Dealing with weeds in your own lawn or garden is bad enough, but what do you do about a neighbor who isn’t controlling his? Weeds can ruin the appearance of our lawn and choke our plants and vegetables. Some weeds can also be harmful to children and animals if handled.
If you don’t do something about your weeds they can spread rapidly and can choke rivers and streams endangering marine plants and animals. The best way to control them is to be alert and remove them as quickly as possible. Some of the main culprits are field bindweed, spurge, puncture vine and thistles. If they spread throughout your neighborhood you will have a hard time eradicating all of them. Their seeds spread rapidly and before long can take over parks and vacant lots.
- These noxious weeds cause so much trouble in some states that they have laws to address the issue of weed control. If you have a neighbor who refuses to control his noxious weeds you can take the following steps.
- Before you do anything about your neighbor, find out if there is an identification guide of all the weeds in your state. The publication should also contain information on the laws pertaining to that state.
- Go to your local nursery or call them and ask them what the best methods are for controlling the weeds in your neighbor’s yard. Once you have all your information you can then approach your neighbor.
- Do not be confronting when you approach your neighbor. Tell him about the information you have and show him pictures which will identify his weeds. Explain to him that you have been advised that the weeds can spread if they are not eradicated quickly. If the meeting is pleasant you should be able to resolve the issue amicably and the weeds will be removed.
- If on the other hand your neighbor is totally unreasonable, then you will have to get the local authorities involved. Many states will enforce the noxious weed laws, but there are those that won’t.
If you don’t have an agency set up in your city to control noxious weeds, then your county should have a local office. Their job is to monitor the spread of weeds and have ways of dealing with them. They will usually contact the owner of the yard with the noxious weeds telling them to control them within one week. If the owner fails to comply with the notice, the county will deal with them and then send the owner the bill.
Do the right thing in your neighborhood and control the spread of these noxious weeds. The county has enough to do without checking on all residents to make sure they are doing the right thing. Help your community by dealing with your weed issues and encourage your neighbors to do the right thing also. If everyone does their part you’ll not only be helping each other but ensure that these noxious weeds don’t overtake your community.
