midges and biting insect arguments

[meinchewster]

Ive got two wildlife ponds and next door are obsessed that the ponds are ruining thier lives. The irony is that we spend hours in the garden and only get bit now and again where as next door claim they cannot go outside.

The ponds are well vegetated, shallow and oxygenated with a good invert and amphibian population. Midge and mosie larvae are few in both ponds.

We are going to come blows as things stand, they mock us for our interest in wildlife to the extent they wont put collars on thier cats and revel in the glory everytime a cat brings back a shrew, vole or bird.

Ive explained things as clear as possible but they are completely ignorant to anything remotely interesting, and are hardly blessed in the intellect stakes (one thought the hotest day of the year appeared on calenders!!!! and that cuckoos were a type of clock not a bird!!!!!!!).

So how do you cope with such people and attitudes without looseing the plot?

[JRsbugs]

All you can do is to ignore them, I had to do the same with a very unreasonable neighbour who blamed us for everything going wrong in her house. All of it was complete nonsense and made no sense to the sensible, it came to blows when she was going to charge us for putting in air vents to a chimney which she no longer used. She got on her high horse, ranted and raved that she was the only one maintaining her house properly (nonsense), her problem was her oil burner which she had not had for long and was not burning correctly. She thought the smoke from our chimney was coming down her's and changing into poisonous gasses! She had thought we were having a fire when we decided not to, and she put her heating on then tried to sneak out to her parents where she spends most of her time leaving a dangerous situation.

Next time they try to talk to you, act as if they don't exist, don't even look at them. It might be an idea to have a very tall fence so you can't see them. My neighbour tried to protest that I was just being ..?? (that part I didn't get to hear as I walked off). It has been peaceful ever since, if she speaks I answer as briefly as I need to but she has learnt not to cross with me.

[meinchewster]

Originally Posted by JRsbugs

All you can do is to ignore them, I had to do the same with a very unreasonable neighbour who blamed us for everything going wrong in her house. All of it was complete nonsense and made no sense to the sensible, it came to blows when she was going to charge us for putting in air vents to a chimney which she no longer used. She got on her high horse, ranted and raved that she was the only one maintaining her house properly (nonsense), her problem was her oil burner which she had not had for long and was not burning correctly. She thought the smoke from our chimney was coming down her's and changing into poisonous gasses! She had thought we were having a fire when we decided not to, and she put her heating on then tried to sneak out to her parents where she spends most of her time leaving a dangerous situation.

Next time they try to talk to you, act as if they don't exist, don't even look at them. It might be an idea to have a very tall fence so you can't see them. My neighbour tried to protest that I was just being ..?? (that part I didn't get to hear as I walked off). It has been peaceful ever since, if she speaks I answer as briefly as I need to but she has learnt not to cross with me.

I converse as little as possible as it is, Ive enjoyed better exchanges with pebbles such is the level of conversation. I am sick of the constant moaning and the real issue is they have moved into the country but their off new housing estates and are used to tarmac drives and washing the car every sunday, mowing the tiny patches of worthless lawn. Theyve never seen or dont want to know about anything to do with the countryside which begs the question, why the **** did they move here 6 years ago and why are they still here?

We keep chickens and chickens have been here for 50 years but they hate them....because a cockerel crows in the morning.

The pressure to get rid of the wildlife ponds is going to turn nasty, as frankly, I would rather chew off my own legs than devalue the garden from a wildlife perspective.

[AshLee]

I've heard of neighbours pouring things into people's ponds. In the case I'm thinking about, it was washing up liquid. My pond was targeted too. I guess I got off lucky with a milk bottle - whoever it was did open the lid.

The garden is now covered by infra-red CCTV, and there is a sign up to say so (a small one bought on eBay - should have been bigger ).

I'd advise you to protect your pond first and keep talking with them to a minimum. It sounds like they are out to wind you up and it's a bit of a game with them at the moment. Neighbours like this may or may not step over the boundary, physically and legally. You should be prepared.

[eucera]

Painful as it sounds... I would advise keeping a detailed diary of and discussions.

[JRsbugs]

The trouble with people like these, you feel you need to keep talking to them in order to try to stop them from doing anything against you. I had a neigbour renting a cottage across from me a few years ago while they found a house to buy, he had been in the army in Northern Ireland and married a younger Irish girl. The family were gang master contractors, and acted like gangsters. He would talk to me nicely, his dogs would come into the garden doing their dirty jobs but he didn't care, in fact his brother took the big dog along our grass front to do his stuff there. I was tempted to dump it on the bonnet of their 4-wheel vehicle, but instead dumped it on their side with a spade.

The stress was terrible, he would drink his bottle or can of beer every evening and dump it in our roadside drain which is part of my garden. He even joked about how his new neighbour wouldn't be happy when his dogs disturbed their Guinee fowl.

This type of person actually enjoys being a nuisance! I doubt whatever you do you will be able to make them understand anything and talking to them will perhaps keep them on the right side of you but I doubt it. Security cameras are a good idea, I was thinking of doing the same but fortunately the trouble makers moved.

Think about a tall privacy fence so they can't directly communicate with you, ignoring them might work but it might also prompt them to do dirty deeds. As Stuart mentions, taking notes is a good idea but you would have to prove anything if worse came to worst. If you have a tape recorder handy and hidden next time they try to talk to you remember to switch it on, most camcorders have a voice facility if you don't have a tape recorder (old fashioned!)

[meinchewster]

Thanks for your sugestions, to be honest we have tried to be perfectly reasonable and polite and they are generally polite too but thick as pig sh**

I am worried about one of the ponds as it has had to be refilled twice this year....I know its been dry but never had to fill it before. Luckily I have rain water buts for such issues but it makes me wonder if the lining as somehow developed a hole.....

Im not one for petty arguments, lifes too short but Ive worked hard on the garden (its purely a wildlife garden, ponds, logpiles, all native plants etc) and im not letting some towny (appologies to any decent towns folk) moron who cant tell the difference between a sparrow and a goose, ruin it.

I know not everyone can be interested in wildlife but the complete ignorance and contempt shown by these idiots is untrue.

[Purplepixii]

Your story reminds me of a local NNR who had similar complaints. People who had deliberately purchased houses backing onto the NNR complained that they were being bitten by the "NNR's mosquito's" but even more ridiculous one person complained that the "NNR's deer" were getting into his garden and eating his plants. Like the NNR is responsible!???

I think previous suggestions are good advice. If you can afford CCTV cameras then I would start considering the idea. If you can't then there are good dummy cameras available and either buying or making your own security sign (such as "these premises are protected by CCTV") would be a good plan.

Keeping a diary of conversations / arguements is vital should things turn nasty and I would strongly recommend that you start doing this immediately.

One other thought, next time they engage you in (an albeit limited) conversation you could drop in words to the effect of "I was speaking to the local police wildlife officer recently and he/she said [fill this with your own words]" I can't guarantee it but it might make them stop and think (assuming thinking is a function that they are capable of that is!!) before they act.

Good luck! I know it's an unpleasant situation and some people are beyond education but try to rise above it and carry on as you are - extinct wildlife are more worrying than people like that dying out!!

Sarah

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by Purplepixii

One other thought, next time they engage you in (an albeit limited) conversation you could drop in words to the effect of "I was speaking to the local police wildlife officer recently and he/she said [fill this with your own words]" I can't guarantee it but it might make them stop and think (assuming thinking is a function that they are capable of that is!!) before they act.........

Don't pretend, really make contact with the police (wildlife officer if they have one). Just make sure there is a note in their records just in case anything nasty happens. You don't need to instigate legal action or whatever. It will help the police and other authorities if you provide them with a clearly written, concise (not long, rambling and off-topic!) summary of what has been said and when. That way the p.c. doesn't have to do anything but read and file it: puts him on your side right away! May sound trivial but worth the effort where you might expect serious bother.

Good luck.

[Beekeeper]

I totaly agree with Paul that you should contact the police, i had problems with a neighbour who wanted to cur down my 80 year old hawthorn hedge and replace it with a panel fence, of course i refused to let him do it.

Afterwards i started getting intimidated in different ways, gate mysterioulsy left open so the New Forest ponies could get in and wreck the garden, complaints to the local council regarding my bees, bits of hedge cut down at ground level, rubbish thrown into garden and so on, eventually i had to call the police as criminal damage was involved and i had the video evidence to prove it.

No more problems, at least very few now as his wife kicked him out, he only returns to see his daughter once in a while.

Do not leave it too long meinchewster, nip it in the bud before it gets out of hand.

Ian