UPDATE: Argh!!! Children!!!

[boggybranch]

If you have a wooden privacy fence, I would run a strand of hotwire right at the VERY (on the inside, just below the rim, so they can't see it) top of the fence, hook it up to a fence charger that would knock a 3000 pound bull to his knees and plug it in. Then when the little vandals grab the top of the fence to climb over......."ZAP"....problem solved.

 

[wifezilla]

I am telling you...make a simple bill on your computer and send it to the parents. It will wake them up.

 

[nittygrittydirtdigger]

Gawd, I would be so mad! Looks like lots of good advice here, but here's one more for ya. Go to their parents and tell them that the whole property had to be treated with poison because of vermin, and that it is dangerous to kids and pets. Beseech them to keep the kids away so they don't get any on them, for the sake of the little darlin's wellbeing of course.

 

[Ladyhawke1]

Those bloody little despoilers came into my garden AGAIN (climbed over the fence) and managed to SQUISH one of my prize heirloom, shipped-from-California, totally-organically-grown, spent-6-weeks-inside, babied-with-lots-of love EXPENSIVE (did I mention expensive!?) Anaheim Chili plants.

So far, the only one to show flowers, and since I've had two episodes of blossom drop previous to this and these flowers seem to be sticking around this time . . .

ARGH!!!! And other words not fit for children's ears!!!!!

Those horrible little disrespectful, boundary-less, clueless, shameless, demon spawn (of adults who have to take off their shoes to count to twenty, who couldn't find their own country on a map of the world, who can't even spell the word 'it's' . . . ).

What do I have to DO to keep the !(#*&#$*()!*&#^@)_#@&#!!!!!! children AWAY from my plants!??????

*scream* . . . *scream* (because the first one offered no relief).

I found my poor plant lying flat. They didn't break the stem, thank GOD, but it was lying flat like it had been kicked over from where it went into the ground.

I immediately went to Home Depot (well, immediately . . . after teaching the chickens to go up their ramp) and got a stake and set the poor Anaheim chili upright and staked it firmly. It's still green, a bit wilty, but alive. The stem felt good, nice and firm, but still.

If it doesn't make it I am going to kick up such a holler you will probably ALL be able to hear me, no matter where you live. And I'm going to tell their parents exactly what I think about little undisciplined beasts who trample people's supply of FOOD for the better part of a year merely because their selfish, ignorant flatlander parents didn't give a da . . . er, decided not to teach their children about personal respect and boundaries and so on.

All this happened in the three hours we left our backyard unguarded, when we left the house to go to my MIL's birthday dinner. When we came back, BAM, flat plant.

I am SO UPSET RIGHT NOW.



Whitewater

You are not going to like this, but I suggest that you should build a fence. I am not sure where your garden is, however if you make one where people cannot see your flowers and veggies the better it is for you. People nowadays have no sense of privacy or of invading another persons space/property.

A couple of months ago, the part time at home with mommy kid was ON HIS ROOF when he noticed my garden.

I heard him coming down from the ROOF, I assume that mom was not home ,and I overheard him tell his buddies Oh, look,.its like a garden. City kids and adults alike are sometimes completely overwhelmed with a real look at the natural world.

Then I heard him scramble up the tired old fence, and I as I waited for it to crumble, he peeked over. Then I knew to wait for itI had been sitting under the peach tree in my desert storm camouflage and he "didn't" see me until it was too late. he almost .d himself. CABOOM! No not the fence, but he fell like a sack of potatoeson his side. I politely said Gee I hope you dont break that fenceI think your mom would have to pay for it.

Now, day before yesterday, it happens again. On the other side of me, there are FOUR FULL TIME CHILDREN. Its like an invading army. I am surprised the mother has not done herself in long ago. The oldest and only boy was climbing the fence on his side, and on my side is a roofed chain link dog-run that acts as sort of a buffer to the common fence. He looks over and discovers and says .OH, LOOK A GARDEN AND LOOK AT THE GATE! . My gate is kind of a special fairy fantasy creation. Then here comes those horrid words.AND OH LOOK. A CHICKEN!

OK, so now my secret is out, I have chickens. row They have been here for a year and a half with no one the wiser. Anyway, I also stood up from under that there very same peach tree in full war gear and just smiled a sick smile at him. :/ The kids jaw dropped and he said meeklyHi! and then got down. This kids dad cuts my front lawn for me. I try to reciprocate with gifts of food, flowers and an occasional gadget that I think would repay them for their kindness. I do not want a squabble but I also do not want the fences or my privacy compromised. What to do, what to do? :bee

 

[boggybranch]

When the "strays" get over the fence.....call the pound.

 

[Whitewater]

We have a fence. 2' worth of cement blocks, and 3' of wire on top of that on the one side, on our yard side, a 4' chain link. Can't electrify it, as much as I *dearly* want to, we'd be sued by the parents in half a heartbeat if one of their kids got zapped.

We also can't afford to tear down all our fencing and put up a pretty 6' white vinyl privacy fence (well, 6' of solid fence and another 12" of lattice on top), both around the yard and then another one around the garden. I'd LOVE to do that, I don't particularly *want* to see or hear my (adult) neighbor's business or deal with the neighborhood kids, but we just can't afford it.

And I don't know which kid it is. There is a pool of about a dozen different candidates, all between the ages of 6-15, various genders, races and innate social 'with-it-ness' -- some of the kids have actually been taught as part of their culture to dismiss and reject and disrespect others who aren't the same color they are, some of them are quite nice and polite to my face (but have no trouble playing around when they know they can't get caught), others I never see because they are truly good kids who can't resist the peer pressure of their unenlightened brethren -- and the demons egging them on know when we aren't around.

What I am *actually* thinking of doing is finding a cheap game camera setup to work day/night with multiple cameras (on ebay, maybe), setting up the cameras and then sending a letter 'round to the households blessed with the boundary-less spawn, saying that the cameras are recording because I'm having issues with unknown live 'things' getting into my garden and I want to find out what is going on because the 'things' are severely damaging my food crops and I want to put a stop to it.

One of the more polite kids -- a girl who's 8 years old, as she proudly informed me, and the one who tore the zuke up -- asked to 'help me weed' the other night and I told her firmly NO WAY. When asked why not, I just said "because somebody came into my garden when we weren't home and killed a plant. Since I don't know who did it, nobody's allowed on my property." I know that sometimes with kids you have to be blunt. I also know that this child has been agitating every time she sees me to look at my chickens and that the pepper in question was the one directly in line with where they would have stood to get a good look at the coop. This girl tends to come around shortly after dusk (9pm, shouldn't she be getting ready for bed at that time?) and of course, the chickens are already in bed by then.

I'm not sure how to deal with her parent, who, if you followed my chicken permit saga over on BYC, is MinPinGuy and who has carefully been staying out of my sight for weeks. In short, very passive aggressive and unable to either say no flat out or state a definitive opinion. He's difficult to talk to, not because he's a bad neighbor but because he has about as much spine as a dishrag. If you asked him what color the sky was, he'd look at you and say, "I don't know, what do you think?"



The other thing I've been thinking about doing is making a laminated No Tresspassing sign. If nothing else, it will satisfy legal requirements.

Oh, and I'd love to present a bill to the parents -- if I knew which household was responsible. It would only be for about $15, but I make $850/month -- that's expensive to me.


Whitewater

 

[obsessed]

I really don't understand what is the matter with kids anymore. Or parents for that matter. I would never even think of jumping a fence to destroy someones garden. I would get my !@ss handed to me.

And I hear how my teenager's friends talk to their parents. Some of the stuff I am just amazed. I love corporeal punishment and If my child asks me to sometimes begs me I will dish it out. Now I don't beat my kids but a smack to the back of the head like lightning when the eyes are rolling or when their mouth is blabbing is ok in my book.

I am sorry.

 

[Ladyhawke1]

We have a fence. 2' worth of cement blocks, and 3' of wire on top of that on the one side, on our yard side, a 4' chain link. Can't electrify it, as much as I *dearly* want to, we'd be sued by the parents in half a heartbeat if one of their kids got zapped.

We also can't afford to tear down all our fencing and put up a pretty 6' white vinyl privacy fence (well, 6' of solid fence and another 12" of lattice on top), both around the yard and then another one around the garden. I'd LOVE to do that, I don't particularly *want* to see or hear my (adult) neighbor's business or deal with the neighborhood kids, but we just can't afford it.

And I don't know which kid it is. There is a pool of about a dozen different candidates, all between the ages of 6-15, various genders, races and innate social 'with-it-ness' -- some of the kids have actually been taught as part of their culture to dismiss and reject and disrespect others who aren't the same color they are, some of them are quite nice and polite to my face (but have no trouble playing around when they know they can't get caught), others I never see because they are truly good kids who can't resist the peer pressure of their unenlightened brethren -- and the demons egging them on know when we aren't around.

What I am *actually* thinking of doing is finding a cheap game camera setup to work day/night with multiple cameras (on ebay, maybe), setting up the cameras and then sending a letter 'round to the households blessed with the boundary-less spawn, saying that the cameras are recording because I'm having issues with unknown live 'things' getting into my garden and I want to find out what is going on because the 'things' are severely damaging my food crops and I want to put a stop to it.

One of the more polite kids -- a girl who's 8 years old, as she proudly informed me, and the one who tore the zuke up -- asked to 'help me weed' the other night and I told her firmly NO WAY. When asked why not, I just said "because somebody came into my garden when we weren't home and killed a plant. Since I don't know who did it, nobody's allowed on my property." I know that sometimes with kids you have to be blunt. I also know that this child has been agitating every time she sees me to look at my chickens and that the pepper in question was the one directly in line with where they would have stood to get a good look at the coop. This girl tends to come around shortly after dusk (9pm, shouldn't she be getting ready for bed at that time?) and of course, the chickens are already in bed by then.

I'm not sure how to deal with her parent, who, if you followed my chicken permit saga over on BYC, is MinPinGuy and who has carefully been staying out of my sight for weeks. In short, very passive aggressive and unable to either say no flat out or state a definitive opinion. He's difficult to talk to, not because he's a bad neighbor but because he has about as much spine as a dishrag. If you asked him what color the sky was, he'd look at you and say, "I don't know, what do you think?"



The other thing I've been thinking about doing is making a laminated No Tresspassing sign. If nothing else, it will satisfy legal requirements.

Oh, and I'd love to present a bill to the parents -- if I knew which household was responsible. It would only be for about $15, but I make $850/month -- that's expensive to me.


Whitewater

Hey! Put up a sign anyway saying...."Smile, you are on camera." I hear that sometimes works for those you can read.

 

[Ladyhawke1]

How old are the little b...uh, darlings? Have you ever been able to catch them out there? Have you ever spoken to them or their parents? Sometimes making them think you're good and crazy helps. Are you in a location where you can scream like a banshee without getting locked away? Scream obscenities?(not if you have other close neighbors, though) Although cops with sirens will add to the effect. Do you have guns that you can target practice with? Lots of gunshots do help,esp. combined with the screaming. All this may just make them think you're one of them, but at least they won't think you're going to necessarily cower under to their whims. If you can, catch them while you carry a gun, and tell them you're afraid to be without it because you've been seeing a 5 ft. rattler. Also, this way you won't be accused of threatening the angels. You could combine this with a fake snake that you move every day. If you can get your hands on a big blacksnake, release it in your garden. You could try the same approach as with repelling wildlife - spray the fence with something stinky and sticky. Hanging those stinky fly traps near their crossing might help. If you come across any dead animals leave those by the fence, too. I had an animal repellent water sprinkler device called the "scarecrow" that's made to spray whatever crosses it's path. Then again, that might make a game of running through it. Good luck! Unruly children are the hardest pest to deal with, except maybe their parents.

You should be a movie producer! Or is it a director? I am so confused. :/

 

[elf]

How old are the little b...uh, darlings? Have you ever been able to catch them out there? Have you ever spoken to them or their parents? Sometimes making them think you're good and crazy helps. Are you in a location where you can scream like a banshee without getting locked away? Scream obscenities?(not if you have other close neighbors, though) Although cops with sirens will add to the effect. Do you have guns that you can target practice with? Lots of gunshots do help,esp. combined with the screaming. All this may just make them think you're one of them, but at least they won't think you're going to necessarily cower under to their whims. If you can, catch them while you carry a gun, and tell them you're afraid to be without it because you've been seeing a 5 ft. rattler. Also, this way you won't be accused of threatening the angels. You could combine this with a fake snake that you move every day. If you can get your hands on a big blacksnake, release it in your garden. You could try the same approach as with repelling wildlife - spray the fence with something stinky and sticky. Hanging those stinky fly traps near their crossing might help. If you come across any dead animals leave those by the fence, too. I had an animal repellent water sprinkler device called the "scarecrow" that's made to spray whatever crosses it's path. Then again, that might make a game of running through it. Good luck! Unruly children are the hardest pest to deal with, except maybe their parents.

You should be a movie producer! Or is it a director? I am so confused. :/

I was a career middle school art teacher - You learn to do a lot of sleuthing. Shall I go into the time an 8th grade girl kept stealing the chocolate out of the cabinet in my office (when you mess with my chocolate stash, you've REALLY crossed the line!) Well, let's just say, ex-lax and Hershey's look a lot alike.