Neighbour dilemma

As well as noise cancelling headphones, I have found another quite unexpected solution.

When I had read the same page in my book 10 times, and still not assimilated it because of the shrieking and noisy neighbour - I found some cheap T K Maxx garden windchimes that were surprisingly effective for my brain to gently re-set and switch off whilst trying to read. They only come out at specific times when the noise is a problem and the sound gently overrides disturbance from next door.

Also had success taking up my own space (in extremis) by playing foreign language clips on you-tube, and fake loud incoming phone calls…..it just gives the message that yes I am in my space as well as you being in yours.

Sounds like a mental illness to be honest. If he's annoying you he MUST BE annoying your other neighbours. Ask them

He has the right to sing, whistle, or do anything else he wants to do in his own property. It is annoying, of course it is but this is one of the down sides to urban living, my neighbour has 6 chickens in her garden, now i have rats in mine but she is legally allowed to have 6 hens. Your neighbour is allowed to whistle. Take a radio into the garden and play heavy metal music while he is whistling., sing off key everytime you see him working in the garden.

Why on earth would you presume someone who uses his garden for his hobbies / projects and is a whistler has a mental health problem Elsi That’s a huge step too far and pretty daft
To my mind
Katush my joined on neighbour has now got three chickens in a tiny cordoned off area in her concrete covered garden. breaks my heart to see the poor things with nowhere to wander or peck but it’s nothing to do with me.

It sounds like he has a habit or a tic. He probably can’t stop whistling and as it’s random noises , maybe doesn’t even realise he’s doing it. Wolf whistle and tv ads! So not just a merry tune.

Can you sing along to his whistling? If my neighbour heard me singing and he understood it was in response to his ‘tunes’ he’d soon stop!😂

Take your radio outside and play some opra very lodly

BlueBelle

Why on earth would you presume someone who uses his garden for his hobbies / projects and is a whistler has a mental health problem Elsi That’s a huge step too far and pretty daft
To my mind
Katush my joined on neighbour has now got three chickens in a tiny cordoned off area in her concrete covered garden. breaks my heart to see the poor things with nowhere to wander or peck but it’s nothing to do with me.

Aww her poor chickens, they need more space than that!

EbbandFlo

Yes, you are correct. Yet I can't help how I feel. My garden is my haven. Maybe that's my problem but some consideration is not an unreasonable ask. I have lived here for nearly 40 years. Hand on heart, never a cross word with any of my lovely neighbours

His garden is his haven too. You don't have special status in that.

However, the main problem is that the man never stops whistling.The repertoire is pheeee-ew, the whistling from the McDonalds advert and often wolf-whistling.

Someone else has suggested that could be a pet mynah bird. Possibly, living in a pen attached to the shed?
If it's the neighbour, then with such a constant, limited, repetitive repertoire, consider the possibility that he has Tourette Syndrome, his involuntary tic is whistling,. and he is NOT doing it deliberately to annoy you.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/tourette-syndrome/

*Symptoms of Tourette syndrome
The main symptom of Tourette syndrome is tics. Tics can involve repetitive sounds (vocal tics) or movements (motor tics) you do not choose to make and cannot control.

Tics involving sounds may include:

whistling <.....>*

Talk to him. Understanding each others problems might make them easier to live with.

I confess I'm rather curious to know what the reason was that prompted you to say "we didn’t get off to a good start as his actions has had a serious affect on my garden".

Could these actions (which you let go) be at the root of your problems?

Is the fence your fence? If so, you're responsible for its upkeep - will it need repairing or replacing soon? What happens then?

I’m in a similar position in terms of not one, but 3 large sheds right up against my garden fence, which the new neighbour constructed before moving in, so no falling-out involved. I try to pretend they don’t exist as the alternative of hostilities between us doesn’t bear thinking about!

If you’ve had an initial falling-out, would it help now if you just started calling out a friendly (but arms-length) greeting? Nice day…” etc. It might lessen his desire to irritate you and ease the tension which might have resulted in the whistling, if that’s what’s going on.
It might just disarm him and restore your ability to enjoy your garden in peace again🤞🏼

Oh her chickens have room, they have a quite large run, its just all the chook feed and scraps encourages rats, but the chooks themselves are quite happy