What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Tennessee
My neighbor has a hackberry tree whose branches overhang my driveway and garage. Two years ago, I hired someone to cut the limbs that encroach over my property back to the property line. Already, I am having to hire a company again to trim the limbs back. The problem has become bigger with the infestation of aphids that have migrated from Asia. They now have reached our region and create a real nuisance. Thousands of them are on his tree. They suck the sap out of its leaves and it goes straight through them, dropping as "honeydew" onto anything below or even near (due to slight breezes). This sap/dung is clear and sticky when it first drops, but within a few days becomes black with mold. It is extremely hard to get off surfaces.
The location of his tree (about 5 feet across the property line) puts many of its branches overhanging my driveway where cars park. The droppings fall on cars, the driveway and the metal garage roof. Then it turns black. It looks horrible on the concrete driveway. A regular car wash is not adequate to take it off the car. I suspect that if it is not removed quickly from the car surface, the paint will be damaged. I paid a pressure washer $300 to clean my driveway this summer. By mid-September it needed it again. I can't find any economical way to clean the garage metal roof. I am hiring a tree trimmer to cut the limbs back again. I ask my neighbor for permission to cut the limbs back beyond the property line because they grow so rapidly I have to go to the expense of cutting them yearly to protect my property. He won't consent.
Here's the question: Is there any law to relieve me of the expense of having to do this trimming yearly in order to protect the appearance of my property? What is the likelihood of winning a suit for damages caused by his tree's infestation? (Damages being the costs I incur with annual trimmings and cleanings.) Is there some legal relief for nuisance?
My neighbor has a hackberry tree whose branches overhang my driveway and garage. Two years ago, I hired someone to cut the limbs that encroach over my property back to the property line. Already, I am having to hire a company again to trim the limbs back. The problem has become bigger with the infestation of aphids that have migrated from Asia. They now have reached our region and create a real nuisance. Thousands of them are on his tree. They suck the sap out of its leaves and it goes straight through them, dropping as "honeydew" onto anything below or even near (due to slight breezes). This sap/dung is clear and sticky when it first drops, but within a few days becomes black with mold. It is extremely hard to get off surfaces.
The location of his tree (about 5 feet across the property line) puts many of its branches overhanging my driveway where cars park. The droppings fall on cars, the driveway and the metal garage roof. Then it turns black. It looks horrible on the concrete driveway. A regular car wash is not adequate to take it off the car. I suspect that if it is not removed quickly from the car surface, the paint will be damaged. I paid a pressure washer $300 to clean my driveway this summer. By mid-September it needed it again. I can't find any economical way to clean the garage metal roof. I am hiring a tree trimmer to cut the limbs back again. I ask my neighbor for permission to cut the limbs back beyond the property line because they grow so rapidly I have to go to the expense of cutting them yearly to protect my property. He won't consent.
Here's the question: Is there any law to relieve me of the expense of having to do this trimming yearly in order to protect the appearance of my property? What is the likelihood of winning a suit for damages caused by his tree's infestation? (Damages being the costs I incur with annual trimmings and cleanings.) Is there some legal relief for nuisance?