Poisoning Plants

[may1day]

my neighbours have poisoned my Ivy and Virginia Creeper whilst I have been on holiday, I have reported incident to Police but have heard nothing.
I am sure this must constitute criminal damage.

[Buenchico]

To show that 'criminal damage' applied, you (or the CPS) would have to show that your neighbour either intended to poison your plants or that he acted 'recklessly'.

Further, you'd have to show that the plants weren't simply growing wild on your land (as is often the case with ivy), as such plants can't be subjected to 'criminal damage'.

Lastly, you'd have to show he didn't have a 'lawful excuse' for doing so, such as protecting his own property:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1971/48

In practice, such matters are often better dealt with by civil courts than criminal ones.

[Ringlet]

What did your neighbour poison your plants with? If it was a dangerous substance you might be able to take out a complaint about that.

[EDDIE51]

How do you know they were poisoned? If they were poisoned how do you know it was your neighbour?
To get a conviction for criminal damage you have to be able to PROVE those things after taking account of the points Buenchico made. The police will not be interested so you will have to get the evidence yourself and then try to get them to put a case to the CPS.
In short your chance is zero!

[may1day]

I really don't know what he poisoned them with, but has killed them completely within a week. It's just gob smacking that people can pour dangerous substances into your garden, my grandson plays there and the other neighbours kittens. Such nasty people around these days.

[EDDIE51]

Unless you a saw him do it you can prove nothing. Just for a start you would have to get the dead plants analysed by an expert to prove they really were poisoned. Does he have a motive for killing your plants? Have you spoken to him about it?

[EDDIE51]

Is there more to this than that you came back from holiday and found the dead plants? I still do not see why you are sure that he killed them?

[woofgang]

wow He managed to completely kill ivy?? I would just LOVE to know what he used!

[murraymints]

systemic weedkiller does the job !

[alavahalf]

Anything with plenty of Glyphosate in it will do the trick.

[woofgang]

murray and alavahalf, been there done that and it works but takes considerably more time than a week!!

[tonyav]

Maybe the neighbours got hold of some sodium chlorate from somewhere.

[EDDIE51]

That's what I was thinking, I can't think of anything that could kill Ivy in a week!
may1day are the other plants nearby dead as well?

[may1day]

Theres another evergreen with brown splash marks on, it was a very petite leaf Ivy, its completely dead. it was yellow and green 10 days ago.

[EDDIE51]

Looks like Glyphosate weed killer then, but it must have been applied more than a week before you found it dead.

[cassa333]

Why do you think he did it?

Was the Ivy overhanging his garden and he was fed up dealing with your plants or was it wholly in your garden perhaps in a pot?

[theprof]

Hmm, there are quite a few substances that would do the job for your neighbour. Sodium chlorate is the obvious one if he knew how to obtain it but there are more vicious ones available. Strong mineral acids and bases would do the job not necessarily having to be applied to the foliage. Certain synthetic auxins would kill ivy in under a week as well as many agricultural herbicides. Does your neighbour work somewhere where he would have access to chemicals or herbicides? Any connections with the agricultural industry?

To establish what was used, any suitably equipped laboratory would be able to help you. Leaving out access to academic facilities, a Public Analyst wouldn't take long to detect and name the chemical or herbicide used via Instrumental Methods. They'd need fresh but damaged plant tissue and you'd have to negotiate a price with them. I can recommend a good PA if you wish. Having said that, how you make use of the information is a very different ball game.

[may1day]

It wasn't overhanging his garden or overgrown. At the end of the day, he destroyed something that I enjoyed looking at and seems as though people think it's funny. It was a nasty thing to do and just seems that it's o k to go killing other peoples plants, seems pretty irrelevant what substance killed it.
More of an issue is that he had the right to do it, and I can't do nothing about it.

[EcclesCake]

Where these plants growing on against your house or on a fence/wall?

If they were growing along a fence or wall, who owned it?

[Peter Pedant]

All you have is a few deadplants on your side of which fence it is

Nothing to incriminate your neighbours or that poison was used

I am not sure you have a civil case to be honest


Your neighbours werent good enough to leave a note: " Your plants whilst you are away will DIE DIE DIE !" were they ?

[may1day]

No he never left a note saying DIE DIE DIE but he did open the window in August and cackled a wicked laugh when the wreathes came for my Granddaughters funeral