A Couple’s Interaction With Wild Ducks Could Cause Them To Lose Their Home

The Rowes were approaching retirement age when they first took an interest in the bungalow. It wouldn’t be long before that day came, so they had to think carefully about the type of dwelling they purchased. They needed to consider how comfortable it would be once they were no longer working and were spending more time at home.

That’s why the bungalow was so appealing to the Rowes. With its view of a small, duck-filled river, it seemed like it would be a tranquil and relaxing place to live. The pair could vividly imagine waking up here, sipping a cup of Joe, and just staring out upon this relaxing scene.

It would be a well-deserved slice of peace and quiet for George and Kathleen. After all, they’d experienced some hard times of late. The couple had recently lost their daughter, and now they were trying to adjust. A new home, perhaps, could offer the chance for a fresh start.

The Rowes bought the bungalow, and for a while it seemed as though life was returning to some semblance of happy normality. Their dream of sitting on the porch and watching the ducks waddle along the edge of the river had become a reality. But this pleasant situation would, over the course of the next decade or so, become a nightmare.

The Bridgeland community prides itself on its connection to nature. It’s a planned district, built upon the edges of streams and lakes. Its vicinity to these bodies of water and the nature which inhabits them is a big part of the area’s appeal. Who wouldn’t want to see these things from the comfort of their homes?

According to a website dedicated to Bridgeland, approximately 500 acres in the neighborhood consist of rivers and lakes. These waterways are to be enjoyed by the residents, who can do a little fishing or canoeing, should they so desire. The website also encourages people to observe the birds that frequent the area.

These were all qualities that surely appealed to Kathleen and George — they were looking for somewhere pleasant and relaxing, after all. With all its waterways and lakes, Bridgeland seemed like the perfect place for the pair. And all the little ducks that also lived there were just the cherry on top.

Things started out just fine for the Rowes. Initially, they just sat back on their porch and looked out upon the river in front of their home. They drank their coffee and admired the ducks. It was peaceful and calm. Nobody could have predicted the grim turn events would take.

One day, Kathleen was looking out on the river when she noticed something a little odd. One of the ducks in front of the bungalow stood out from the others — and Kathleen thought she knew why. This duck, she believed, had once been domesticated. It hadn’t grown up in the wild.

Sadly, this sort of bleak situation isn’t uncommon. People have been known to purchase ducklings, particularly at certain points of the year such as Easter. Unfortunately, these people often underestimate how much work raising these little birds can actually be. So they opt to release them into the water and let them fend for themselves.

That can be a huge problem for these birds — and it’s not particularly difficult to understand why. Before being “liberated” into the wild, these creatures had been raised by human beings. In other words, they just don’t know how to look after themselves in the wild. The results can be tragic.

So, lacking in the fundamental skills they need to survive in the wild, what do these freshly freed ducks do? Well, they do the only thing they know — they look to humans for help. They search people out, leaving rivers and exploring nearby neighborhoods. If they encounter humans, they’ll beg to be fed.

Kathleen was more than aware of this situation. She knew perfectly well that the unusual-looking duck in the group in front of her house had probably been domesticated during the early days of its life. If she didn’t take it upon herself to feed the creature, who knows what would become of it?

Feeding ducks, though, can be a perilous activity. Even though it’s really common for people to do it, it turns out it can be really bad for the birds. For example, bread doesn’t offer ducks an appropriate level of nutrition, meaning their health can be really badly affected by it. Despite people’s good intentions, real harm can come of it.

That’s not the only issue, though. Even if people opt to feed ducks with appropriate, healthy food, problems can still emerge. The birds can get used to these feeding sessions, meaning they begin to loiter around these areas in expectation of food. Worse, if they’re feeling adventurous, they might venture onto people’s property.

Once ducks start venturing into people’s gardens, they can leave quite a bit of damage in their wake. And this, obviously, can cause a great deal of disgruntlement. Richard Gibbons works with charity the American Bird Conservancy. He told the Houston Chronicle newspaper, “It is a recurring and complex story that so many communities must work through.”

Some communities, unfortunately, have been known to react very badly indeed to hungry ducks messing up their spaces. While some people are perfectly happy to leave out food for the creatures, others actively pursue violence against them. Upsettingly, in some instances ducks have been attacked and harmed.

Things, thankfully, haven’t necessarily escalated to such an extreme extent over in Bridgeland. Having said that, the story has taken a very nasty turn all the same. Kathleen and George have been giving the ducks in front of their home some food — and now they’re facing hefty court action because of it.

The homeowners association of the area is responsible for the lawsuit. It says the Rowes have broken rules by feeding the animals, and it wants to bring an end to the situation. It’s asking the courts to ban the couple from giving the birds food, and is demanding compensation: a sum which could go as high as $250,000.

The Rowes obviously don’t have that sort of money going spare. So, the situation has left them with no choice. They’ve had to put their bungalow — a place they’d bought only around ten years ago — on the market. As Kathleen explained to the Houston Chronicle, “We didn’t have the $250,000, so we have to be prepared in case that’s what it’s going to cost.”

Kathleen and George are facing the very real prospect of losing their home, and all because they didn’t want to see some ducks go hungry. As Kathleen explained, “[The ducks have] never had a mother. I feel like I’m just stepping in.” And for that she is paying a heavy price.

Kathleen and George have been forced to hire an attorney to help them out with this case. Their legal representative, Richard Weaver, is arguing that the couple haven’t done anything wrong. As he put it, “There is nothing in the community rules that would prohibit a person from feeding the ducks.”

The homeowners association, on the other hand, understands things very differently. Its members believe the Rowes’ actions have led to the community becoming unclean, which is against the rules. Disturbing other residents and interfering with the area’s flora and fauna are also prohibited. Viewed this way, there’s an argument to be made that the couple have breached regulations.

This situation has become really extreme for all involved, especially for the Rowes. They stand to lose their home over all this, yet despite it all they still insist on feeding the ducks. And they’re perfectly open about that fact: they did it right in front of a reporter telling their story.

The Houston Chronicle has described a scene where Kathleen — who was donning a dress bearing the words “Life is a hoot” at the time — called out to a group of birds waddling around in front of her home. “Stop, stop!” she yelled to them. “I’ll come over to you! You’re hungry, I know.”

Kathleen then tossed some corn to the four birds — one of whom she’d decided to name Tangled, after she’d freed it from some wire it’d become trapped in. They started pecking at it on the ground, all as George surveyed it from their property. It would have been a sweet scene, if the wider story wasn’t so bitter.

Speaking to the Houston Chronicle, the couple expressed their sadness at potentially being forced away from their home and the birds. As Kathleen reflected, “I’m going to miss them terribly.” Her husband then piped in, “I’m going to more than miss them terribly.” All in all, it’s a sorry situation they’ve found themselves in.

As for other people in the area, opinion seems to be divided on the situation. One resident, Matt Hill, told the newspaper that he didn’t want the couple to be sued. But at the same time, he did feel the birds were a big problem. He explained, “They’re tearing up everybody’s yard.”

This terrible situation — and others like it — could have been avoided if people didn’t purchase ducklings they have no way of looking after properly. By domesticating these animals before discarding them, they create big problems. And now a couple are facing the prospect of losing their home as a result.

The Rowes are far from the first people to get into trouble with their neighbors, though. Homeowner Thomas Lyons found that his peace and quiet was often interrupted by other people in the neighborhood. There was one issue in particular that really stuck in his craw. And it had to do with his front yard. Thomas was eventually pushed to breaking point, which led to an extreme plan...

Thomas went all out to shield the beautiful stretch of manicured grass outside his home from people cutting across it. The dude was incredibly protective... perhaps to a fault. But what else might he have done here? Were there any alternative methods that could’ve been just as effective in keeping those passers-by away?

Well, perhaps Thomas could’ve tried to add a bit of privacy to the space out front. Due to how big and open it was, maybe we shouldn’t be too surprised that folks felt compelled to cut through it. They certainly refused to ignore the temptation! But would any of the following approaches have succeeded in obstructing their paths?

In fact, should you find yourself in a similar situation to Thomas, these methods might be useful for you as well! So, let’s get into them. If you don’t want to start laying brickwork around the border of your front yard, why not invest in a row of hedges? Hopefully that’ll put an immediate stop to people trampling over the grass.

Make no mistake, though — this wouldn’t be a “one and done” type of project. You’d have to show a certain level of dedication to keep these green borders in check. Plus, initially putting the hedges in place will require some physical exertion, too. But overall, it’s a fairly straightforward process, as we’re about to find out.

According to This Old House, you first need to dig a ditch around the edge of your lawn. The preferable depth and width should be roughly 2 feet or so. Yes, we know — that’s a lot of shoveling. From there, take each hedge section and carefully place it in the opening. Ideally, you’ll leave a 1 foot gap between the trunks.

Then, start to shovel the dirt back into the ditch, leaving it level with the “branching trunks.” And good news, folks: that’s the hard part out of the way. Now, you’ve got to keep close watch over the hedges for the next 12 months. To get the best results, invest in a drip irrigation system that’ll provide the plants with a reliable stream of nourishment.

As we suggested earlier, you need to put in the work! But it’ll be worth it in the end. If hedges aren’t your style, though, a row of colorful flora could be a worthwhile substitute. It’ll spruce up the front yard and serve as a nice-looking barrier to anyone who once walked across your lawn with no regard. Hopefully they won’t do it again.

Much like with the hedges, you’ll need to dig into your lawn’s border to pull this off. Once that’s done, choose the flora to pop in the ground. This Old House notes that perennial plants, bushes, and evergreen trees all make for ideal selections, as they’ll give you a lot of privacy out front. But how should you position everything here?

Well, to help answer that question, an expert in the field from Massachusetts spoke to This Old House. Elliott Brundage recommended, “Stagger [the] evergreens in the background. And in the foreground, step down the height with deciduous material to provide texture, depth, and color.” Makes sense, wouldn’t you agree? Mind you, when it comes to the trees, keep the following in mind.

You see, a standard evergreen tree can reach a size of roughly 60 feet. No, that isn’t a typo! Unsurprisingly, that’ll probably be much too big for your front yard, especially if you’re planting a few of them. Instead, look out for some “dwarf” saplings. Normally, they won’t exceed 6 feet. That’s more like it, right?

So, with all this flora in place, in theory you can say goodbye to unwanted passers-by strolling through the garden. They surely aren’t going to vault a row of trees just to touch your grass! Yet regardless of how effective these last two methods would seem to be, Thomas clearly didn’t fancy them. Maybe he wasn’t interested in giving himself more yard work to do?

Anyway, plants and hedges weren’t the only thing Thomas could’ve called upon before coming up with his extreme idea. For instance, a nice bit of fencing might’ve been enough to achieve his goal. Those panels can both be aesthetically pleasing and stop homeowners from being disturbed by people out front. What’s not to like? It’s a very doable DIY job as well.

If you fancy doing it, though, This Old House shared an important tip. Before you get cracking, ensure that you’re allowed to use panels of a certain size as per the mandates of the “building codes” that apply in your district. It’s an easy thing to forget, so put that at the top of your to-do list. Once you’re given the all-clear, start to put the wood along your border.

As for the height, the piece suggests that 6 feet would be ideal. The wood itself can be painted, too, if you want it to blend in with the property. The upper section could also be spruced up by sticking a grid-like design in there. Flora can improve its appearance as well, should that be your preference.

If that still sounds a little too boring, though, you can get really creative. Yes, instead of a tall fence, you could build a 3 foot wall around your yard’s border, ahead of sticking some smaller panels on its crown. Much like before, you might want to opt for a grid style — or maybe even a picket style? The results should be quite impressive.

But again, Thomas didn’t go for that. His aim seemed to be pretty clear. The guy wanted to keep his yard as is while also finding a way to stop folks walking on it. It was quite the conundrum. Anyway, what eventually pushed him over the edge? Was there a clear tipping point here that led to what came next?

Well, the camera outside Thomas’ property might’ve played a role. Think about it, folks. If he was already irritated by people in the neighborhood getting up close and personal with his garden, then video evidence was likely to increase his frustration. And that’s what appeared to happen — the homeowner had soon had enough.

Yes folks, the gloves were well and truly off now. Thomas was ready to defend his garden — but not in the manner you might expect. In fact, no one in the area could’ve foreseen what he had up his sleeve. So, let’s dive into his plan. Peering out the window, he spotted an obscure space on the grass close to his house.

From there, Thomas installed a motion-sensor sprinkler in that very spot. It was completely out of sight. In addition to this, he hooked up an alarm system that’d blare out as soon as the water started running, too. Wow. Talk about elaborate! Plus, the outside camera stayed in place to film the results. So just like that, everything was set.

Would it work, though? You bet. As captured by Thomas’ camera, when people got too close to the sprinkler, it activated as intended. The device went on to fire streaks of water right at them, while the alarm went off in the background. It all made for a really crazy jump-scare! Unsurprisingly, the folks fled his yard in a state of pure shock and confusion.

And it caught plenty of people out, highlighting just how often Thomas’ yard was taken advantage of by the locals. But with this wild system set up, that was surely going to change. Word would no doubt spread across the neighborhood, along with the piercing sound of the alarm. The message couldn’t have been clearer: stay off the grass, or else.

Mind you, Thomas wasn’t just content to watch these videos by himself at the house. So, he created a TikTok account and shared one of the clips there in September 2021. Alongside the footage, Thomas also included a caption for some context. “When people won’t stop cutting across your lawn,” it read. But how would users on the website respond?

Well, Thomas was in for a shock of his own. Yes, that post created a huge buzz on TikTok, going viral as a result. At the time of writing, it’s earned more than 50 million views. We’re serious! On top of that, the clip’s racked up close to ten million likes, nearly 110,000 shares, and generated over 80,000 comments.

So to say that Thomas’ video had become a social media sensation would be a massive understatement. It really caught people’s attention. And following his original post, he went on to drop two more over the next few days. The first of those included the unedited audio, showing how loud the alarm was. As for the second, he provided a “before” and “after” perspective.

Sticking with the latter, Thomas also wrote, “More lawn pirates! [I] asked nicely every day to stay off the lawn, but people just keep coming.” At the time of writing, the video’s earned roughly 3.5 million views on TikTok, while the unedited audio clip boasts a figure of around 1.4 million. You can’t say folks aren’t interested here!

But at the same time, some viewers weren’t too impressed with Thomas’ extreme approach. And they shared their thoughts in the comments section of the videos. One wrote, “What’s the huge deal? [The passers-by] aren’t damaging your yard, they are just walking through it.” And someone else visualized what it’d be like to be on the receiving end of the sprinkler.

“No, that’s mean,” this viewer wrote. “If I had a bad day at school, come home [and] accidentally walk on your grass, I’m getting soaked. Then [I’d] have a worse day. No point in that.” Another user commented, “This is not good. Act like an adult.” The criticism didn’t end there, either, as we’re about to find out.

A TikTok user blasted, “This is petty. I don’t care that there’s a perfectly good sidewalk [in front of the yard], it is still petty.” And as the responses continued to flood in online, one more stood out from the crowd. It suggested that the people strolling along Thomas’ lawn mightn’t have been doing so with malicious intent.

“Cutting across the grass has saved me from missing the bus many times,” the viewer noted. “People cut [through] because it is always faster, and even 30 seconds can make a difference.” Interesting perspective, right? Anyway, the less than complimentary replies have set us thinking. What other kind of deterrent could Thomas have called upon? Was there anything else?

Well, there are certainly less extreme methods you can use to scare off folks from your property. They aren’t as stealthy as Thomas’ hidden sprinkler, though! For example, a simple “No Trespassing” notice could do the trick. The mere sight of it makes it clear that the surrounding area’s off-limits. And people can get in big trouble by ignoring such warnings.

If you aren’t too confident with a sign, though, how about a prickly border? Yep, by planting flora such as roses or rough shrubs, you’ve created a deterrent that few would want to get close to, protecting the yard as a result. Yet for those of you who don’t want to go down that particular route, either, here’s another suggestion.

Without beating around the bush, you could adopt a guard dog to shield the front garden. It’s definitely effective, as an anonymous commenter told the Reolink website. They explained, “I have a big German Shepherd dog with a great big voice. When she barks, people scatter.” That doesn’t surprise us! So as we noted, there are several options you can go with here.

Circling back to Thomas, not everyone was so quick to criticize his approach. In fact, there were plenty of users on TikTok who couldn’t help but support him. One stated, “This isn’t like a lawn on the edge of the road. It’s right next to his driveway. So they are even walking through his driveway. I get it.”

Someone else wrote, “At this point I don’t think it’s about the grass. I think it’s about the lack of respect people have when they walk on someone else’s property.” An intriguing view. In truth, “respect” was something that came up in plenty of other comments as well, with users sharing their dismay on the social media site.

“I have always felt like it was disrespectful to walk on people’s grass,” another comment read. And lastly, a viewer said, “I don’t understand. I was raised to never walk in someone’s yard, especially a stranger’s.” So it’s safe to say that the dynamic in the comments sections of Thomas’ videos was pretty fascinating in itself! Talk about a clear divide.

Anyway, Thomas’ unique plan made headlines both domestically and internationally. Yep, his story was covered by Fox News in the U.S. and in newspapers in the U.K. during October 2021. As for his TikTok page, he hasn’t uploaded anything since dropping the three videos. We wonder if the sprinkler’s still serving him well today?