solid proof that there is pot smoking, underage drinking going

on, excessive noise in the middle of the night. There are laws about those

kinds of things, but even if the cops don't handle it appropriately, there

are still ways to get it stopped. A video showing an underage person

drinking alcohol, smoking pot, and carrying on in such ways at night would give

the local district attorney an OBLIGATION to do something about it, all

you'd need to do is present the tape (and possibly write a statement or

testify in court... and no, that doesn't have to be as scary as it sounds...

been

there/done that).

Also, maybe its time for you to get together with some of the other

neighbors who have been doing the complaining? Having more than 1 person

document

the drama can also help A LOT! I remember once setting my video camera up

in a dark room, on the tripod, in the window... duct tape over the little

red light to hide the fact that it was recording... it worked fairly well as

I could just walk away and go back every 6 hrs to change the tape. It took

a few nights of this before I captured anything useful, but by looking at

the time I heard the crap begin I was able to find it easily on the video

tape without having to play the whole way through.

Have you consulted any of the other neighbors about going over there

together when this is all happening? A group of you, never 1 or 2 alone... but

if you have the power of 10 people standing there demanding they stop, it

does 2 things... it takes the finger pointing away from any 1 person and then

it lets them know that you have all had enough and are working together to

make them stop or leave/move. Intimidation does not have to be

threatening, but it sure is a powerful tool.

The problems with their " gifts " being left in your yard... I know what my

approach would be to that. Yes, it would cost me a few bucks I can't

afford, but I would (and have done) this before, it works VERY well. They make

sprinkler systems that go into the yard on a spike and can be anchored with a

chain so as not to be stolen. These are motion activated so only turn on

when they detect movement. (I can offer a link to one online if needed) I

found these when I grew tired of the entire neighborhood thinking our yard was

a sidewalk and leaving their garbage behind as well. I had 70+ yr old

ladies with canes stepping right over the small fence I could afford to put up

to line the boundary of our yard... it made me crazy and none of them

seemed to care when I tried to handle it " the right way " or when I called the

cops. Most outdoor/hunting stores sell animal scents for hunting purposes...

Cabella's has a huge selection. After the sprinkler I went sho pping for a

small (cheap) bottle of skunk scent, with the idea of loading up a squirt

gun and the sprinkler both. Thus far I have never had to open the skunk

scent, (thankfully) but it is here just in case. After my shopping trip I made

a point to spend time outdoors greeting the few neighbors I knew at that

time, and told ALL of them what I had done and reminded them that it was all

LEGAL because it was my property and I was chasing " stray animals " away

with it. Worked like a charm... have not had a single person walk through my

yard since word got out that I was prepared to fight back. The neighbor dog

that was crapping in my yard every day... also stopped in a big hurry. He

no longer roams the neighborhood as freely as he used to. (yes, I tried

handling that " the right way " but that didn't work either)

Yes, I know this all sounds like a lot of work... but, if you think about

it, aren't you doing a lot of work already and getting no results? The way

I approach these types of situations is with the thought that if I have to

go through the trouble to " work " at resolving an issue someone else is

causing for me, then I, at very least expect my work to pay off and offer some

results.

Some other examples of how effective my ideas have been... one of the

worst neighborhoods I have lived in during my life, full of drug dealers and

gangs, etc. but I had my own fenced in yard that was my haven away from it

all, we lived peacefully... for a while. Eventually we bought rabbits and

built them a hutch out in the yard and they began breeding (which is what we

wanted). With 3 wk old baby rabbits out there the neighborhood kids started

climbing over the fence to steal them in the middle of the night. 1 at a

time they began to disappear and we were unable to catch anyone in the act.

By the time the last baby bunny (the 5th) was taken I was beside myself...

and I called the cops yet again. The cop that came to my house explained

that if nobody witnessed the theft then there was nothing they could do to

prove who had taken the rabbits or how. So... in a very loud voice that I was

sure my neighbors would hear, I told the cop thanks for nothing, I could

see I would just have to handle it myself by hooking a car battery up to my

fence with jumper cables when I couldn't be out there to watch it.

Of course the cop warned me that I couldn't do such a thing, that he would

then be back to arrest me... and I told him, even louder... " it takes you

guys about 30 minutes or more to show up when I call, so that's 30 minutes

for me to put the battery and cables in the garage. How are you going to

prove I did it anymore than you can do so for my rabbits? " The cop said

nothing. After the cop left I went to the garage and found an old car battery

that was no good that my then bf had laying around and a pair of jumper

cables. I set the battery where it was in plain view and then proceeded to hook

it to my fence before I went into the house for the night.

Guess what? All of my rabbits were safe that night, and every other night

after that. Had someone tested it they would have discovered that I used an

garbage battery and it wasn't really " active " ... but who was gonna go

touch it and try just to find out? ;-)

Sometimes we have to take care of ourselves, and if we are thoughtful

about the process, there ARE effective ways to avoid continued harassment from

others. And, when the cops realize that you've been pushed over the edge

enough to act on your own, they get a lot more helpful in doing their duty,

which can be quite effective also. I refer to it as " pm " (police motivation).

So to sum it all up, there are 3 things to approaching this sort of thing,

and it helps rid you of the stress because you begin to feel like you're

actually doing something about the problem. Be sure the police are actively

involved. Get the other neighbors involved as much as possible and get

PROOF of what is happening, such as voice recordings and video of the activity.

And, above all... be creative! This is the part that relieves the most

stress. For as angry as I was at the time, I never thought I could laugh so

hard after the incident with the skunk scent and sprinkler... the look on my

neighbor's face when I told him about it, and the days we began counting

where nobody came through our yard, we got a great laugh out of how " easy " it

was to fix such a big problem.

Best of luck to you!

[Guest guest]

Arghh - sending blank replies - that's what a lack of sleep will do, ha ha.

Well, the boom boom continued all night - I finally fell asleep at around

3:30, and was cranky to be awakened by the neighbor's workmen installing

pavers early this morning - but happy that her tenants were also awakened

early.

I am going to bring DD's recorder here so I can tape the next real doozy of

a screaming fight they have.

I did read the noise laws online, and we are well within our rights to call

the cops, so I'll be doing that too.

DH is fed up - he says the landlord-neighbor isn't doing anything when we

complain, so let somebody else complain, but I figure a few calls to the

cops and perhaps a print out of the noise laws anonymously left in their

mailboxes or on the doors might help get the message across. Might - I'm not

holding out much hope at this point.

The video recorder idea is good although the patio is on the opposite side

of the house so wouldn't work for us, however if we heard them partying and

did call the cops they would see the underage drinking taking place.

I bought some earplugs today, too. Even with the white noise machine we

bought set on high I wasn't able to tune out that thud thud thud and my brain

is fried from lack of time to rest.

Wish me luck that they work!

Em

In a message dated 1/3/2011 9:44:09 AM Eastern Standard Time,

bettababy@... writes:

Hi Em, sorry I'm so late responding to your post. I finally managed to get

some sleep last night.. what a relief that is.

I agree with what the others have said about letting the cops handle

things, and the voice recorder is also a great idea... however, I know all too

well how ineffective the cops can be at times. I spent 13 yrs battling an ex

husband who harassed me so badly I went into hiding with my kids for fear

he would eventually kill me and/or my kids. It took me that long to learn

how to effectively fight back, at which time the harassment did stop. Cops

were ineffective, the courts were ineffective, telling me they wouldn't give

me a restraining order because " he hasn't hurt me yet " .

I don't know how much of this has to do with the abuse I was raised with,

the abuse I married into (the first time) or the abuse I suffered at school

as a child... but a day came along when I was in my mid 20's that I

finally said, no more. I tried so hard to always do " the right thing " and to do

it " the right way " and never got any effective results.

Do you or a friend or family member own a video camera you could use for a

week or 2? Documenting what is happening is the best way to fight back, a

way to offer solid proof that there is pot smoking, underage drinking going

on, excessive noise in the middle of the night. There are laws about those

kinds of things, but even if the cops don't handle it appropriately, there

are still ways to get it stopped. A video showing an underage person

drinking alcohol, smoking pot, and carrying on in such ways at night would give

the local district attorney an OBLIGATION to do something about it, all

you'd need to do is present the tape (and possibly write a statement or

testify in court... and no, that doesn't have to be as scary as it sounds...

been

there/done that).

Also, maybe its time for you to get together with some of the other

neighbors who have been doing the complaining? Having more than 1 person

document

the drama can also help A LOT! I remember once setting my video camera up

in a dark room, on the tripod, in the window... duct tape over the little

red light to hide the fact that it was recording... it worked fairly well as

I could just walk away and go back every 6 hrs to change the tape. It took

a few nights of this before I captured anything useful, but by looking at

the time I heard the crap begin I was able to find it easily on the video

tape without having to play the whole way through.

Have you consulted any of the other neighbors about going over there

together when this is all happening? A group of you, never 1 or 2 alone... but

if you have the power of 10 people standing there demanding they stop, it

does 2 things... it takes the finger pointing away from any 1 person and then

it lets them know that you have all had enough and are working together to

make them stop or leave/move. Intimidation does not have to be

threatening, but it sure is a powerful tool.

The problems with their " gifts " being left in your yard... I know what my

approach would be to that. Yes, it would cost me a few bucks I can't

afford, but I would (and have done) this before, it works VERY well. They make

sprinkler systems that go into the yard on a spike and can be anchored with a

chain so as not to be stolen. These are motion activated so only turn on

when they detect movement. (I can offer a link to one online if needed) I

found these when I grew tired of the entire neighborhood thinking our yard was

a sidewalk and leaving their garbage behind as well. I had 70+ yr old

ladies with canes stepping right over the small fence I could afford to put up

to line the boundary of our yard... it made me crazy and none of them

seemed to care when I tried to handle it " the right way " or when I called the

cops. Most outdoor/hunting stores sell animal scents for hunting purposes...

Cabella's has a huge selection. After the sprinkler I went sho pping for a

small (cheap) bottle of skunk scent, with the idea of loading up a squirt

gun and the sprinkler both. Thus far I have never had to open the skunk

scent, (thankfully) but it is here just in case. After my shopping trip I made

a point to spend time outdoors greeting the few neighbors I knew at that

time, and told ALL of them what I had done and reminded them that it was all

LEGAL because it was my property and I was chasing " stray animals " away

with it. Worked like a charm... have not had a single person walk through my

yard since word got out that I was prepared to fight back. The neighbor dog

that was crapping in my yard every day... also stopped in a big hurry. He

no longer roams the neighborhood as freely as he used to. (yes, I tried

handling that " the right way " but that didn't work either)

Yes, I know this all sounds like a lot of work... but, if you think about

it, aren't you doing a lot of work already and getting no results? The way

I approach these types of situations is with the thought that if I have to

go through the trouble to " work " at resolving an issue someone else is

causing for me, then I, at very least expect my work to pay off and offer some

results.

Some other examples of how effective my ideas have been... one of the

worst neighborhoods I have lived in during my life, full of drug dealers and

gangs, etc. but I had my own fenced in yard that was my haven away from it

all, we lived peacefully... for a while. Eventually we bought rabbits and

built them a hutch out in the yard and they began breeding (which is what we

wanted). With 3 wk old baby rabbits out there the neighborhood kids started

climbing over the fence to steal them in the middle of the night. 1 at a

time they began to disappear and we were unable to catch anyone in the act.

By the time the last baby bunny (the 5th) was taken I was beside myself...

and I called the cops yet again. The cop that came to my house explained

that if nobody witnessed the theft then there was nothing they could do to

prove who had taken the rabbits or how. So... in a very loud voice that I was

sure my neighbors would hear, I told the cop thanks for nothing, I could

see I would just have to handle it myself by hooking a car battery up to my

fence with jumper cables when I couldn't be out there to watch it.

Of course the cop warned me that I couldn't do such a thing, that he would

then be back to arrest me... and I told him, even louder... " it takes you

guys about 30 minutes or more to show up when I call, so that's 30 minutes

for me to put the battery and cables in the garage. How are you going to

prove I did it anymore than you can do so for my rabbits? " The cop said

nothing. After the cop left I went to the garage and found an old car battery

that was no good that my then bf had laying around and a pair of jumper

cables. I set the battery where it was in plain view and then proceeded to hook

it to my fence before I went into the house for the night.

Guess what? All of my rabbits were safe that night, and every other night

after that. Had someone tested it they would have discovered that I used an

garbage battery and it wasn't really " active " ... but who was gonna go

touch it and try just to find out? ;-)

Sometimes we have to take care of ourselves, and if we are thoughtful

about the process, there ARE effective ways to avoid continued harassment from

others. And, when the cops realize that you've been pushed over the edge

enough to act on your own, they get a lot more helpful in doing their duty,

which can be quite effective also. I refer to it as " pm " (police motivation).

So to sum it all up, there are 3 things to approaching this sort of thing,

and it helps rid you of the stress because you begin to feel like you're

actually doing something about the problem. Be sure the police are actively

involved. Get the other neighbors involved as much as possible and get

PROOF of what is happening, such as voice recordings and video of the activity.

And, above all... be creative! This is the part that relieves the most

stress. For as angry as I was at the time, I never thought I could laugh so

hard after the incident with the skunk scent and sprinkler... the look on my

neighbor's face when I told him about it, and the days we began counting

where nobody came through our yard, we got a great laugh out of how " easy " it

was to fix such a big problem.

fBest of luck to you!

[Guest guest]

Arghh - sending blank replies - that's what a lack of sleep will do, ha ha.

Well, the boom boom continued all night - I finally fell asleep at around

3:30, and was cranky to be awakened by the neighbor's workmen installing

pavers early this morning - but happy that her tenants were also awakened

early.

I am going to bring DD's recorder here so I can tape the next real doozy of

a screaming fight they have.

I did read the noise laws online, and we are well within our rights to call

the cops, so I'll be doing that too.

DH is fed up - he says the landlord-neighbor isn't doing anything when we

complain, so let somebody else complain, but I figure a few calls to the

cops and perhaps a print out of the noise laws anonymously left in their

mailboxes or on the doors might help get the message across. Might - I'm not

holding out much hope at this point.

The video recorder idea is good although the patio is on the opposite side

of the house so wouldn't work for us, however if we heard them partying and

did call the cops they would see the underage drinking taking place.

I bought some earplugs today, too. Even with the white noise machine we

bought set on high I wasn't able to tune out that thud thud thud and my brain

is fried from lack of time to rest.

Wish me luck that they work!

Em

In a message dated 1/3/2011 9:44:09 AM Eastern Standard Time,

bettababy@... writes:

Hi Em, sorry I'm so late responding to your post. I finally managed to get

some sleep last night.. what a relief that is.

I agree with what the others have said about letting the cops handle

things, and the voice recorder is also a great idea... however, I know all too

well how ineffective the cops can be at times. I spent 13 yrs battling an ex

husband who harassed me so badly I went into hiding with my kids for fear

he would eventually kill me and/or my kids. It took me that long to learn

how to effectively fight back, at which time the harassment did stop. Cops

were ineffective, the courts were ineffective, telling me they wouldn't give

me a restraining order because " he hasn't hurt me yet " .

I don't know how much of this has to do with the abuse I was raised with,

the abuse I married into (the first time) or the abuse I suffered at school

as a child... but a day came along when I was in my mid 20's that I

finally said, no more. I tried so hard to always do " the right thing " and to do

it " the right way " and never got any effective results.

Do you or a friend or family member own a video camera you could use for a

week or 2? Documenting what is happening is the best way to fight back, a

way to offer solid proof that there is pot smoking, underage drinking going

on, excessive noise in the middle of the night. There are laws about those

kinds of things, but even if the cops don't handle it appropriately, there

are still ways to get it stopped. A video showing an underage person

drinking alcohol, smoking pot, and carrying on in such ways at night would give

the local district attorney an OBLIGATION to do something about it, all

you'd need to do is present the tape (and possibly write a statement or

testify in court... and no, that doesn't have to be as scary as it sounds...

been

there/done that).

Also, maybe its time for you to get together with some of the other

neighbors who have been doing the complaining? Having more than 1 person

document

the drama can also help A LOT! I remember once setting my video camera up

in a dark room, on the tripod, in the window... duct tape over the little

red light to hide the fact that it was recording... it worked fairly well as

I could just walk away and go back every 6 hrs to change the tape. It took

a few nights of this before I captured anything useful, but by looking at

the time I heard the crap begin I was able to find it easily on the video

tape without having to play the whole way through.

Have you consulted any of the other neighbors about going over there

together when this is all happening? A group of you, never 1 or 2 alone... but

if you have the power of 10 people standing there demanding they stop, it

does 2 things... it takes the finger pointing away from any 1 person and then

it lets them know that you have all had enough and are working together to

make them stop or leave/move. Intimidation does not have to be

threatening, but it sure is a powerful tool.

The problems with their " gifts " being left in your yard... I know what my

approach would be to that. Yes, it would cost me a few bucks I can't

afford, but I would (and have done) this before, it works VERY well. They make

sprinkler systems that go into the yard on a spike and can be anchored with a

chain so as not to be stolen. These are motion activated so only turn on

when they detect movement. (I can offer a link to one online if needed) I

found these when I grew tired of the entire neighborhood thinking our yard was

a sidewalk and leaving their garbage behind as well. I had 70+ yr old

ladies with canes stepping right over the small fence I could afford to put up

to line the boundary of our yard... it made me crazy and none of them

seemed to care when I tried to handle it " the right way " or when I called the

cops. Most outdoor/hunting stores sell animal scents for hunting purposes...

Cabella's has a huge selection. After the sprinkler I went sho pping for a

small (cheap) bottle of skunk scent, with the idea of loading up a squirt

gun and the sprinkler both. Thus far I have never had to open the skunk

scent, (thankfully) but it is here just in case. After my shopping trip I made

a point to spend time outdoors greeting the few neighbors I knew at that

time, and told ALL of them what I had done and reminded them that it was all

LEGAL because it was my property and I was chasing " stray animals " away

with it. Worked like a charm... have not had a single person walk through my

yard since word got out that I was prepared to fight back. The neighbor dog

that was crapping in my yard every day... also stopped in a big hurry. He

no longer roams the neighborhood as freely as he used to. (yes, I tried

handling that " the right way " but that didn't work either)

Yes, I know this all sounds like a lot of work... but, if you think about

it, aren't you doing a lot of work already and getting no results? The way

I approach these types of situations is with the thought that if I have to

go through the trouble to " work " at resolving an issue someone else is

causing for me, then I, at very least expect my work to pay off and offer some

results.

Some other examples of how effective my ideas have been... one of the

worst neighborhoods I have lived in during my life, full of drug dealers and

gangs, etc. but I had my own fenced in yard that was my haven away from it

all, we lived peacefully... for a while. Eventually we bought rabbits and

built them a hutch out in the yard and they began breeding (which is what we

wanted). With 3 wk old baby rabbits out there the neighborhood kids started

climbing over the fence to steal them in the middle of the night. 1 at a

time they began to disappear and we were unable to catch anyone in the act.

By the time the last baby bunny (the 5th) was taken I was beside myself...

and I called the cops yet again. The cop that came to my house explained

that if nobody witnessed the theft then there was nothing they could do to

prove who had taken the rabbits or how. So... in a very loud voice that I was

sure my neighbors would hear, I told the cop thanks for nothing, I could

see I would just have to handle it myself by hooking a car battery up to my

fence with jumper cables when I couldn't be out there to watch it.

Of course the cop warned me that I couldn't do such a thing, that he would

then be back to arrest me... and I told him, even louder... " it takes you

guys about 30 minutes or more to show up when I call, so that's 30 minutes

for me to put the battery and cables in the garage. How are you going to

prove I did it anymore than you can do so for my rabbits? " The cop said

nothing. After the cop left I went to the garage and found an old car battery

that was no good that my then bf had laying around and a pair of jumper

cables. I set the battery where it was in plain view and then proceeded to hook

it to my fence before I went into the house for the night.

Guess what? All of my rabbits were safe that night, and every other night

after that. Had someone tested it they would have discovered that I used an

garbage battery and it wasn't really " active " ... but who was gonna go

touch it and try just to find out? ;-)

Sometimes we have to take care of ourselves, and if we are thoughtful

about the process, there ARE effective ways to avoid continued harassment from

others. And, when the cops realize that you've been pushed over the edge

enough to act on your own, they get a lot more helpful in doing their duty,

which can be quite effective also. I refer to it as " pm " (police motivation).

So to sum it all up, there are 3 things to approaching this sort of thing,

and it helps rid you of the stress because you begin to feel like you're

actually doing something about the problem. Be sure the police are actively

involved. Get the other neighbors involved as much as possible and get

PROOF of what is happening, such as voice recordings and video of the activity.

And, above all... be creative! This is the part that relieves the most

stress. For as angry as I was at the time, I never thought I could laugh so

hard after the incident with the skunk scent and sprinkler... the look on my

neighbor's face when I told him about it, and the days we began counting

where nobody came through our yard, we got a great laugh out of how " easy " it

was to fix such a big problem.

fBest of luck to you!

[Guest guest]

Arghh - sending blank replies - that's what a lack of sleep will do, ha ha.

Well, the boom boom continued all night - I finally fell asleep at around

3:30, and was cranky to be awakened by the neighbor's workmen installing

pavers early this morning - but happy that her tenants were also awakened

early.

I am going to bring DD's recorder here so I can tape the next real doozy of

a screaming fight they have.

I did read the noise laws online, and we are well within our rights to call

the cops, so I'll be doing that too.

DH is fed up - he says the landlord-neighbor isn't doing anything when we

complain, so let somebody else complain, but I figure a few calls to the

cops and perhaps a print out of the noise laws anonymously left in their

mailboxes or on the doors might help get the message across. Might - I'm not

holding out much hope at this point.

The video recorder idea is good although the patio is on the opposite side

of the house so wouldn't work for us, however if we heard them partying and

did call the cops they would see the underage drinking taking place.

I bought some earplugs today, too. Even with the white noise machine we

bought set on high I wasn't able to tune out that thud thud thud and my brain

is fried from lack of time to rest.

Wish me luck that they work!

Em

In a message dated 1/3/2011 9:44:09 AM Eastern Standard Time,

bettababy@... writes:

Hi Em, sorry I'm so late responding to your post. I finally managed to get

some sleep last night.. what a relief that is.

I agree with what the others have said about letting the cops handle

things, and the voice recorder is also a great idea... however, I know all too

well how ineffective the cops can be at times. I spent 13 yrs battling an ex

husband who harassed me so badly I went into hiding with my kids for fear

he would eventually kill me and/or my kids. It took me that long to learn

how to effectively fight back, at which time the harassment did stop. Cops

were ineffective, the courts were ineffective, telling me they wouldn't give

me a restraining order because " he hasn't hurt me yet " .

I don't know how much of this has to do with the abuse I was raised with,

the abuse I married into (the first time) or the abuse I suffered at school

as a child... but a day came along when I was in my mid 20's that I

finally said, no more. I tried so hard to always do " the right thing " and to do

it " the right way " and never got any effective results.

Do you or a friend or family member own a video camera you could use for a

week or 2? Documenting what is happening is the best way to fight back, a

way to offer solid proof that there is pot smoking, underage drinking going

on, excessive noise in the middle of the night. There are laws about those

kinds of things, but even if the cops don't handle it appropriately, there

are still ways to get it stopped. A video showing an underage person

drinking alcohol, smoking pot, and carrying on in such ways at night would give

the local district attorney an OBLIGATION to do something about it, all

you'd need to do is present the tape (and possibly write a statement or

testify in court... and no, that doesn't have to be as scary as it sounds...

been

there/done that).

Also, maybe its time for you to get together with some of the other

neighbors who have been doing the complaining? Having more than 1 person

document

the drama can also help A LOT! I remember once setting my video camera up

in a dark room, on the tripod, in the window... duct tape over the little

red light to hide the fact that it was recording... it worked fairly well as

I could just walk away and go back every 6 hrs to change the tape. It took

a few nights of this before I captured anything useful, but by looking at

the time I heard the crap begin I was able to find it easily on the video

tape without having to play the whole way through.

Have you consulted any of the other neighbors about going over there

together when this is all happening? A group of you, never 1 or 2 alone... but

if you have the power of 10 people standing there demanding they stop, it

does 2 things... it takes the finger pointing away from any 1 person and then

it lets them know that you have all had enough and are working together to

make them stop or leave/move. Intimidation does not have to be

threatening, but it sure is a powerful tool.

The problems with their " gifts " being left in your yard... I know what my

approach would be to that. Yes, it would cost me a few bucks I can't

afford, but I would (and have done) this before, it works VERY well. They make

sprinkler systems that go into the yard on a spike and can be anchored with a

chain so as not to be stolen. These are motion activated so only turn on

when they detect movement. (I can offer a link to one online if needed) I

found these when I grew tired of the entire neighborhood thinking our yard was

a sidewalk and leaving their garbage behind as well. I had 70+ yr old

ladies with canes stepping right over the small fence I could afford to put up

to line the boundary of our yard... it made me crazy and none of them

seemed to care when I tried to handle it " the right way " or when I called the

cops. Most outdoor/hunting stores sell animal scents for hunting purposes...

Cabella's has a huge selection. After the sprinkler I went sho pping for a

small (cheap) bottle of skunk scent, with the idea of loading up a squirt

gun and the sprinkler both. Thus far I have never had to open the skunk

scent, (thankfully) but it is here just in case. After my shopping trip I made

a point to spend time outdoors greeting the few neighbors I knew at that

time, and told ALL of them what I had done and reminded them that it was all

LEGAL because it was my property and I was chasing " stray animals " away

with it. Worked like a charm... have not had a single person walk through my

yard since word got out that I was prepared to fight back. The neighbor dog

that was crapping in my yard every day... also stopped in a big hurry. He

no longer roams the neighborhood as freely as he used to. (yes, I tried

handling that " the right way " but that didn't work either)

Yes, I know this all sounds like a lot of work... but, if you think about

it, aren't you doing a lot of work already and getting no results? The way

I approach these types of situations is with the thought that if I have to

go through the trouble to " work " at resolving an issue someone else is

causing for me, then I, at very least expect my work to pay off and offer some

results.

Some other examples of how effective my ideas have been... one of the

worst neighborhoods I have lived in during my life, full of drug dealers and

gangs, etc. but I had my own fenced in yard that was my haven away from it

all, we lived peacefully... for a while. Eventually we bought rabbits and

built them a hutch out in the yard and they began breeding (which is what we

wanted). With 3 wk old baby rabbits out there the neighborhood kids started

climbing over the fence to steal them in the middle of the night. 1 at a

time they began to disappear and we were unable to catch anyone in the act.

By the time the last baby bunny (the 5th) was taken I was beside myself...

and I called the cops yet again. The cop that came to my house explained

that if nobody witnessed the theft then there was nothing they could do to

prove who had taken the rabbits or how. So... in a very loud voice that I was

sure my neighbors would hear, I told the cop thanks for nothing, I could

see I would just have to handle it myself by hooking a car battery up to my

fence with jumper cables when I couldn't be out there to watch it.

Of course the cop warned me that I couldn't do such a thing, that he would

then be back to arrest me... and I told him, even louder... " it takes you

guys about 30 minutes or more to show up when I call, so that's 30 minutes

for me to put the battery and cables in the garage. How are you going to

prove I did it anymore than you can do so for my rabbits? " The cop said

nothing. After the cop left I went to the garage and found an old car battery

that was no good that my then bf had laying around and a pair of jumper

cables. I set the battery where it was in plain view and then proceeded to hook

it to my fence before I went into the house for the night.

Guess what? All of my rabbits were safe that night, and every other night

after that. Had someone tested it they would have discovered that I used an

garbage battery and it wasn't really " active " ... but who was gonna go

touch it and try just to find out? ;-)

Sometimes we have to take care of ourselves, and if we are thoughtful

about the process, there ARE effective ways to avoid continued harassment from

others. And, when the cops realize that you've been pushed over the edge

enough to act on your own, they get a lot more helpful in doing their duty,

which can be quite effective also. I refer to it as " pm " (police motivation).

So to sum it all up, there are 3 things to approaching this sort of thing,

and it helps rid you of the stress because you begin to feel like you're

actually doing something about the problem. Be sure the police are actively

involved. Get the other neighbors involved as much as possible and get

PROOF of what is happening, such as voice recordings and video of the activity.

And, above all... be creative! This is the part that relieves the most

stress. For as angry as I was at the time, I never thought I could laugh so

hard after the incident with the skunk scent and sprinkler... the look on my

neighbor's face when I told him about it, and the days we began counting

where nobody came through our yard, we got a great laugh out of how " easy " it

was to fix such a big problem.

fBest of luck to you!

[Guest guest]

Em,

I would like to suggest again that you send them a certified letter putting them

on notice that they are in violation of local noise laws and that if they

persist in causing this nuisance, you will proceed to take them to small claims

court under nuisance laws. People usually straighten up and fly right when you

tell them the consequences that they will have to pay you money every month for

the nuisance behavior they cause.

Best of luck!

>

>

> Arghh - sending blank replies - that's what a lack of sleep will do, ha ha.

> Well, the boom boom continued all night - I finally fell asleep at around

> 3:30, and was cranky to be awakened by the neighbor's workmen installing

> pavers early this morning - but happy that her tenants were also awakened

> early.

> I am going to bring DD's recorder here so I can tape the next real doozy of

> a screaming fight they have.

> I did read the noise laws online, and we are well within our rights to call

> the cops, so I'll be doing that too.

> DH is fed up - he says the landlord-neighbor isn't doing anything when we

> complain, so let somebody else complain, but I figure a few calls to the

> cops and perhaps a print out of the noise laws anonymously left in their

> mailboxes or on the doors might help get the message across. Might - I'm not

> holding out much hope at this point.

> The video recorder idea is good although the patio is on the opposite side

> of the house so wouldn't work for us, however if we heard them partying and

> did call the cops they would see the underage drinking taking place.

> I bought some earplugs today, too. Even with the white noise machine we

> bought set on high I wasn't able to tune out that thud thud thud and my brain

> is fried from lack of time to rest.

>

> Wish me luck that they work!

>

> Em

>

> In a message dated 1/3/2011 9:44:09 AM Eastern Standard Time,

> bettababy@... writes:

>

> Hi Em, sorry I'm so late responding to your post. I finally managed to get

> some sleep last night.. what a relief that is.

>

> I agree with what the others have said about letting the cops handle

> things, and the voice recorder is also a great idea... however, I know all

too

> well how ineffective the cops can be at times. I spent 13 yrs battling an ex

> husband who harassed me so badly I went into hiding with my kids for fear

> he would eventually kill me and/or my kids. It took me that long to learn

> how to effectively fight back, at which time the harassment did stop. Cops

> were ineffective, the courts were ineffective, telling me they wouldn't give

> me a restraining order because " he hasn't hurt me yet " .

>

> I don't know how much of this has to do with the abuse I was raised with,

> the abuse I married into (the first time) or the abuse I suffered at school

> as a child... but a day came along when I was in my mid 20's that I

> finally said, no more. I tried so hard to always do " the right thing " and to

do

> it " the right way " and never got any effective results.

>

> Do you or a friend or family member own a video camera you could use for a

> week or 2? Documenting what is happening is the best way to fight back, a

> way to offer solid proof that there is pot smoking, underage drinking going

> on, excessive noise in the middle of the night. There are laws about those

> kinds of things, but even if the cops don't handle it appropriately, there

> are still ways to get it stopped. A video showing an underage person

> drinking alcohol, smoking pot, and carrying on in such ways at night would

give

> the local district attorney an OBLIGATION to do something about it, all

> you'd need to do is present the tape (and possibly write a statement or

> testify in court... and no, that doesn't have to be as scary as it sounds...

been

> there/done that).

>

> Also, maybe its time for you to get together with some of the other

> neighbors who have been doing the complaining? Having more than 1 person

document

> the drama can also help A LOT! I remember once setting my video camera up

> in a dark room, on the tripod, in the window... duct tape over the little

> red light to hide the fact that it was recording... it worked fairly well as

> I could just walk away and go back every 6 hrs to change the tape. It took

> a few nights of this before I captured anything useful, but by looking at

> the time I heard the crap begin I was able to find it easily on the video

> tape without having to play the whole way through.

>

> Have you consulted any of the other neighbors about going over there

> together when this is all happening? A group of you, never 1 or 2 alone...

but

> if you have the power of 10 people standing there demanding they stop, it

> does 2 things... it takes the finger pointing away from any 1 person and then

> it lets them know that you have all had enough and are working together to

> make them stop or leave/move. Intimidation does not have to be

> threatening, but it sure is a powerful tool.

>

> The problems with their " gifts " being left in your yard... I know what my

> approach would be to that. Yes, it would cost me a few bucks I can't

> afford, but I would (and have done) this before, it works VERY well. They make

> sprinkler systems that go into the yard on a spike and can be anchored with a

> chain so as not to be stolen. These are motion activated so only turn on

> when they detect movement. (I can offer a link to one online if needed) I

> found these when I grew tired of the entire neighborhood thinking our yard

was

> a sidewalk and leaving their garbage behind as well. I had 70+ yr old

> ladies with canes stepping right over the small fence I could afford to put

up

> to line the boundary of our yard... it made me crazy and none of them

> seemed to care when I tried to handle it " the right way " or when I called the

> cops. Most outdoor/hunting stores sell animal scents for hunting purposes...

> Cabella's has a huge selection. After the sprinkler I went sho pping for a

> small (cheap) bottle of skunk scent, with the idea of loading up a squirt

> gun and the sprinkler both. Thus far I have never had to open the skunk

> scent, (thankfully) but it is here just in case. After my shopping trip I

made

> a point to spend time outdoors greeting the few neighbors I knew at that

> time, and told ALL of them what I had done and reminded them that it was all

> LEGAL because it was my property and I was chasing " stray animals " away

> with it. Worked like a charm... have not had a single person walk through my

> yard since word got out that I was prepared to fight back. The neighbor dog

> that was crapping in my yard every day... also stopped in a big hurry. He

> no longer roams the neighborhood as freely as he used to. (yes, I tried

> handling that " the right way " but that didn't work either)

>

> Yes, I know this all sounds like a lot of work... but, if you think about

> it, aren't you doing a lot of work already and getting no results? The way

> I approach these types of situations is with the thought that if I have to

> go through the trouble to " work " at resolving an issue someone else is

> causing for me, then I, at very least expect my work to pay off and offer

some

> results.

>

> Some other examples of how effective my ideas have been... one of the

> worst neighborhoods I have lived in during my life, full of drug dealers and

> gangs, etc. but I had my own fenced in yard that was my haven away from it

> all, we lived peacefully... for a while. Eventually we bought rabbits and

> built them a hutch out in the yard and they began breeding (which is what we

> wanted). With 3 wk old baby rabbits out there the neighborhood kids started

> climbing over the fence to steal them in the middle of the night. 1 at a

> time they began to disappear and we were unable to catch anyone in the act.

> By the time the last baby bunny (the 5th) was taken I was beside myself...

> and I called the cops yet again. The cop that came to my house explained

> that if nobody witnessed the theft then there was nothing they could do to

> prove who had taken the rabbits or how. So... in a very loud voice that I was

> sure my neighbors would hear, I told the cop thanks for nothing, I could

> see I would just have to handle it myself by hooking a car battery up to my

> fence with jumper cables when I couldn't be out there to watch it.

> Of course the cop warned me that I couldn't do such a thing, that he would

> then be back to arrest me... and I told him, even louder... " it takes you

> guys about 30 minutes or more to show up when I call, so that's 30 minutes

> for me to put the battery and cables in the garage. How are you going to

> prove I did it anymore than you can do so for my rabbits? " The cop said

> nothing. After the cop left I went to the garage and found an old car battery

> that was no good that my then bf had laying around and a pair of jumper

> cables. I set the battery where it was in plain view and then proceeded to

hook

> it to my fence before I went into the house for the night.

>

> Guess what? All of my rabbits were safe that night, and every other night

> after that. Had someone tested it they would have discovered that I used an

> garbage battery and it wasn't really " active " ... but who was gonna go

> touch it and try just to find out? ;-)

>

> Sometimes we have to take care of ourselves, and if we are thoughtful

> about the process, there ARE effective ways to avoid continued harassment

from

> others. And, when the cops realize that you've been pushed over the edge

> enough to act on your own, they get a lot more helpful in doing their duty,

> which can be quite effective also. I refer to it as " pm " (police motivation).

>

> So to sum it all up, there are 3 things to approaching this sort of thing,

> and it helps rid you of the stress because you begin to feel like you're

> actually doing something about the problem. Be sure the police are actively

> involved. Get the other neighbors involved as much as possible and get

> PROOF of what is happening, such as voice recordings and video of the

activity.

> And, above all... be creative! This is the part that relieves the most

> stress. For as angry as I was at the time, I never thought I could laugh so

> hard after the incident with the skunk scent and sprinkler... the look on my

> neighbor's face when I told him about it, and the days we began counting

> where nobody came through our yard, we got a great laugh out of how " easy " it

> was to fix such a big problem.

>

> fBest of luck to you!

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Em,

I would like to suggest again that you send them a certified letter putting them

on notice that they are in violation of local noise laws and that if they

persist in causing this nuisance, you will proceed to take them to small claims

court under nuisance laws. People usually straighten up and fly right when you

tell them the consequences that they will have to pay you money every month for

the nuisance behavior they cause.

Best of luck!

>

>

> Arghh - sending blank replies - that's what a lack of sleep will do, ha ha.

> Well, the boom boom continued all night - I finally fell asleep at around

> 3:30, and was cranky to be awakened by the neighbor's workmen installing

> pavers early this morning - but happy that her tenants were also awakened

> early.

> I am going to bring DD's recorder here so I can tape the next real doozy of

> a screaming fight they have.

> I did read the noise laws online, and we are well within our rights to call

> the cops, so I'll be doing that too.

> DH is fed up - he says the landlord-neighbor isn't doing anything when we

> complain, so let somebody else complain, but I figure a few calls to the

> cops and perhaps a print out of the noise laws anonymously left in their

> mailboxes or on the doors might help get the message across. Might - I'm not

> holding out much hope at this point.

> The video recorder idea is good although the patio is on the opposite side

> of the house so wouldn't work for us, however if we heard them partying and

> did call the cops they would see the underage drinking taking place.

> I bought some earplugs today, too. Even with the white noise machine we

> bought set on high I wasn't able to tune out that thud thud thud and my brain

> is fried from lack of time to rest.

>

> Wish me luck that they work!

>

> Em

>

> In a message dated 1/3/2011 9:44:09 AM Eastern Standard Time,

> bettababy@... writes:

>

> Hi Em, sorry I'm so late responding to your post. I finally managed to get

> some sleep last night.. what a relief that is.

>

> I agree with what the others have said about letting the cops handle

> things, and the voice recorder is also a great idea... however, I know all

too

> well how ineffective the cops can be at times. I spent 13 yrs battling an ex

> husband who harassed me so badly I went into hiding with my kids for fear

> he would eventually kill me and/or my kids. It took me that long to learn

> how to effectively fight back, at which time the harassment did stop. Cops

> were ineffective, the courts were ineffective, telling me they wouldn't give

> me a restraining order because " he hasn't hurt me yet " .

>

> I don't know how much of this has to do with the abuse I was raised with,

> the abuse I married into (the first time) or the abuse I suffered at school

> as a child... but a day came along when I was in my mid 20's that I

> finally said, no more. I tried so hard to always do " the right thing " and to

do

> it " the right way " and never got any effective results.

>

> Do you or a friend or family member own a video camera you could use for a

> week or 2? Documenting what is happening is the best way to fight back, a

> way to offer solid proof that there is pot smoking, underage drinking going

> on, excessive noise in the middle of the night. There are laws about those

> kinds of things, but even if the cops don't handle it appropriately, there

> are still ways to get it stopped. A video showing an underage person

> drinking alcohol, smoking pot, and carrying on in such ways at night would

give

> the local district attorney an OBLIGATION to do something about it, all

> you'd need to do is present the tape (and possibly write a statement or

> testify in court... and no, that doesn't have to be as scary as it sounds...

been

> there/done that).

>

> Also, maybe its time for you to get together with some of the other

> neighbors who have been doing the complaining? Having more than 1 person

document

> the drama can also help A LOT! I remember once setting my video camera up

> in a dark room, on the tripod, in the window... duct tape over the little

> red light to hide the fact that it was recording... it worked fairly well as

> I could just walk away and go back every 6 hrs to change the tape. It took

> a few nights of this before I captured anything useful, but by looking at

> the time I heard the crap begin I was able to find it easily on the video

> tape without having to play the whole way through.

>

> Have you consulted any of the other neighbors about going over there

> together when this is all happening? A group of you, never 1 or 2 alone...

but

> if you have the power of 10 people standing there demanding they stop, it

> does 2 things... it takes the finger pointing away from any 1 person and then

> it lets them know that you have all had enough and are working together to

> make them stop or leave/move. Intimidation does not have to be

> threatening, but it sure is a powerful tool.

>

> The problems with their " gifts " being left in your yard... I know what my

> approach would be to that. Yes, it would cost me a few bucks I can't

> afford, but I would (and have done) this before, it works VERY well. They make

> sprinkler systems that go into the yard on a spike and can be anchored with a

> chain so as not to be stolen. These are motion activated so only turn on

> when they detect movement. (I can offer a link to one online if needed) I

> found these when I grew tired of the entire neighborhood thinking our yard

was

> a sidewalk and leaving their garbage behind as well. I had 70+ yr old

> ladies with canes stepping right over the small fence I could afford to put

up

> to line the boundary of our yard... it made me crazy and none of them

> seemed to care when I tried to handle it " the right way " or when I called the

> cops. Most outdoor/hunting stores sell animal scents for hunting purposes...

> Cabella's has a huge selection. After the sprinkler I went sho pping for a

> small (cheap) bottle of skunk scent, with the idea of loading up a squirt

> gun and the sprinkler both. Thus far I have never had to open the skunk

> scent, (thankfully) but it is here just in case. After my shopping trip I

made

> a point to spend time outdoors greeting the few neighbors I knew at that

> time, and told ALL of them what I had done and reminded them that it was all

> LEGAL because it was my property and I was chasing " stray animals " away

> with it. Worked like a charm... have not had a single person walk through my

> yard since word got out that I was prepared to fight back. The neighbor dog

> that was crapping in my yard every day... also stopped in a big hurry. He

> no longer roams the neighborhood as freely as he used to. (yes, I tried

> handling that " the right way " but that didn't work either)

>

> Yes, I know this all sounds like a lot of work... but, if you think about

> it, aren't you doing a lot of work already and getting no results? The way

> I approach these types of situations is with the thought that if I have to

> go through the trouble to " work " at resolving an issue someone else is

> causing for me, then I, at very least expect my work to pay off and offer

some

> results.

>

> Some other examples of how effective my ideas have been... one of the

> worst neighborhoods I have lived in during my life, full of drug dealers and

> gangs, etc. but I had my own fenced in yard that was my haven away from it

> all, we lived peacefully... for a while. Eventually we bought rabbits and

> built them a hutch out in the yard and they began breeding (which is what we

> wanted). With 3 wk old baby rabbits out there the neighborhood kids started

> climbing over the fence to steal them in the middle of the night. 1 at a

> time they began to disappear and we were unable to catch anyone in the act.

> By the time the last baby bunny (the 5th) was taken I was beside myself...

> and I called the cops yet again. The cop that came to my house explained

> that if nobody witnessed the theft then there was nothing they could do to

> prove who had taken the rabbits or how. So... in a very loud voice that I was

> sure my neighbors would hear, I told the cop thanks for nothing, I could

> see I would just have to handle it myself by hooking a car battery up to my

> fence with jumper cables when I couldn't be out there to watch it.

> Of course the cop warned me that I couldn't do such a thing, that he would

> then be back to arrest me... and I told him, even louder... " it takes you

> guys about 30 minutes or more to show up when I call, so that's 30 minutes

> for me to put the battery and cables in the garage. How are you going to

> prove I did it anymore than you can do so for my rabbits? " The cop said

> nothing. After the cop left I went to the garage and found an old car battery

> that was no good that my then bf had laying around and a pair of jumper

> cables. I set the battery where it was in plain view and then proceeded to

hook

> it to my fence before I went into the house for the night.

>

> Guess what? All of my rabbits were safe that night, and every other night

> after that. Had someone tested it they would have discovered that I used an

> garbage battery and it wasn't really " active " ... but who was gonna go

> touch it and try just to find out? ;-)

>

> Sometimes we have to take care of ourselves, and if we are thoughtful

> about the process, there ARE effective ways to avoid continued harassment

from

> others. And, when the cops realize that you've been pushed over the edge

> enough to act on your own, they get a lot more helpful in doing their duty,

> which can be quite effective also. I refer to it as " pm " (police motivation).

>

> So to sum it all up, there are 3 things to approaching this sort of thing,

> and it helps rid you of the stress because you begin to feel like you're

> actually doing something about the problem. Be sure the police are actively

> involved. Get the other neighbors involved as much as possible and get

> PROOF of what is happening, such as voice recordings and video of the

activity.

> And, above all... be creative! This is the part that relieves the most

> stress. For as angry as I was at the time, I never thought I could laugh so

> hard after the incident with the skunk scent and sprinkler... the look on my

> neighbor's face when I told him about it, and the days we began counting

> where nobody came through our yard, we got a great laugh out of how " easy " it

> was to fix such a big problem.

>

> fBest of luck to you!

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Em,

I would like to suggest again that you send them a certified letter putting them

on notice that they are in violation of local noise laws and that if they

persist in causing this nuisance, you will proceed to take them to small claims

court under nuisance laws. People usually straighten up and fly right when you

tell them the consequences that they will have to pay you money every month for

the nuisance behavior they cause.

Best of luck!

>

>

> Arghh - sending blank replies - that's what a lack of sleep will do, ha ha.

> Well, the boom boom continued all night - I finally fell asleep at around

> 3:30, and was cranky to be awakened by the neighbor's workmen installing

> pavers early this morning - but happy that her tenants were also awakened

> early.

> I am going to bring DD's recorder here so I can tape the next real doozy of

> a screaming fight they have.

> I did read the noise laws online, and we are well within our rights to call

> the cops, so I'll be doing that too.

> DH is fed up - he says the landlord-neighbor isn't doing anything when we

> complain, so let somebody else complain, but I figure a few calls to the

> cops and perhaps a print out of the noise laws anonymously left in their

> mailboxes or on the doors might help get the message across. Might - I'm not

> holding out much hope at this point.

> The video recorder idea is good although the patio is on the opposite side

> of the house so wouldn't work for us, however if we heard them partying and

> did call the cops they would see the underage drinking taking place.

> I bought some earplugs today, too. Even with the white noise machine we

> bought set on high I wasn't able to tune out that thud thud thud and my brain

> is fried from lack of time to rest.

>

> Wish me luck that they work!

>

> Em

>

> In a message dated 1/3/2011 9:44:09 AM Eastern Standard Time,

> bettababy@... writes:

>

> Hi Em, sorry I'm so late responding to your post. I finally managed to get

> some sleep last night.. what a relief that is.

>

> I agree with what the others have said about letting the cops handle

> things, and the voice recorder is also a great idea... however, I know all

too

> well how ineffective the cops can be at times. I spent 13 yrs battling an ex

> husband who harassed me so badly I went into hiding with my kids for fear

> he would eventually kill me and/or my kids. It took me that long to learn

> how to effectively fight back, at which time the harassment did stop. Cops

> were ineffective, the courts were ineffective, telling me they wouldn't give

> me a restraining order because " he hasn't hurt me yet " .

>

> I don't know how much of this has to do with the abuse I was raised with,

> the abuse I married into (the first time) or the abuse I suffered at school

> as a child... but a day came along when I was in my mid 20's that I

> finally said, no more. I tried so hard to always do " the right thing " and to

do

> it " the right way " and never got any effective results.

>

> Do you or a friend or family member own a video camera you could use for a

> week or 2? Documenting what is happening is the best way to fight back, a

> way to offer solid proof that there is pot smoking, underage drinking going

> on, excessive noise in the middle of the night. There are laws about those

> kinds of things, but even if the cops don't handle it appropriately, there

> are still ways to get it stopped. A video showing an underage person

> drinking alcohol, smoking pot, and carrying on in such ways at night would

give

> the local district attorney an OBLIGATION to do something about it, all

> you'd need to do is present the tape (and possibly write a statement or

> testify in court... and no, that doesn't have to be as scary as it sounds...

been

> there/done that).

>

> Also, maybe its time for you to get together with some of the other

> neighbors who have been doing the complaining? Having more than 1 person

document

> the drama can also help A LOT! I remember once setting my video camera up

> in a dark room, on the tripod, in the window... duct tape over the little

> red light to hide the fact that it was recording... it worked fairly well as

> I could just walk away and go back every 6 hrs to change the tape. It took

> a few nights of this before I captured anything useful, but by looking at

> the time I heard the crap begin I was able to find it easily on the video

> tape without having to play the whole way through.

>

> Have you consulted any of the other neighbors about going over there

> together when this is all happening? A group of you, never 1 or 2 alone...

but

> if you have the power of 10 people standing there demanding they stop, it

> does 2 things... it takes the finger pointing away from any 1 person and then

> it lets them know that you have all had enough and are working together to

> make them stop or leave/move. Intimidation does not have to be

> threatening, but it sure is a powerful tool.

>

> The problems with their " gifts " being left in your yard... I know what my

> approach would be to that. Yes, it would cost me a few bucks I can't

> afford, but I would (and have done) this before, it works VERY well. They make

> sprinkler systems that go into the yard on a spike and can be anchored with a

> chain so as not to be stolen. These are motion activated so only turn on

> when they detect movement. (I can offer a link to one online if needed) I

> found these when I grew tired of the entire neighborhood thinking our yard

was

> a sidewalk and leaving their garbage behind as well. I had 70+ yr old

> ladies with canes stepping right over the small fence I could afford to put

up

> to line the boundary of our yard... it made me crazy and none of them

> seemed to care when I tried to handle it " the right way " or when I called the

> cops. Most outdoor/hunting stores sell animal scents for hunting purposes...

> Cabella's has a huge selection. After the sprinkler I went sho pping for a

> small (cheap) bottle of skunk scent, with the idea of loading up a squirt

> gun and the sprinkler both. Thus far I have never had to open the skunk

> scent, (thankfully) but it is here just in case. After my shopping trip I

made

> a point to spend time outdoors greeting the few neighbors I knew at that

> time, and told ALL of them what I had done and reminded them that it was all

> LEGAL because it was my property and I was chasing " stray animals " away

> with it. Worked like a charm... have not had a single person walk through my

> yard since word got out that I was prepared to fight back. The neighbor dog

> that was crapping in my yard every day... also stopped in a big hurry. He

> no longer roams the neighborhood as freely as he used to. (yes, I tried

> handling that " the right way " but that didn't work either)

>

> Yes, I know this all sounds like a lot of work... but, if you think about

> it, aren't you doing a lot of work already and getting no results? The way

> I approach these types of situations is with the thought that if I have to

> go through the trouble to " work " at resolving an issue someone else is

> causing for me, then I, at very least expect my work to pay off and offer

some

> results.

>

> Some other examples of how effective my ideas have been... one of the

> worst neighborhoods I have lived in during my life, full of drug dealers and

> gangs, etc. but I had my own fenced in yard that was my haven away from it

> all, we lived peacefully... for a while. Eventually we bought rabbits and

> built them a hutch out in the yard and they began breeding (which is what we

> wanted). With 3 wk old baby rabbits out there the neighborhood kids started

> climbing over the fence to steal them in the middle of the night. 1 at a

> time they began to disappear and we were unable to catch anyone in the act.

> By the time the last baby bunny (the 5th) was taken I was beside myself...

> and I called the cops yet again. The cop that came to my house explained

> that if nobody witnessed the theft then there was nothing they could do to

> prove who had taken the rabbits or how. So... in a very loud voice that I was

> sure my neighbors would hear, I told the cop thanks for nothing, I could

> see I would just have to handle it myself by hooking a car battery up to my

> fence with jumper cables when I couldn't be out there to watch it.

> Of course the cop warned me that I couldn't do such a thing, that he would

> then be back to arrest me... and I told him, even louder... " it takes you

> guys about 30 minutes or more to show up when I call, so that's 30 minutes

> for me to put the battery and cables in the garage. How are you going to

> prove I did it anymore than you can do so for my rabbits? " The cop said

> nothing. After the cop left I went to the garage and found an old car battery

> that was no good that my then bf had laying around and a pair of jumper

> cables. I set the battery where it was in plain view and then proceeded to

hook

> it to my fence before I went into the house for the night.

>

> Guess what? All of my rabbits were safe that night, and every other night

> after that. Had someone tested it they would have discovered that I used an

> garbage battery and it wasn't really " active " ... but who was gonna go

> touch it and try just to find out? ;-)

>

> Sometimes we have to take care of ourselves, and if we are thoughtful

> about the process, there ARE effective ways to avoid continued harassment

from

> others. And, when the cops realize that you've been pushed over the edge

> enough to act on your own, they get a lot more helpful in doing their duty,

> which can be quite effective also. I refer to it as " pm " (police motivation).

>

> So to sum it all up, there are 3 things to approaching this sort of thing,

> and it helps rid you of the stress because you begin to feel like you're

> actually doing something about the problem. Be sure the police are actively

> involved. Get the other neighbors involved as much as possible and get

> PROOF of what is happening, such as voice recordings and video of the

activity.

> And, above all... be creative! This is the part that relieves the most

> stress. For as angry as I was at the time, I never thought I could laugh so

> hard after the incident with the skunk scent and sprinkler... the look on my

> neighbor's face when I told him about it, and the days we began counting

> where nobody came through our yard, we got a great laugh out of how " easy " it

> was to fix such a big problem.

>

> fBest of luck to you!

>

>

>

>

>

>