Trees and Pigeons

We. Have a huge ash tree behind our garden. Seedlings everywhere. If they're allowed bigger than two leaves they are SO hard to get out. We set our youngest DGS and DGD aged 6 and 7 after school last week pulling them up at 1p each. They then counted them in groups of five-an arithmetic lesson too! They earned £1 each and still they come. . . . ,

It really riles me when new houses are built next to or near existing trees, factories etc, then the new owners complain. If they didn't like it, don't buy it.

We have a factory in our village which is our largest employer, I went to a council meeting where a group of home owners wanted the factory closed/moved as it was out of character, they lived in relatively new developments close to the factory. I asked the question, "How long has the factory been there" 127 years was the answer. I rest my case.

We had a very large old horse chestnut in our garden which overhung 3 other gardens, it was there before the houses were built, no on ever complained. In fact neighbors were sad to see it go when it became too dangerous and started dropping huge boughs without warning.

We have a large tree at the bottom of our garden. It's beautiful but our neighbours complained from the day we moved in about leaves on their lawn. The tree was there when the houses were built and they had complained to the previous owners too.

They had a wall of 100ft leylandi at the bottom of their garden BECAUSE they didn't drop leaves. We keep our tree neat and have it cut back every few years. But leaves are leaves.

One year we were going on holiday and they asked my husband if they could trim the overhanging branches ( some 15 ft up) he obviously agreed but said ONLY those that overhang. Our tree trunk is about 12 ft from the boundary fence.

When we returned I went into the garden to find that they had come into our garden ( no other explanation for it due to the distance from the boundary fence) and sheared off one side of our tree, every limb, every branch to the crown so effectively if you think of a child's drawing of a tree and cut it in half vertically that's what we were left with.

I could have cried.

They hid from me for several days and when I did finally get hold of them they said ,' the tree surgeon did it , he must have thought it looked better'. I asked for the tree surgeons name to sue him for trespass and vandalism and they suddenly forgot who he was !!

I think apart from my sadness at spoiling the tree , it's never really recovered on that side , I was furious that they thought me stupid enough to believe them.

They moved several years later having never spoken to me again !

I have a big and very beautiful cherry tree in my back garden I worry that it might come down onto someones garden but other than having it occasionally pruned It seems ok, the leaves are messy though but as they are natural I though no one could do anything about it. Next door has another cherry tree right next to my house and its roots have made my side wall full of cracks, that does worry me, however in the autumn the leaves are mixed from my tree so I think that if anyone doesn't like it they will have to complain to both me and my neighbour, mind if anyone complained I would go around and sweep up,. I don't have pigeons though just a pair of lovely doves who coo all day and sound so lovely.

A friend of mine had a tree in his garden that his neighbour objected to, my friend was not prepared to remove it. He returned from work one evening to find the tree flat on his lawn !!!. Apart from not talking to his neighbour again, there was not much he could do.

If the Ceder is on your land and not on your deeds as protected, you should be able to fell it. Just check with your solicitor.

We have a very large cedar of Atlas which would be lovely in a park but is totally out of proportion in a suburban front garden. Every time we have a storm we worry as the tree would take out our house and next door neighbours if it fell. Currently we are awaiting the results of our appeal as the council said our tree was a "community amenity" and refused permission to fell it. Cedars also suffer from sudden summer branch drop and a fallen branch killed a young woman at Kew a couple of years ago. And don't get me started on the pigeon poo on the pavement and my car! My solution is to go,out at dusk as they roost and clap madly until they fly away. Must look totally barking!

Also, you should be aware of any full preservation orders on threes within your boundary, it will be on your deeds. A subsequent order cannot be made without your knowledge as it has to be added to your deeds.

If there is no order, you can do what you wish with your trees without contacting he council. I wouldn't recommend going out and buying a chain saw though, you might kill someone, probably yourself.

Not only that but bloomin' sycamores exude horrible sticky stuff sometimes. I did thankfully get the local farmer to take down one that was growing over my garden but he made me pay £200 towards it . Hundreds of seedlings growing to take it's place now....vermin of the tree world are sycamores [grrrr]....

Not every one is aware that there are two types of preservation orders on trees. To have a full preservation order a tree has to be rather special, rare, fine specimen, historical. preservation area etc. I have just looked up mu address on the council web site and there are no individual trees preserved within a mile of me, there are 4 areas of woodland that are preserved. If you think you have a preserved tree, go onto your council web site, your will be able to enter your post code and it will show you on a map.

The other type of preservation is applied to new developments where the developer must not remove specific trees, but that only applies to the developer not subsequent owners. In fact developers seem to have accidents on site that means those trees are damaged beyond recovery, all they then have to do is plant replacements. A very recent development behind our house had about 10 trees marked for keeping, every one was eventually damaged.

The absolute bane of my life is the enormous sycamore tree in the next door but one garden. Next door have a big garage at the end of their garden. The sun comes in the other side of my garden so it's not the lack of sunlight that is the problem but the fact that every year we get all the seeds. The wind tends to blow them our way and the garage roof next door just funnels more seeds down to our garden.

I have had to pave the top of the garden and I literally have spent most of April this year on my knees searching out seedlings before they get too big and become difficult to move. The damn things hide under the hellebores etc. I've even found them flourishing in hanging baskets.

Doesn't sound like a major problem, but the tree is getting bigger each year and more prolific and my knees aren't getting any younger. At least the pigeons in the tree don't poo on my garden. I guess I should be thankful for small mercies.

No joy on the TPO Newquay When we moved here ten years ago there was another tree close by which also had a TPO. It was in actual fact four trees planted two foot apart! Macrocarpa! They'd already reached 70+ feet and have left the pine lopsided. Despite a letter of support from the town council our request to take them down was refused. We got permission on appeal.

We quite like the pine - just not the pigeons!

We had two huge poplars in our garden when we moved in both with preservation orders on them. Over the years we had them lopped several times but had to get planning permission each time. The leaves were such a nuisance and started dropping almost as soon as they appeared. We eventually applied to have them taken down 3 years ago and when they were chopped down the son of the guy doing them could stand up in the middle of the trunks which were completely hollow and dead. The wood took up the entire garden and had to be taken away in two loads with a tractor and trailer. However although the leaves have mostly gone now (we still get some blown in from neighbours) we are still plagued with pigeon and bird poo in general. The guy over the road feeds the birds all the time so they are all over the place and neighbour had high conifer hedge so I suppose they nest in there as well as in my wisteria. The new neighbours on the other side have just installed a pigeon loft - to be fair so far the birds have not been let out of it and I quite like the constant cooing noise but really hoping it doesn't put prospective buyers off when they see it!

Don't get me started on pigeons-absolute pest! And those -stupid- people who feed them, well, mercifully, words fail me!
We have a lovely (well trimmed) copper beech and maple tree in our garden and we regularly have pigeons trying it on-DH says there's more sex going on in our garden than ever goes on in house?
We have a long clothes prop which we shove up into the trees-they def don't like it up 'em!
I think the hose pipe is the way to go-am surprised you can't get scots pine dealt with,
Nfk, have you enrolled the help of your local councillor if it's that bad? And consult a tree surgeon too to see what they suggest? Even with a TPO work can be done.

I am not alone, that helps, I am going to get a hose, I like that idea, I will be known as that mad woman who hoses her garden at night, but if it works who cares,

We have a very large Scots pine near to the house overhanging the drive (Preservation Order on it and not a hope in Hell of getting it loped let alone removed). It's a beautiful tree but in the wrong place. The birds love it. Especially pigeons, so parking under it is definitely out and as it grows we're running out of usable drive. We've found a solution to overnight roosting though. DH goes out just as it's getting really dark with the hose with a jet end on it. They don't like it up 'em they don't! After a couple of nights they take the hint and roost elsewhere. After several months we're just starting to have droppings on the drive again so he needs to go out with the hose again!

Seems pigeon poo is quite a common problem. Has anyone got any suggestions as to how to dissuade the pigeons and thus their droppings? My daughter's lawn is covered in the stuff and so not very pleasant for DGS and DGD to play on.

We have 2 massive oak trees in the garden on one side of us. When the leaves fall in Autumn our drive and garden can be knee deep. I only bother to clear the drive using a snow shovel and put them in the garden recycle bin. They are lovely old trees and I would be sorry to see them go.

On the other side we have a lady who is into feeding the birds on an industrial scale. In summer we have pigeon poo liberally splattered down our patio doors and in winter the gulls take over. It is like a scene from Hitchcocks The Birds. I have tried to ask her nicely if she could possibly not feed them so much as it is a problem. It also encourages rats. The thing is other than that she is the ideal neighbour, she is very quiet and keeps to herself. So yes, I feel your pain, as they say.

GandTea.. don't forget I have trees.. ha ha!

Perhaps if you sunbath in the buff when he is cutting his hedge there may be a blip in his prefect straight line.

By the way their garden in the size of a football pitch. Nobody encroaches on their land. When they cut their hedge he uses a spirit level. We always have a good giggle about that.. and he sunbathes in the middle of the garden wearing speedos. It is hilarious to spy on

SMILE

I just felt as if someone had walked onto my grave here..........

I have a beautiful garden. It has taken me years to get it to the way I want it. When I bought the house there were many trees which had to be taken down, and the stumps ground out, but we left three which we get cut back hard, leave a year and then cut back again.

My next door neighbour has a pristine lawn. His garden is all lawn with a couple of raised beds. They are not keen on flowers.

I cringe if one leaf goes over the edge, but I don't live my life for them. I'll collect the leaves up and trim the tree when it gets out of hand. can't and won't do any more than that. I know they would prefer that I had the trees chopped down, but I won't.

They even offered to prune another neighbour's tree because it interfered with the path of the sun. She's a single mum who works full time and agreed. I don't know what on earth they did to that tree but it died and is now a huge eyesore of a trunk sticking up.

If a branch is intruding in your garden chop it off. You are supposed to hand it back since it belongs to the owner, but that's asking for trouble IMHO

When I saw this thread, I though it was about talking to trees and pigeons. I talk to or trees as they have fairies living in them and I always talk to pigeons, it would break forum rules for me to say what I say.

Back on subject, I treat my neighbours large and over hanging trees as though they were in my extended garden and work with them, too many large trees are felled just because they are in the way.

Do you talk to them? We offered to have an awful tree chopped down next door which was giving us problems
Spured them to lop and chop the rest.

dont know if this will help..

www.problemneighbours.co.uk/rights-trees-and-overhanging-branches.html