Neighbor+cigarette flicking advice needed

[Hendrixlvr]

Last night I finally finished getting my little backyard oasis set up,

Complete with a brand new 11’ offset umbrella equipped with led lighting, and my custom made roughsawn pine outdoor bar

This morning I went out to enjoy a coffee and discovered this....

When I went to bed last night I heard my neighbour outside on his front porch talking loudly on his phone and saw that he was smoking cigarettes and apparently at some point in the night, he decided to flick his lit cigarette over the fence into my yard....6” away from my brand new wood bar and 12” away from my brand new umbrella and flammable patio chair cushions....this morning I went to talk to him and of course nobody answers the door, but I noticed that butts of the same brand of cigarette were all over his yard....

My question is, do I say something tonight when I get home, or since this is the first time, just clean it up and wait to see if it happens again before I say something? I guess it could have just been him doing his normal cigarette flick into his own yard, and a gust of wind caught it and carried it over the fence....

 

[Preacher]

first 30 seconds... that will teach him.

 

[orangeblossom]

Get off my lawn? Throw it back? Smile and wave to him.

 

[Mike Eskimo]

Cigarette butts...

Never when I was a smoker was I a slob w/ my butts.

I would not be the one to talk to him as I couldn't control my anger about a loud in-public phone talker who flicks butts - into your yard !

Next time he's in his back yard, gather up whatever butts of his you find, get on a step ladder or chair, and with your head above the fence say _ "Hey - I think these are yours" - and dump them over the fence...

 

[chiefline]

Had a neighbor that did the same exact thing only his dog used to crap in my yard also. I took the cigarette butts and the dog crap in a plastic bag and put them in his mailbox. Never had problems again

 

[6BQ5]

first 30 seconds... that will teach him.

Not all heroes wear capes.

 

[VintageSG]

It's not accidental.
My neighbour does it and really takes offence when she gets taken to task about it. Be prepared for the outrage that you dare question their entitlement to do such a deed. It's part of human nature to react like that when called out.
Flick it back over. If it continues, collect as many as you think necessary and dump then onto the windscreen of his car, with a polite ( must be polite ) note about returning their discards.

She did the dog poop thing, so that got returned. She cleared the hair and detritus from her drain, dumped that over the wall, so that got returned too.

It's a never ending battle with the entitled. They feel entitled to dump on you and will take umbrage when their foul discards are returned. Be prepared for an escalating war, but do not surrender!.

 

[Hendrixlvr]

Had a neighbor that did the same exact thing only his dog used to crap in my yard also. I took the cigarette butts and the dog crap in a plastic bag and put them in his mailbox. Never had problems again

Yea! I’m sure if I didn’t have the fence, his dog would be crapping all over my yard. Like seriously what goes through someone’s head to think that it’s ok to let your dog crap in your neighbours yard and flick your butts into his/hers rec area?! I worked very hard to make a nice little area to relax and entertain in and you’re flicking your cigarettes into it?!?!

 

[LutherBurger]

...My question is, do I say something tonight when I get home, or since this is the first time, just clean it up and wait to see if it happens again before I say something? I guess it could have just been him doing his normal cigarette flick into his own yard, and a gust of wind caught it and carried it over the fence....

The same thing has happened to me. I didn't complain until after my deck furniture was damaged. That was a mistake.

 

[Hendrixlvr]

It's a never ending battle with the entitled. They feel entitled to dump on you and will take umbrage when their foul discards are returned. Be prepared for an escalating war, but do not surrender!.

Oh I’m 1/2 Italian and 1/2 Norwegian. I have Viking blood and Italian stubbornness.....he will not win lol

 

[aerhed]

Last night I finally finished getting my little backyard oasis set up,

View attachment 520518
Complete with a brand new 11’ offset umbrella equipped with led lighting, and my custom made roughsawn pine outdoor bar
View attachment 520519
This morning I went out to enjoy a coffee and discovered this....
View attachment 520520
When I went to bed last night I heard my neighbour outside on his front porch talking loudly on his phone and saw that he was smoking cigarettes and apparently at some point in the night, he decided to flick his lit cigarette over the fence into my yard....6” away from my brand new wood bar and 12” away from my brand new umbrella and flammable patio chair cushions....this morning I went to talk to him and of course nobody answers the door, but I noticed that butts of the same brand of cigarette were all over his yard....

My question is, do I say something tonight when I get home, or since this is the first time, just clean it up and wait to see if it happens again before I say something? I guess it could have just been him doing his normal cigarette flick into his own yard, and a gust of wind caught it and carried it over the fence....

Your neighbor is a smoke pig. A litter pig. Doubt you'll change him. Pig goes deep. You may have to scare him straight.

 

[Frodebro]

Oh I’m 1/2 Italian and 1/2 Norwegian. I have Viking blood and Italian stubbornness.....he will not win lol

But you're also Canadian...

 

[SolidSteak]

...this morning I went to talk to him and of course nobody answers the door, but I noticed that butts of the same brand of cigarette were all over his yard....

My question is, do I say something tonight when I get home, or since this is the first time, just clean it up and wait to see if it happens again before I say something? I guess it could have just been him doing his normal cigarette flick into his own yard, and a gust of wind caught it and carried it over the fence....

Maybe I am completely insane, but I would try talking to the neighbor about it first before starting a fence dumping/mailbox stuffing campaign of litter retaliation as others have mentioned. See if the neighbor is home this evening for sure.

Maybe even invite them over to your awesome new yard for drinks, so they can see first hand where their butts are going and why you might not want them there?

Also: Cool yard! I'm jealous!

 

[getbent]

it sounds like you have changed your behavior and uncovered existing behavior that now conflicts with your new behavior. Assuming he does not hate you (and probably does not even think about you at all) give it a couple of weeks of you now gathering in your groovy new summer digs outdoors to adapt. He probably will. Have a couple of parties and some folks over and he'll just shift.. you evolved, now he will need a little time to evolve too.

 

[Hendrixlvr]

But you're also Canadian...

You’re right...I’m sorry....

 

[BigDaddyLH]

Oh I’m 1/2 Italian and 1/2 Norwegian. I have Viking blood and Italian stubbornness.....he will not win lol

Italian? Could you perhaps poison his dog?

 

[BigDaddyLH]

Flicking the butt back over won't even be noticed -- it sounds like that backyard is full of butts.

 

[charlie chitlin]

first 30 seconds... that will teach him.

I love this.
I did this all the time when I rode a lot.
It would go like this:
"You dropped something" (as I was handing it to him/her)

Oh...no...it's OK, I, uh..." (look on the face saying "Oh...I see what's going on here."

If they didn't take it back, it got thrown into the car or in the back of the truck.

Often a lit cigarette.

It's really shocking how many people would never throw a paper napkin out their car window, but will throw cigarette butts all day.

Flicking one into someone else's yard is ridiculously rude.

I once kicked a guy out of my car in midtown Manhattan (he was from NJ) for pulling the ashtray out of my dash and dumping it out the window.
I was a salesman at the time, and the sales manager called me in the next day.
"Did you kick the Campbell's Soup rep out of your car in midtown yesterday?"
It was pretty funny.

 

[BigDaddyLH]

I read that the majority of the garbage by weight left on a beach is cigarette butts. I suppose smokers are dreaming they are lying in an ashtray.

 

[nojazzhere]

Maybe I am completely insane, but I would try talking to the neighbor about it first before starting a fence dumping/mailbox stuffing campaign of litter retaliation as others have mentioned. See if the neighbor is home this evening for sure.

Maybe even invite them over to your awesome new yard for drinks, so they can see first hand where their butts are going and why you might not want them there?

Also: Cool yard! I'm jealous!

Problem is....if you invite him over for drinks, he'll want to smoke and then drop the butts on your grass....doubt he'll flick them over the fence into HIS yard. Yes, I would first try the "polite" approach, but I doubt that will work. Most (not all) smokers are passive-aggressive....they know that their smoking is anti-social, and, for what ever reason (anger, envy, spite, etc) they do what they do as a form of assault. BTW....nice yard. He's probably jealous.