small claims court probably will cover most of your damages at least to satisfaction, 10k limit. Which is not costly.
If he doesnt know what he sprayed ask him if he’ll show you the bottle.
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I’m so sorry this happened and you are dealing with such an unkind person. As a suggestion, you might want to focus on your medical symptoms (and I would exaggerate) to try asking again to see the product used saying you need it for your doctors. he doesn’t sound like the kind of neighbor who’s going to give a crap about your plants dying, but if he has any decency in him, he should care about you being sick.
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Sorry Tammy
There’s a good chance his answer was valid, vinegar sprayed on most plant has an immediate affect due to its astringency, if he added soap or a suffactant, then it’s more powerful. It may be too late to help your plants, but I would try using a forceful water stream to wash off the chemical. If you had done that immediately before plants started to wilt, it would have helped more, maybe even now it could save some, start with your most precious ones.
Dennis
Kent, Wa
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If it was 2,4d that got on them the best thing you can do is to prune everything, especially any new rapid growth.
It probably has 2,4d if he is going around spraying his grass, but if it was 2,4d it wouldn’t make any yellowing after just one day, no matter the dosage. It could make the leaves all droop though on the day sprayed.
If you can get a picture of the container to see if it is saying brush killer (if it’s that you might be having a lot of problems) or weed killer for grass yards (if it is that it probably is unlikely you’ll lose any tree). The pictures of the pawpaws don’t make me think herbicide damage, but some of the other leaves could be, but not a 2,4d or glyphosate damage from what was sprayed a day ago.
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I’m not buying the story for a second that he doesn’t know what he sprayed. Total BS. He might not know the chemical name, 2-4-D. or Tryclopyr, or whatever, but he knows where he bought it from and the advertised name on the bottle.
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So im out looking at the damage and taking time looking My neighbor came over and told me he is so sorry for the damage he didnt know . but his son who made it up for him does and will be out to help me work with my plants, after that i thanked him because he apologized on his own and that ment alot to me . then my phone rang , it was the mane who trimmed up my tree yesterday with the billing for me told me about 3000.00 and i said ok but when he called me he said Tammy your bill is paid in full . WTF he took off 55 feet of limbs and my bill is paid i told him he must have the wrong client he just did my tree yesterday and he said no stan came in and paid it so that if you needed to replace any of your trees ou can, im sitting here just numb in a way and not knowing what to do
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Sounds like you may have a neighbor who cares. If so, do your best to work with him and get him on your side.
From the description, it was a broad leaf herbicide which tends to leave grass undamaged. Is your grass showing any damage?
If I had to guess, he may be spraying with crossbow which is a mix of 3 different herbicides. It is particularly effective on broad-leaf plants and woody perennials, but it is volatile and can drift a long way. Other possibilities are something in the 2-4-D amine group or possibly dicamba. Dicamba in particular is known for drifting a long way, as much as 5 miles has been documented.
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I hate people like this, they don’t care about anyone but themselves.
see thats what had me he doesnt seem like that kinda person , i never said he was . but i am still broken hearted and stan is trying to make it right . he told me he always lived in apartment buildings towers so on so forth and this is his first home with a yard , this i did not know until this am , i believe he is sorry and he said he wanted me to teach him the organic stuff . and help him learn so i will . he just retired at 67 yrs old . i do not think he is a bad man and i apologized for thinking he was lying to me about not knowing, could be his Son bought him the spray stuff and the whole 9 yards to get rid of those round things that grow low on the ground his yard is Full of them i think they are called Tackle burs ?
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i do not think he is a bad man and i apologized for thinking he was lying to me about not knowing, could be his Son bought him the spray stuff and the whole 9 yards to get rid of those round things that grow low on the ground his yard is Full of them i think they are called Tackle burs ?
hey in the end you dont know what you dont know, hes making it right and thats what matters
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The first step seems to be to flie a complaint with the DEC in your state. .
I don’t care how old he is, how can he not know what he sprayed- did he use it all up?
However, if you are confident he’s sincere it is infinately better to be on good terms with a close neighbor than to be at war.
I wrote that last sentence after reading your last comment.
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I mean initially making claims that seem pretty obvious lies is not ok, but being a new neighbor he likely also doesn’t know what to expect from you and might have been just a impulsive defensive reaction on his part…
There’s something to actions speaking louder than words though, and if he’s taking responsibility to the point of paying for that treework without you even suggesting it to try to take accountability of his actions, and seems genuinely interested in learning from the experience and working with you to avoid future issues… sounds like might be a good neighbor to have in the long term despite the lousy initial impression to me.
This day and age I would be surprised for a basic stranger to so relatively quickly own up to a mistake like this (sadly I have become cynical the older I get). Here’s hoping this is the rocky start to an eventual good relationship with the new neighbor for you.
(Hoping the damage is not major and doesn’t claim any of your trees completely as a result though as it really really sucks you are in this situation)
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I agree with him.
You should go get tested for herbicide and pesticide in your blood and sue him. That’s criminal, but I’m not sure you have enough evidence to prove criminal actions, but you may, especially if you have text conversations about it.
Ah, that makes sense. That doesn’t change the fact what he did already happened.
But at the end of the day, you’re better off on friendly terms with your neighbors.
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Doesn’t generally cause blistering of lips and isn’t used as a lawn herbicide, unless you are killing the lawn.
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Well that is good to hear and it’s nice that you’re trying to take the high road. I hope he is being honest and that it’s a legitimate effort on his part.
I hope your spreading the love will work, the tough approach is not always needed and it’s nice when you can have neighbors that are neighborly.
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You didn’t let your anger get the best of you and used diplomacy. You have every right to feel like you do. Like you said, he is likely a very nice man, just a misunderstanding. I hope for both of you that you can work through it. We all have been through this. I have even put myself through it.
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Yes. Wasn’t clear to me that he was spraying his lawn.
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Stan is trying to make amends, which is wonderful to see. I know it doesn’t help your plants, but I hope it helps your heart.
Also good to hear Stan is interested in learning how to better care for his property and be responsible for the effects of what he uses. So many (too many!) of us grew up in an age when “the miracle of modern chemistry” was touted as the solution to all problems, and pesticides/herbicides were used as a matter of course, without understanding that these are SERIOUS chemicals with consequences.
Sounds like you have a pretty amazing property, and a neighbour who is open to learning. Hope you can proceed together – although personally, I’d still occasionally let Stan know, in a friendly way, that if he does it again, I’ll kill him with my bare hands.
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