retired boomer neighbor mows every 48 hours without fail with a very loud lawn mower and takes an hour and a half to finish minimum, and will follow up with a fuck-ass leaf blower. he is *obsessed*. i can't even see a difference in the height of the grass whenever he cuts it…
this guy's obsession combined with all of the other neighbors keeping up their yard (at more reasonable, but staggered intervals) means that there is not a single day of the week where I can get some fucking peace and quiet in the morning. just constant, irritating drone. definitely can't spend this time outside because it's loud as fuck
probably sound entitled, but whatever. this kind of noise exposure is a literal health hazard
i'm not even particularly noise sensitive but something about the noise from small gas engines pisses me the hell off, with leaf blowers being the absolute worst. (non electric should be straight up illegal)
by SolidCake
39 Comments
You’re mad because your neighbors mow their lawns?
Its a completely under-discussed issue, the noise and gas pollution of small gas engine lawn tools is completely unregulated and incredibly toxic.
I get it, and feel for you.
Not really sure this is an interesting conversation topic, though, unless you’re looking for advice on how to get a ban on gas powered leaf blowers as a local ordinance or advice on how to approach him successfully.
Are you on my street, bc that is also my neighbor. Like. Dude, I have little kids I’m trying to get down for a nap, or bedtime, lwtf?!
I get it. We like to have our windows open and some of our neighbors have their lawn mowed 2-3 times a week. All gas equipment. Basically if it’s not raining, someone around us is mowing. It gets old real quick.
Have you talked to him? I get what you’re saying – loud sounds in general really get me wired and set me on edge. But mowing is also one of those things that’s still defined as acceptable and even compulsory in tons of places, so he may not even realize that it’s aggravating you. Maybe it’s time to say hi and talk about it!
I feel for you. My parents neighbors (3 actually do this) will mow their lawns THREE TIMES A DAY!! I shit you not they will spend about 4-6hrs a day mowing…rain or shine, each. I have seen them dressed like they are going crab fishing to mow the lake that is their lawn during rainstorms. Gonna start wearing a shirt that says “lawns are a mental illness”.
That’s how my grandpa was. My grandparents lived on a very wooded lot, the grass barely grew and was half moss. But he mowed every other day on his ride on mower, literally pitting the ground because there was nothing to cut.
Obsession.
How close are you to your neighbors?
It sounds like you’re in a tight little neighborhood, but also taking an hour and a half to mow a lawn? I’m not understanding the proximity.
I can’t help but feel like it’s either not nearly as big of a deal as you’ve laid out, or you need to consider moving to a more rural area if you believe your health is at risk due to others using lawn equipment…
I understand! I am a bit noise sensitive because of having had several concussions in my life. When I’m outside trying to enjoy a peaceful morning listening to the birds, the neighbors lawnmower makes my skin crawl! At least it’s one time per week. I’m so sorry your neighbor is seemingly causing so much noise unnecessarily! We all have our quirks. A perfect lawn sounds like it may have become their obsession. Maybe it’s one thing this person feels they can control in their life.
My city banned gas powered lawn equipment sales. Which is great! But you can still use them, and buy them somewhere else. Baby steps I guess.
I used to have a neighbor like that. Every day at 4:00 on the dot he’d come out and mow the lawn. Crazy. Sometimes people visiting would leave at about that time and he’d be outside almost before they pulled away. Don’t know if he threw them out or just was antsy as hell so he could get outside to mow.
The leaf blowers really get to me.
Remember Hank Hill once said “why would anyone do drugs when you can just mow a lawn”
We have one of these across the street.
If he’d stop using gas lawn care equipment it wouldn’t be as annoying. The lawn care companies and homeowners doing yardwork throughout the week is a never-ending cacophony during the summer months.
Meanwhile we could probably mow the lawn at midnight without bothering anyone thanks to our electric mower. I should see how far I can hear it running from.
I had neighbors like this. One recently became to old to do it as often.
Funny thing is this is often symptomatic of meth use. You may laugh but older Americans particular white men have had increasing cases of addiction (largely arrest data).
Mowing the lawn religiously is one of those neurotic obsessions that gives it away.
Maybe not your case but should be on people’s radar especially if that neighbor has a history of violence or anger issues. Dangerous mix when the mind starts going.
My boomie neighbor across the street mows (on a riding mower, obviously) his lawn like a carpet—very frequently. He mows it so low that I joke about him “mowing the dust,” since he leaves a giant cloud of it behind him when it’s dry.
The weird thing is, he doesn’t even really weed-eat. I’m no lawn connoisseur, but what’s the point of attempting golf-course-style maintenance on the bulk of the lawn while leaving long, stringy grass on the edges? Not that I mind—it just seems inconsistent. Maybe he’s bored and has nothing else to do.
I get your point, but you cited a study related to noise as a sleep disrupter. If it seriously stresses you out enough during the day, enough for you to be worried about cardiovascular impacts, go put some headphones on and exercise every time he mows!
Reminds me of my dad. The only thing the yard gets used for is mowing. When I still lived at home I’d suggest putting a hammock back there or planting more trees. He didn’t want to do that because then he’d have to mow around it. But boomers will do anything to avoid being with their families. Spending hours mowing every week is a great excuse. We recently bought our first house with a yard. We planted clover because my husband doesn’t want to spend his weekends mowing. He wants to spend that time with us because he actually likes us.
Our neighbor is the same. Out there every day on his riding lawnmower. It’s extremely annoying.
He did come through when we had a hurricane knock down a bunch of trees and block the street. He was out there with a chainsaw before the rain even stopped. His time to shine.
I’ve got the same where I live
I find it funny the most obsessed cut so regularly. It’s generally advised to cut or to let grow at different times of the seasons and depending on your grass type. If they actually cared then they wouldn’t mow every 48hrs and blow away the clippings every time. I can only imagine it goes back to the original intent of the lawn. Having an expanse of cut lawn was a luxury for the elite (17th century or thereabouts) and required meticulous care without a lawn mower. It was a symbol of power and wealth as well as a symbol of man’s mastery over nature. Hubris if you ask me. This guy is mowing for that small feeling over power.
This is just the inverse of people upset with you about how you handle your yard.
It’s their yard, let them do as they please.
All I have to say is I’m glad the newer generations are *mostly* not as lawn obsessed and aware of all the bad things associated with perfect grass lawn obsessions and toxic lawn care habits. I’m surrounded by retired boomers as well, for now..
I recommend noise cancelling headphones. I live alone, but sometimes the street noise gets to me when I’m trying to focus on work or reading, so I pop my headphones in, turn on noise cancelling. It is immediate relief. If it is really loud, I put on some brown noise (spotify has playlists of different noises).
Quote I live by: “How you respond to what happens to you will dictate your entire life.”
We all have to deal with neighbors, but letting them get you this upset does nothing but harm you more. Instead of becoming resentful and wishing they will change, look for solutions that you can control. I hope you can find more peace in your home.
They’ve got this shit figured out in Germany. It’s illegal to mow your lawn on a Sunday. Sounds ridiculous, but it’s actually pretty awesome
I got super lucky last week when all 5 of the adjacent neighbors (diagonal street + alley) had their lawn services there at the same time. It was loud AF but when it was over – ahhhhh.
Half my neighbors have crews that come no matter whether it’s needed or not. I’m the morning you can hear the distant hum of dozens of leaf blowers. I’ve watched a crew of like 5 people do a whole yard that had maybe 10 leaves.
I live in a downtown apartment and sometimes think about moving into a house/the burbs to get away from the noise…but then I think of lawn mower noise and I realize the grass isn’t always greener on the other side 🫠
This reminds me of the guy that does this next to the ferry lines I have to use whenever I leave my island. He’s on the mainland, and his home is right where all the cars wait. Not only does the volume of his lawn mower bother me, he was out there spraying it with his hose, and it was windy, and he hit us twice with water, and acted like he was some saint when we told him to not spray us with his hose. It’s just a little water! He comes so close to my vehicle with his mower, he comes onto the public sidewalk to turn around. He’s so close I could reach out and touch him. I had to roll my windows up yesterday prematurely, and turn my car on to get the air circulation going because it was too hot with the windows closed otherwise. I will be happy when he doesn’t live there anymore, or gets to old to cut his grass.
Same. I have a neighbor thats either mowing or blowing like every day. It doesn’t annoy me, but i find it really lame
Omg I swear my neighbors’ only hobbies are mowing their lawns. Someone is ALWAYS mowing. It drives my dogs nuts.
I kind of feel like my neighbor has to do more yard work because she’s been so critical of our yard. Feels like she’s mowing and weed eating every day almost. Several times a week for sure. I think part of it is that it feels nice to take care of it and it gives them something to do. It’s just a generational difference thing I think with folks who are starting to let things get a little more wild and hold off obsessively grooming.
Every two days is overkill for sure. And why do it first thing in the morning? In my experience, grass wet from morning dew is more difficult to mow. Give it a couple hours to evaporate. And most people are going to mow on the weekend, so why not do it then? Guess he just has to be that person.
Are there noise regulations in your city or county?
If you want to feel better about it, just remember it gets them away from their screens for a bit. Not long. And some listen to junk radio. But at least it’s something.
There’s someone that lives behind us that insists on mowing and weed whacking at 7 am on Saturday’s 😭
We have to immediately close our doors and windows evenings when the mowing is going. It is beyond annoying. One thing I’ve noticed within our cluster of homes, if one goes out the rest follow (I thought this was so weird when I moved in) but now I appreciate that it’s just a lot of noise but reduced to 2ish evenings a week. Half our lawn is gone since moving here !! 🙂