OT: Trespassing

Stan in Oly, WA

Well-known Member
Late yesterday evening as my wife and I were sitting in our living room talking, we heard voices from in front of our house. It turned out to be two females and a male who are in their early twenties, and who rent the house across the street from us. They were sitting on top of our 36" fence which is on top of our 37" retaining wall, so 6' 1" above the sidewalk. These are nice enough young people and we've had a congenial relationship with them---but as neighbors, not as friends. I suppressed my urge to rush out and tell them to get off my property. I wanted a few minutes to decide the best way to handle the situation. Confronted with something like this, I'm often able to figure out the least unfriendly approach that doesn't mince words. The last thing I want to do is to act as if I'm mainly concerned about their well-being, or some other issue which is beside the point. But I don't want to overreact, either. They were out of line, but they weren't vandalizing, for instance.

We were still trying to decide what to do when, deus ex machine, a heavy rain squall hit and they had to run for shelter. If something like this happens again, I'll probably just go tell them they're not welcome on my property. I could say that people on my property make the dogs keep barking, and it's very annoying. That's true, but it feels like it evades the issue. For practical reasons, I don't particularly want to be on the outs with people who have no real stake in the neighborhood, but I'm not keen on accepting insulting behavior, either.

Stan
 
I don't want to get in a peeing contest with you and I don't know all the circumstances on either side. But from the outside looking in....... IMHO sounds like you may be a grumpy old man. If you want the kind of privacy your are eluding to, then you must move to the country far far away. If you not a grumpy old man then I would simply invite them over and let them know what your idea of a good neighbor is. Just my $2. (inflation you know)
 
Having lived in a small town right beside a fairground, then around a small creek (where everyone seems to think they have rights to enter), I can relate. lets just say I have been called everything except the proverbial white man, but usually I get my point across clearly, and they rarely return, although I have replaced a mailbox or two - usually that next morning. I have found that no matter how I try to get the point across that they are trespassing I am the bad guy, so I stopped trying to be too gentle unless children are involved. My last incident was a group with a $15,000 UTV stuck on my in the creek. They now clearly understand they were in the wrong, and have not been back, as I was planning on towing it and locking it up until law enforcement came to decide how to proceed, but they somehow got it winched out. What is it about a body of water that somehow makes everyone think it is public property is beyond me, and even on navigable streams (rivers) they have to remain in the water or they are trespassing. I used to post with signs, however those usually just disappear, so I stopped giving any warning, and the conservation agent told me it really did not matter aside from the amount of fine for trespassing. My biggest issue is that it takes at least an hour for conservation or law enforcement (if you call them that here) to show, so i usually just confront them. It took about 5 years after moving here for word to get out, but I still have one now and then that own nothing but think they can come and go where they please.
 
I used to get real stirred up, but am working on not and feel a lot better. Why could you not go up to them, chat for a while, then ask them why they are up there. I would bet they would not do it again.
 
I agree. Life's too short to get all het up over something as minor as that. They might never do it again.
 
I can't say with absolute certainty that I'm not a grumpy old man. I'm on good terms with all my neighbors, and I frequently chat with passersby whenever I'm working out near the sidewalk. I'm always civil to door to door sales people, even friendly if they're young and don't know better, despite it being well established from long experience that there's little chance they'll have anything of interest to me. I'm courteous to Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. I think I'm a friendly person, but it's possible that not everyone thinks of me that way.

I tend to be a bit territorial, and I'm not crazy about people coming on my property uninvited unless they have legitimate business with me. This event of my neighbors sitting on my fence felt like it crossed a line between what's appropriate and what's not. The fence is over six feet high on the side they climbed to get onto it. That made a minimum of 400 pounds of neighbors on a section of fence that wasn't built to seat a crowd. Would I be un-neighborly if they had been sitting on my car and I felt that they were out of line? I just feel that adults should know better. Of course, if they were stoned, as my wife suspected they were, then that's a different matter. I'm more relaxed about what people do when they're under the influence---as long as they're not being violent or destructive.

Stan
 
Go over and sit in their yard until they come out and ask you what you're doing,then tell them it seemed like they had a big time trespassing so you thought you'd try it(LOL)
 
(quoted from post at 12:36:09 06/21/16) Late yesterday evening as my wife and I were sitting in our living room talking, we heard voices from in front of our house. It turned out to be two females and a male who are in their early twenties, and who rent the house across the street from us. They were sitting on top of our 36" fence which is on top of our 37" retaining wall, so 6' 1" above the sidewalk. These are nice enough young people and we've had a congenial relationship with them---but as neighbors, not as friends. I suppressed my urge to rush out and tell them to get off my property. I wanted a few minutes to decide the best way to handle the situation. Confronted with something like this, I'm often able to figure out the least unfriendly approach that doesn't mince words. The last thing I want to do is to act as if I'm mainly concerned about their well-being, or some other issue which is beside the point. But I don't want to overreact, either. They were out of line, but they weren't vandalizing, for instance.

We were still trying to decide what to do when, deus ex machine, a heavy rain squall hit and they had to run for shelter. If something like this happens again, I'll probably just go tell them they're not welcome on my property. I could say that people on my property make the dogs keep barking, and it's very annoying. That's true, but it feels like it evades the issue. For practical reasons, I don't particularly want to be on the outs with people who have no real stake in the neighborhood, but I'm not keen on accepting insulting behavior, either.

Stan
ne thing to keep in mind is a fall of as little as this can result in a severe injury/lawsuit and so on. Not to mention its not good for the fence itself. In todays world you can loose all that you have worked for in an instant. I don't think asking them not to do it makes you a grumpy old. If you allow it to go forward and they know you are aware then you will be responsible if something happens in their eyes. Simply asking them not to do it again for fear of damage to the fence should work for all involved.
 
I don't hold it in , I don't get stressed . " hey guys please get off my fence . " Thank You. { ...and thinking : now go away]. lol.
 
Are you sure you were not all worked up because the young guy had two gals and you only had one, LOL?
 
(quoted from post at 22:11:50 06/21/16) Smear grease top of the fence and they won't sit on it.

David that really raises a smile :D

As a boy my family lived on a busy main road that was difficult to back into . A portly woman of a ' certain age ' took to sitting on our fence waiting for her lift to work each morning , she always wore a bone coloured trench coat that made her seem enormous . My poor old dad had quite a time getting out of the drive safely and had a few near misses as well . No amount of pleading with this obstinate female would get her to stop .

Dad did exactly what you suggested , thick black graphite grease smeared neatly onto the very top edge of the top rail . 'The morning of the grease' was the source of much conversation and of mirth in our house for years after . The look on her face was priceless , the smear on her arse hilarious !
 
i wouldnt get too bothered over it, starting problems over somebody sitting on a fence can come back to bite you, if they wernt bothering anything let it go, we have people come in the farm too usually lost tourists, they drive up to the house even though they pass thru a huge arched concrete and steel gateway and obviously enter pvt land, if there lost we just send them on their way to where there trying to go friendly like, now we do practice the more positive way to get rid of trespassers too, this involves people obviously up to no good, they are usually on foot and sneaking around the buildings butt held high and head held low trying to be quiet, no need to discuss the situation, a 12 gauge shotgun fired in the air close by sends them hunting momma if they want trouble, well then there's those other 4 rounds in the gun
 
That grease idea seems like a good one ! Try and do it when no one will see you and use some old stuff and blob it around so it doesn't look like you planted it there. Or put a hyd tip in the tractor port and back up there and hit the lever and blast a coating of hyd all over. Looks like a hose blowed out. Or pile some road kill there !
 
If you DO NOT have a no treapassing sign up then the law counts it as them being an invited person and you are the one in trouble, not the treaspasser. I found that out the hard way when I ran treaspassers off that even trird to wreck my truck.
 
A fence is not made to set on no mater what or how it is made and if they would have fell off and got hurt while commiting a tresspassing felony you would still have been held liable by the courts for their care the rest of their lives. Get those signs up and before you say anything to them call the law. And even if they will do nothing make sure the call is on the record. That incident could easily have cost you your home. Sign or better several and make that call as soon as you see something but do not let them see you untill the law arives. Do I sound bitter, yes I am because I got burned by treaspassers. Sheriff says you do not need the sign, judge says you do. Somebody does not know the law but what chance do you have if the sherif is the corect one and judge is not.
 
That depends on the State laws. In NY it doesn't matter if there were no trespassing signs or not. Trespassing is trespassing.
 
Yep I am in the camp of, "Hey, Guys, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't sit on my fence. OK? Thanks!"
 
If they fall off your fence, they will sue you. Even if they don't want to some lawyer will.

Open door, "Get the fawk off my fence!". Close door.
 
One part of this stands out, the thought process, which you have exhibited with all the concrete posts over the years. Seems to me the wheels are always spinning, though sometimes one can overthink things. I'm not one to talk either LOL, I do the same darned thing, more so now than when younger and definitely at work with certain things.

I've encountered a few dozen on this property over the years, most times I deal with it politely, a few not so much, rare but its happened. Last fall I was threatened by 2 trespassers, they were the worst jerks I ever encountered. I stood my ground, had a staff/walking stick, which I can still use effectively. I had to think as to what my move would be when the one foul mouthed jerk got off the bike and was headed my way. My decision, hopefully would have been lethal, because at that point there is no other choice. All I could think of was action that would neutralize this threat, blotting out the noise from the mouth of the offensive person. Thankfully I was able to ward them off, and now carry a firearm at all times, including on the tractor as well. The audacity it takes to bust open a gate, then threaten the land owner, is beyond me.

Last year was a fun one. One evening, a car full of city folk, pulled up to the end of my driveway, in plain sight of my window and started unloading a full trunk of garbage bags. It looked like all women, but I could not tell who else was in there and decided to not approach the vehicle. Thinking quickly, I got their attention and just kindly asked them not to dump their garbage here, literally right against my tractor that was parked there. Knowing there are gangs and retaliation, its dark around this area at night, you just can't take chances. They picked up all the bags and left. When younger, I'd have been armed and ambushed them, raised heck about it and had them arrested for it. It is felony dumping and they were caught red handed. You won't know when the retaliation is coming, so it was far better to try a calm approach and hope they just leave, which they did.
 
Apparently not in MO. according to a conservation agent, as he said he would arrest a trespasser either way, but charge would be a lesser offense (1st Degree vs. 2nd) if not posted. Probably laws vary by state? I have never worried either way, and simply confront and run them off, and do not bother calling law enforcement as it takes them at least an hour for them to finish their coffee and wander out of the police station (most of them hang out about 35 miles away at closest town). Funny, if you drive 10 MPH over the speed limit, it is not that hard to find one, but need one, and good luck. Not trying to bash all law officers as I know all are not cut from same cloth, just most of the locals I have.
 
Hi Billy;

Yes, the same things do seem to cross both our minds sometimes. I haven't been confronted by someone out of control who meant to do me harm---not since I was a young man, anyway. I think about that happening, but it seems relatively unlikely. I'm somewhat more concerned about deranged people. We're starting to get our share here in Olympia, although it's nothing like Tacoma or Seattle. My wife recently had to spend time in Seattle when her sister was in the hospital there. Seattle is only 60 miles from Olympia, but the drive has become unreal, sometimes taking two and a half hours. It's possible to get there and back by bus, which is ususally no faster but at least somebody else has to do the driving. But the bus from Olympia drops you off about ten blocks from the hospital where you either have a long wait for a city bus or you can have an adventure with Seattle's street people, sort of a Walking Dead experience. I did it just once and it spooked me. So it was kind of a no win expereince; driving and parking in the hospital's underground garage protected my wife from being accosted on the street, but driving had its own nightmare aspects. On the freeway the traffic alternated between crawling and high speed at very close quarters, and downtown Seattle is like any big city except with construction everywhere, and steeper.

Years ago my brother in law and I were renovating a house in Seattle, and somebody came in the night and dumped a load of trash on the property. We poked through it and found some three-tab roofing wrappers that had a name on them. It was an unusual name, so we looked in the phone book (you could do that back then) and found only two people with that name. The first one we went to was having a roof put on, so we went and read the owner out and told him we would call the police if he didn't get the trash off our property. He claimed that he had paid someone to haul it away, and had no idea that they had dumped it illegally. Regardless, we told him it was his responsibility, which of course it was. The following morning the trash was gone from our property, and the next morning the front door was kicked in and our table saw was gone. That time there were no handy clues for us would be detectives. And who knows? Maybe the incidents were unrelated.

Stan
 
Just tell them that you don't want them on it. If they ask "Why?". Tell them that you own it and you do not want them up there. That's all the reason you need to give them. Don't be mean about it, but be serious and firm about it.

Scott
 
brings to mind another funny trick [ for us] that we use, the "south of the boarder " types are thick as flies at the feed yard around here and about 1/2 are actually citizens , swiping something is a favorite hobby of theirs, big dogs and big guns keeps the lid on here ,when we have a bad battery on something we always clean it up carefully clean the posts and armor all the case then set that thing out in plain sight and take odds on how long before its gone,
 
Life is too short to give a darn about someone sitting on your wall (or fence). Why in the world would you care?
 
Stan:

Real simple solution, just staple a strand of Barbed Wire to the top of the fence. Or, you could change that flat-topped fence into a Picket Fence. Neither of which would be inducive to sitting upon it. LOL

Also, as others have stated; install NO TRESPASSING signs.
 
Put a strand of hot wire up there. I bet the guy who thinks its okay for the people to be on your property sitting on the wall wouldn't want them on his property either. You have the right to have the trespassers removed off your property. I wouldn't want a bunch of idiots sitting on a wall on my property killing time as they stared into my home and took inventory of my belongings. If they are allowed to sit there during the day, they will probably get the idea that they can sit there all night too. They have no right or permission to be there.

Scotf
 

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