A devastated homeowner in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, reached out to Reddit for advice after their neighbor bulldozed over their pine trees without their permission.
When the neighbor asked to trim some of the branches, the homeowner agreed to let them trim the trees only — not uproot them. However, the neighbor ignored the homeowner and completely knocked down the specialty pine trees.
After the neighbor knocked the trees down into the power lines, the homeowner asked the neighbor to stop bulldozing on their property. But shortly after, the neighbor turned the bulldozer on again and continued to knock over more trees.
"I even went in between the trees and filmed him actually bulldozing the roots and hitting the trees," the homeowner wrote. "We bought the place because of those trees and the privacy offered."
Since the homeowner was frustrated and heartbroken by the loss of their pines, they asked Redditors in the r/treelaw forum what they could do about the situation.
"The first thing I'd have done is call your police department and file a report against him," one user responded. "Let all the authorities know!"
"Omg take action immediately!" another Redditor suggested. "Be sure your lawyer/attorney is well-versed in environmental damage."
Navigating relations with difficult neighbors can be challenging, especially when others do not respect property lines.
Since trees serve an aesthetic and environmental purpose, they are protected under the law (though the specifics may vary based on jurisdiction and country). Trees can also increase property value by 3-15%, per reports by Arbor Day Foundation.
In Pennsylvania, property owners are entitled to compensation if a trespasser destroys their trees, according to the nonprofit WeConservePA, and Redditors encouraged the devastated homeowner that the law may be on their side.
"Document everything that has happened and everything that does happen, even just writing it down with dates like a journal, and don't leave out anything," one user wrote.
In an update, the original poster shared that their protestations seemingly went unheard and the neighbor began bulldozing once more.
"We'll let the courts talk to him next time," they wrote.
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