[fyrffytr1]

Recently I found some empty beer cans on the back of my property and figured it was someone from the sub-division behind my yard. But, lately there are more and more empty cans. And, there are other types of trash. But, it is on my next door neighbors property and I suspect it might be a young man that is living there, I don't know if he is related to the owner or to the woman living there and I am not 100% sure but I see evidence that points toward him.
Today I walked out to my shop and saw something hanging in the bushes on their property. It was s empty Doritos bag with two beer cans in it. Underneath that there was a 12 pack of empties.
What concerns me is this activity is taking place within 30' of my shop and my 67 GTO is inside. There have been small fires set out there in the grassy spots.
Here is the fun part. My neighbor is kind of weird. When he first moved in he was friendly to the point that when he fenced in his backyard he moved the fence 10' off the property line to give me trailer access even though I didn't really need it. But, soon after that he stopped talking to us and then started going out of his way to avoid us. This happened 10 years ago and we probably haven't exchanged a dozen words since then.
So, how do I handle this situation. Do I approach the young man, the owner, call the law or do something else. I cannot ignore the situation much longer if for no other reason than I hate all the trash laying out there!

[Firedup6975]

I'd collect the beer cans sell em for scrap and but something for my car.

[salem1912]

By young man do you mean under age? I would call or just ask your neighbor what with all the trash?

[Rob B]

If the kid is underage or over 18 but underage for drinking, I'd have a little casual guy to guy kinda chat with him about it in a friendly manner. No need to stir the chit just yet but let him know that you don't appreciate what's going on behind your garage and just ask him to go somewhere else with it and that you won't mention it to anyone else. If he's of age, just do the same thing but be a little more frank with him.That might be enough to stop any future problems with the guy.

[fiedlerh]

You don't want to start a war with a neighbor or his teenage kid. Maybe put out a sign that sez "Please don't litter. I'll be glad to bring the empties over to your house if you forget to clean up."

[Stuart]

If I understand correctly, the beer cans and dorito bag are on your neighbor's property and not on your own?

[David Jones]

Seems like in your situation as described, make sure your insurance is up to date and sit back. If its not on your property and you haven't actually seen anybody you're going to have a tough time approaching anybody. Either the weird kid or the neighbor you don't talk to. Do you have a place to mount a game camera?

[stellar]

I would tell the suspect the next time I see him what a bunch of ignorant dirty bastiches the occupants of the subdivision are by littering up the neighborhood. Very bad neighbors to do something like that. ---- That ought to give him the hint if it is him. There is also the posibility that some critter is getting into the garbage. They like beer and doritos too!!

[fyrffytr1]

Originally Posted by Stuart

If I understand correctly, the beer cans and dorito bag are on your neighbor's property and not on your own?

The first time I found the stuff it was on my property and I cleaned it up. Since then it has been thrown into the bushes on my neighbors property and I understand that I can't do anything about that.
While the trash bothers me what concerns me the most is the small fires that have been set near my property and shop. And while my insurance is up to date i would still hate to lose my car to a drunks actions.
When this first started about a month ago it was a random happening. But in the last week it is more of a daily occurrence and the amount of trash is increasing. There are cans, bottles, plastic bags and even a metal fork laying in a plastic food container. Oh yeah, there has also been several piles of vomit!
I could put up a trail cam if I had one but what is to keep whoever is doing this from stealing it?

[Chris65LeMans]

If it's a daily occurrence, I'd wait until they show up and catch 'em in the act. Then have a discussion with them.

The fire thing could be serious. I'd try talking to them first, but I certainly don't think you'd be out of line calling the cops.

[Lightfoot]

From your last post, it's starting to sound like there could be a transient using those bushes for his nightly drinking binges.
You might also check all the empties to see if there is one that has been made into a home made crack pipe.

I used to find these in nature trails I frequented, (near an urban area) and they were consistently in the same general area, indicating habitual user.

[Trulyvintage]

Now would be the time to move your 67' GTO .....



Jim

[Bill Morgan]

Buy and install a digital game camera. They are relatively inexpensive, work silently in the dark, and provide irrefutable pictorial evidence admissible in any legal action.

Not only will you learn the identity of the culprit(s), but you will also, thanks to the camera's time and date record, know exactly when to exit your house with shotgun in hand.

[stellar]

Yep a shotgun should be a good deterent

[Alvin]

Motion detector High Wattage lighting (at the back of your shop "within 30 ft of property line") and digital camera as suggested would be a good start for piece of mind IMO.

[Chris65LeMans]

Originally Posted by Alvin

Motion detector High Wattage lighting

That's especially a great idea!

I'd advise against confronting them with a shotgun if you'd like to avoid hard feelings/starting a neighborhood war.

[cuz68]

I think it is best to leave him alone, He is NOT on your land, He might be a nut and carry his on fire arm you never know.

[Rob B]

Originally Posted by Lightfoot

From your last post, it's starting to sound like there could be a transient using those bushes for his nightly drinking binges.
You might also check all the empties to see if there is one that has been made into a home made crack pipe.

I used to find these in nature trails I frequented, (near an urban area) and they were consistently in the same general area, indicating habitual user.

I got the same thought after reading his last post also. Put some lights back there on motion detectors and light the area up like the Griswalds at Christmas!
If its a transient, he'll just move on to the next hiding spot.

[geeteeohguy]

What Rob B said. If it is an underage kid living there and getting loaded secretly, talk to him with empathy and see if you can change his behaviour. If it turns out to be a vagrant, all bets are off. You need to work with the neighbor to get him out of there. Possibly a call to the fire department. The fires could be the kid playing with matches (a budding arsonist) or simply a vagrant trying to keep warm at night. The game camera is an excellent idea as it will provide you the information you need. The automatic lights might piss somebody off (neighbor), but would be effective too. Either way, you HAVE to do something!!

[fyrffytr1]

I think I will approach the woman who lives there the next time I see her outside. She is friendly toward us. I will tell her that they might want to keep an eye out because someone is trashing their property and let it go at that. Then I will sit back and see what happens.
I don't think it is a vagrant because there are no trails through the property and all the trash is right on the edge of the thick undergrowth.