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raphillips67

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I moved into my house in the suburbs of Myrtle Beach, SC almost five years ago and really have enjoyed the milder winters, but several times over the past 4 years I have had one particular shrub die off unexpectedly. At first I did not think too much of it, until I caught a neighbor at the edge of my yard with a gallon bottle of Round Up  with a sprayer wand. I confronted him and asked what he was doing and he made a lame excuse that he was spraying for weeds in his front yard. He left  quickly and went back into his house. He passed away two years ago and I thought it was over. Wrong, although I have helped his widow many times in the past two years, I just had another one of my Confederate Roses' sprayed and it died on only 2 days. just two days prior I pushed a riding mower into the neighbors' garage and notice she had 7 gallons of Round Up. I had Romain lettuce and broccoli die earlier this year and I am now afraid to grow vegetables in my yard for fear of being poisoned. Can anyone direct me to someone who can analyze the leaves for herbicides? Police tell me they need  evidence first, before they can act. 

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1 hour ago, raphillips67 said:

several times over the past 4 years I have had one particular shrub die off unexpectedly....

I just had another one of my Confederate Roses' sprayed and it died on only 2 days.... 

Is the "particular shrub" in the first sentence the "Confederate Roses" mentioned in the second? 

1 hour ago, raphillips67 said:

I had Romain lettuce and broccoli die earlier this year and I am now afraid to grow vegetables in my yard for fear of being poisoned. 

How close is your vegetable garden to the widow's yard? 

1 hour ago, raphillips67 said:

I have helped his widow many times in the past two years

Have you talked to her about how you feel about RoundUp? There are a lot of alternatives, but some folks just don't know about them, or they've been told over and over that RoundUp is safe. This could be an informative confrontation for both of you. 

She lost her husband, so perhaps you can ask about how things are going for her, and mention that you'd talked to her husband about using chemical pesticides near your roses, and how sensitive they are to it. I really hope she's a reasonable person who can see how badly a compromise is needed in this situation.

If she doesn't respond to "neighborly", I think iNow's suggestion is best. You can't get any help from state or federal agencies, since they only regulate what gets sold at market. You could use a private lab that does chemical testing to look for traces in your vegetables (about the same cost as the motion camera), but that won't point the finger at where the RoundUp came from. Catch them in the act and present the evidence to local authorities. The normal applicable laws are Trespass, since the chemicals  traveled from another yard to yours, and Nuisance if you think you or your pets are being harmed. There may be specific local laws about the misapplication of pesticides. The police may want the private lab test results showing traces in your vegetables if you decide to pursue charges.

 

 

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Adding to Phi: Ask her what she's using RoundUp for and suggest an alternative chemical or method. I would be inclined to help her find a solution to her gardening problem before going the confrontational, negative route. I suspect she is using the only method she knows, as practiced by her late husband... I doubt it's a conspiracy. She's got seven gallons of the stuff to use up in her mind, probably.. All it may need is a more selective type of herbicide. RoundUp (glyphosphate) is a kill-all systemic herbicide. I've only had to use it once to kill a lilac (syringa) stump. I generally use liquid weedkillers that are for lawns on most things, even if the weeds aren't in my lawn. Glyphospate is the nuclear option in my opinion when alternatives aren't available and should be used as little as possible.

Edited by StringJunky
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The spraying is NOT accidental. This last shrub is over 40 feet from the property line. The her apparent reasoning is two fold (1) she told me that she purchased the shrubs for the previous tenet, who passed away before I bought the house.(2) about a year after her husband passed, she asked me about going to dinners and spending time together, I told her that I already had a lady friend. That's when the spraying started again. 

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1 hour ago, raphillips67 said:

(1) she told me that she purchased the shrubs for the previous tenet, who passed away before I bought the house.

So she has the right to kill them?! Sorry, no. Trespass. Nuisance. 

1 hour ago, raphillips67 said:

(2) about a year after her husband passed, she asked me about going to dinners and spending time together, I told her that I already had a lady friend. That's when the spraying started again. 

Get that camera set up.

Or you can tell her that, if another plant of yours dies mysteriously, you'll turn over the camera footage you already have of her to the police. If you're positive she did it, it could be an effective bluff. 

How certain can I be that you didn't do anything to rile this woman up? Sounds like a LOT of vindictiveness for just turning down dinner. Her husband was poisoning your plants, the wife doesn't want you to have the shrubs she gave the former neighbor, she's killing new bushes you've planted to replace them, and you even suspect she might be poisoning your vegetables. 

Still, if you're concerned, call a local laboratory that does chemical testing. Most are set up for drug and alcohol screening, but you should be able to find one of those who can test specifically for RoundUp from a sample (which will typically be destroyed in the process).

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1 hour ago, raphillips67 said:

I have called three laboratories this week, one has already responded they can do such testing and what the fee would be. ($780). I intend to peruse this avenue. 

That would only prove they had it on them, not that she sprayed them.

Please look into cameras and consider mundane explanations. You and Phymatotrichopsis omnivora enjoy the milder winters. It causing rapid wilting and death might easily be mistaken for Roundup at first glance.

Honestly I would probably just stop planting hibiscus there and a call it day.

Edited by Endy0816
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8 hours ago, raphillips67 said:

I have called three laboratories this week, one has already responded they can do such testing and what the fee would be. ($780). I intend to peruse this avenue. 

That sounds unreasonable, like the charge for a more broad spectrum test than you really need. It's a single, widely known pesticide! 

Did you check your local laws on pesticide application? City authorities (other than police) may have a better avenue.

As Endy0816 mentioned, even if your veg tests positive for glyphosphate, the widow having a bunch in her garage isn't a strong chain of evidence. You have other neighbors, right? You need a way to find out if someone really is trespassing, and if so, who that someone is. 

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13 hours ago, raphillips67 said:

I have called three laboratories this week, one has already responded they can do such testing and what the fee would be. ($780). I intend to peruse this avenue. 

Her lawyer will say you sprayed them.

 

How will you prove that you didn't?

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To all I have already purchased four cameras (2) indoor (2) outdoor form Vimtag. Two of them are already in service, one is discreetly hidden to view the shrub in question. I plan to pursue this no matter what the cost, my property is my kingdom, no one has the right to damage any part of it in any way.   

Edited by raphillips67
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45 minutes ago, raphillips67 said:

To all I have already purchased four cameras (2) indoor (2) outdoor form Vimtag. Two of them are already in service, one is discreetly hidden to view the shrub in question. I plan to pursue this no matter what the cost, my property is my kingdom, no one has the right to damage any part of it in any way.   

"Aye, aye! and I'll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn, and round the Norway Maelstrom, and round perdition's flames before I give him up!" -- Capt. Ahab

 

Just be careful. "No matter what the cost" seems extreme. We're talking about rose bushes, and you sound like you're ready to install mines. This is your neighbor!

I understand about neighbors. In all the homes I've lived in, we've never had a next-door neighbor move away, except the home to the east of me now, and THAT home has changed hands four times in 20 years. And each neighbor who lived there was a hassle. One put an extra driveway in right on the property line without informing me (and got cement dust on my lawn). Another had a dog that wouldn't EVER stop barking if I was in my back yard. The newest one put in a new fence that doesn't match the old one, and they didn't bother to have it oiled, and now the wife is complaining that our sprinklers are leaving water stains on it (duh, that's what weathered cedar is, sunbleach and water stains). The point is, you don't need a horrible relationship right next door. You need those folks to have your back in case something happens. You don't have to like your neighbors, but you shouldn't be at war with them either.

I looked back through what you've written, and I couldn't find a mention of confronting the widow directly. You mentioned she said she bought the shrubs for a previous tenant, but you don't say if you asked her if she did something to them. Before you gear up too much more, have you asked her if she's coming onto your property with pesticides?

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