Nancy,  just a little consideration from you neighbor would be nice. Have you tried talking to him?

I’m the pres of my neighborhood assn. There are a few things we can do, but not much, and nothing about this. The ivy continues to try to root in my yard but I just keep heading it back, and nightshade keeps popping up but I canusually just pull it out before it’s big enough to pose a problem. It’s the thistle that really is a pain.

Kitty

I feel your pain...my neighbor sprays 8 feet over fence on my side.  Do not know of any solution if neighborhood group will not help.  I finally killed my ivy Hedera on mailbox since it was old enough to bloom and produce those good tasting berries for birds to take every where.  Hated to kill it but also did not want any more ivy any where near me. Nearby college is covered and birds will do what they do so well.  AND if one is not looking soon the variegated ivy is gone and the green one is taking over the world.  Nancy  cooler spell here in Tennessee so pulling weeds of course.

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From: "Kitty Morrissy" <1*@rewrite.hort.net>
To:
Cc:
Sent: 06-Aug-2017 21:16:52 +0000
Subject: Noxious weeds reporting

Hi All,

I’m getting pretty desperate here…I’m in Indiana so those of you outside the US, I’m sure won’t know, but maybe someone else on this list could help.

The neighbor west me has a smallish backyard on which 50 years ago the original owner placed a basketball court and surrounded it with evergreens, which he placed on the easement (7 ft each side of the property line). About 20 years ago the next owner limbed up the trees and put up a privacy fence on the property line, except to the south where it is 7ft inside the line. The current owner never goes to the other side of his south fence to mow or maintain so the south neighbor mows part of it – within 3 or 4 feet of the fence.  This area 4ft by 60 ft has become nothing but:

Solanum dulcamara - Nightshade

Cirsium arvense - Canadian Thistle

Lonicera maacki - Wild Honysuckle

Plantago major - Plantain

He refuses to maintain it so I go out there each year and spray it down with Roundup. This doesn’t solve the problem but reduces how much I end up fighting it in my yard.

Now to the worsening of the problem.  Last fall the electric company came through and cut down all the evergreens and sun is now full on his yard. There is no grass, just Hedera Helix - English Ivy that over time traveled from my north(his west) neighbor and covering anything it could under cover of those trees.  And of course, the Canadian Thistle has filled in throughout the entire yard. They mow it but it will eventually flower anyway. So this 60x60 yard amounts to a cement slab surrounded by 6 or 7 big tree stumps, ivy, and an abundance of thistle. And it’s going to get worse.

I’ve called our neighborhood code enforcement and they did make him cut the thistle from the side of his house near the front, but they can’t push any more than that.  Canadian Thistle is a noxious weed. Can’t people be forced somehow to stop harboring this nuisance?  Can it be reported to the DNR or some other agency?  Any ideas?

Kitty