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Neighbor a nuisance? Put them in their place with these tips
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Whether you’re a homeowner or you’re just renting, you don’t want to make an enemy of your neighbor, but if you’re unfortunate enough to live next-door to someone who’s disrespectful, entitled, or intrusive, there are ways to respond to their behavior that might show them the error of their ways. We don’t encourage petty revenge, but if you want to give your neighbor a (harmless) taste of their own medicine, keep reading: we’ve compiled a list of the best ways to not-so-subtly hint to your next-door neighbor that they ought to keep on their toes…
Things You Should Know
- You can annoy your neighbor by mowing your lawn or hanging up windchimes.
- Prank them by signing them up for junk mail or having pizzas delivered to their door that they didn't order.
- If you live in an apartment, annoy them by cooking really pungent food, like garlicky pizza, or by playing your TV a little too loud.
Steps
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Mow your lawn early and often. Mowing your lawn is every homeowner’s right. If you want to mow your lawn at the crack of dawn, even on a Saturday or Sunday morning, who has the power to stop you? Certainly not your neighbor. If they ask you to cut out the noise or mow your lawn at a later hour, just explain that you don’t have time to mow your lawn during more traditional lawn-mowing hours.
- This is a perfect trick because your neighbor can’t argue that you’re being noisy just to be annoying because it’s part of a chore.
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Get as many windchimes as you can. Windchimes make pretty sounds, but more than one can get irritating pretty fast. After hanging them 2 or 3 windchimes , all you have to do is wait for the wind to do its thing, and it’s sure to grab your neighbor’s attention. [1] X Research source
- Windchimes are outlawed in some communities — look into the regulations in yours before hanging them up.
- Keep in mind that while you might want to target a specific annoying neighbor, making lots of noise will likely make enemies of all your neighbors.
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Throw a garden party. Everyone loves a garden party, except for the person next-door. Pick a gorgeous, warm evening and invite 50 of your closest friends over for an outdoor soiree. Set up a bar, croquet, or a variety of other games, and many chairs for your guests to sit and mingle in. Your neighbor will likely be annoyed by the noise—then again, you’ll probably be having too good a time to care about getting petty revenge on them.
- Of course, just remember to be loud within reason. Your neighbors may call the cops on you to make a noise complaint, and you don’t want to deal with that kind of trouble.
- If you wanted to be the mature one here, consider throwing a garden party—and inviting your annoying neighbor. They may appreciate being included, and they may act nicer to you in the future.
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Sing in your yard. Do you think you’re the next Aretha Franklin or Elvis? Even if you can’t carry a tune in a bucket, you never really know until you try, and what better place to test your singing prowess than your own yard?
- For a double whammy, you can even sing as you do loud yardwork or as you’re setting up your lawnmower in the early morning.
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Blast your music. Music is a great way to unite people and to bridge differences as well as a perfect way to annoy your neighbors. Play your music on your porch, blasting from your car, or out your open bedroom window. Going for super loud can help annoy your neighbor, as can playing incredibly annoying or repetitive pop songs that are likely to get in people’s heads.
- You can ignore your neighbor if they ask you to turn it down, but keep in mind that if it’s too loud, they may call the police on you.
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Let your dog bark. If you have a dog who likes to express themselves, let them outside late at night or early in the morning to sing their song. Since dogs aren’t humans, your neighbor will be less likely to make a complaint, but they’re almost guaranteed to be irked.
- If your neighbor objects, you can say, “Dogs bark. What’s the issue?”
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Set up a basketball hoop in your driveway and play often. Another great way to make some attention-getting noise is to set up a basketball hoop in your driveway and to play as often as you can. Bonus: it’s also a great form of exercise!
- If your neighbor asks you to tone it down, you can say something like, “I’m trying to stay fit!”
- Consider inviting over a handful of loud friends to play a pickup game.
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Sign them up for lots of junk mail. Signing your neighbor up for junk mail is the perfect prank, whether you’re signing him or her up online, or just filling out papers in local grocery stores or pharmacies. Just make sure that your neighbor doesn’t know where all of this junk mail is coming from. [2] X Research source
- The more random the junk mail, the better. For instance, get junk mail from pet stores even if your neighbor has no pets, or junk mail for random fishing or hunting equipment when they don’t hunt or fish.
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Order pizza to your neighbor's front door. Call up your local pizza parlor and order a few large pizzas to your neighbor’s front door and wait for the goods to arrive. Your neighbor will be oblivious and annoyed. You can even order the pizza to the front door when you’re out of the house, so your neighbor has less reason to suspect you.
- Just make sure the pizza place can’t trace your number or call you back when they see that there’s been some confusion.
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Tell solicitors that your neighbor loves their cause. If some solicitors come to your door, tell them that while you’re not interested, your neighbor is a big supporter of their cause, whatever the cause may be. Tell them not to waste any more time with you and to get to talking to your neighbor as soon as possible.
- Say something like, “Jimmy next door absolutely loves your cause. He goes on and on about how much money he’d like to contribute to you guys.”
- Fair warning, though, the solicitor may tell your neighbor you sent them over there.
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Hang out in your yard in your bathing suit. If your neighbor’s the prudish type, then put on your bathing suit even if you have no plans to go swimming. You have the right to wear whatever you want in your front yard. Wear your suit when you’re just hanging out on your porch, when you’re doing yard work, or when you’re playing basketball in your driveway. It’ll embarrass your neighbor to tell you to put some clothes on—plus, you might get a nice tan.
- If your neighbor has people coming over, make a point of walking out to the front of your lawn, giving them a big hello, and even trying to chat up the neighbor’s guests, without showing any sign of modesty.
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Take your neighbor’s parking spot. If you live in an apartment building with assigned parking, then one of the most annoying things you can do is to snatch up your neighbor’s parking spot. This will be incredibly annoying, especially if there are few parking spots available and they’ll have to walk pretty far after parking in an available spot on the street. Though your neighbor will know it’s you, this trick can really be annoying, especially if you act completely oblivious. Of course, this will work best if your spot has been taken, too. [3] X Research source
- If you have adjoining spots, you can be extra annoying by parking a foot or two into your neighbor’s spot so you can take up both spots.
- Just be careful doing this in case your neighbor calls your apartment manager or, worse, has your car towed.
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Play racquetball or tennis against your adjoining wall. If you live next door to your neighbor and they won’t stop bugging you, then it’s time to channel your inner Rafael Nadal. Get out your tennis or racquetball racket, and spend some time volleying against the wall.
- Make sure you do this when you know your neighbor is home, and that you’re very persistent and consistent.
- If they complain to your apartment manager, stop: too many complaints to your apartment manager or landlord could get you evicted.
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Cook fragrant foods. If you live very close to your neighbor and they can easily smell whatever it is you’re cooking, then you can make a point of cooking fragrant foods to really get their attention. Cook delicious garlicky pasta or other really intense-smelling food, making sure to open your windows so your neighbor can really get a whiff of what you’re up to. Bonus: you get a scrumptious meal out of it!
- The downside, of course, is that you too will have to absorb this intense aroma as well. You can minimize the damage by playing chef right before you step out for a few hours.
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Leave your clothes in the shared washing machines. One of the biggest pet peeves of people in an apartment building is when one of the residents carelessly leaves their clothes in the washer or drying, keeping them from doing their laundry. If you share a washing machine or dryer, leave your load in a little longer than usual next time you do laundry; your neighbor will be annoyed to have marched all the way to the laundry room only to be prevented from actually doing any laundry.
- Before pulling this trick, know they might move your clothes themselves, so make sure you’re comfortable with that.
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Watch your TV at a high volume. Another classic way to annoy your neighbor is to watch your television as loudly as possible. Play an old movie you love and loudly recite the lines along with the actors, or watch TV late at night, making sure to laugh as loudly as you can.
- If you watch your TV loudly, they may turn their own TV up loud so they can hear it, so be prepared for a taste of your own medicine.
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Knock on their door at weird hours asking to borrow stuff. You can knock on the door at seven in the morning asking if your neighbor has any chocolate chip cookie dough. Or you can knock on the door late in the evening, asking if your neighbor has any bacon you can make. Don’t let your neighbor see that you’re just messing around and make it feel as if you really, really want and need these items.
- When your neighbor looks confused, say something like, “You really don’t have any bacon? That’s weird.”
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Community Q&A
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QuestionCan I throw waffles at someone's house to annoy them?Community AnswerWaffles are are a relatively expensive choice for this use. Also, it is illegal to throw things directly at your neighbor's house, but you could bend the law and throw them on his lawn instead. This would be especially annoying as it would attract the local scavenging animals. Just make sure your neighbor doesn't see you or he might make you clean up the mess.
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QuestionWhat if I can't get my neighbor to crack?Community AnswerThen you're not trying hard enough. Do all the steps combined several times a day.
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QuestionCan I record activity outside of my home with security cameras?Community AnswerYes.
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Tips
- If you want to annoy your neighbor to get back at them for annoying you, keep in mind that pranking or irritating them could just make your relationship worse. They may feel compelled to retaliate against you , and the war could just escalate from there.Thanks
- Instead of pranking or annoying your neighbor, considering trying to find some common ground with them. You may be able to build a better relationship.Thanks
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Warnings
- Be aware that annoying your neighbor could result in a worse relationship with not only them, but all your neighbors.Thanks
- While none of these activities are illegal, that doesn't mean they're necessarily smart, especially if you live in an apartment building where being a disruptive tenant could get you evicted.Thanks
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References
About This Article
Article Summary
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To annoy your neighbor, try being loud by mowing your lawn early in the morning, or blasting music from your porch or bedroom window. If you live in an apartment building, turn up the volume on your TV, especially late at night. You can also try cooking with strong-smelling ingredients, like garlic and curry powder, if you very close to your neighbor. Alternatively, ask to borrow things by knocking on their door early in the morning or late in the evening. For more advice, including how to annoy your neighbor with pranks, keep reading.
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Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 667,914 times.
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