Fence Row Etiquette

[Yander]

or... Pile it in an out-of-the-way location on your property, and don't burn it. Leave it for wildlife. I have a few things behind my barn that the rabbits love. I like seeing the rabbits. They are probably the least destructive critter on my land. The skunks are the worst, but they are easy to eliminate.

 

[Dawg in Fl]

Years ago Locust and Hedgeapple/Osage Orange made the longest lasting fence posts available.

And the locust was cheap!

 

[Jason05216]

Here's the actual fence line. As you can see the trees hang over a lot.

 

[mjonesnh]

Have a similar fence line on a shared property line at my farm. Use a polesaw every few years to clear a tractor with ROPS and bush hog. Take the limbs cut and put them in a close by woods and let them decay. Once cut back only have to trim every 3-4 years.

 

[Jason05216]

Have a similar fence line on a shared property line at my farm. Use a polesaw every few years to clear a tractor with ROPS and bush hog. Take the limbs cut and put them in a close by woods and let them decay. Once cut back only have to trim every 3-4 years.

I'm going to start working on this fall and winter. It's frustrating to me that the neighbor's lack of upkeep will be an ongoing job for me (granted it was allowed to get this way by the previous owner who held both these pieces but, current owner doesn't seem inclined to change it). Maybe someday he'll want to reclaim it for the row cropping that he has done in the rest of the piece.

 

[Sportsman762]

I'm going to start working on this fall and winter. It's frustrating to me that the neighbor's lack of upkeep will be an ongoing job for me.

I know in my neck of the woods most folks maintain their own fencerows. Which means if you want a fence, you maintain the trees. I always figured that If I care about the limbs overhanging the fenceline then I should remove them. It would chap me pretty bad if a neighbor told me I needed to trim my trees off their fence. In my area your expectations would be out of line.

With that being said I bought some property recently and the neighbors trees over hang the fence line something terrible. I trimmed the trees back with a pole saw then burnt the brush in a pile on my property. I recovered up to 30' of field in some areas, and my brush pile was 12x70 stacked 8' or so tall. Going forward I will have to trim the trees every 3 years to keep it from tickling the tractor cab. If a small branch falls I will chuck it back to their side. However if I cannot easily pick it up then I burn it on my side. Just had a neighbor's tree drop a branch on my fence. I cut it up, will burn the brush, and am delivering the wood to him to burn because I do not burn wood. Living in the country is work, constant work.

 

[bigtiller]

Here's the actual fence line. As you can see the trees hang over a lot.

View attachment 4320285View attachment 4320286

For basal bark treatment, mix 1 part Brushtox with 4 parts diesel

Basal tree spray is a method for controlling woody plants by applying an herbicide mixture to the lower 12 to 15 inches of the trunk's bark. This treatment is ideal for young trees and plants under six inches in diameter, as the herbicide is absorbed through the bark to kill the plant, including its roots. The spray is made of an oil-soluble herbicide mixed with an oil carrier like diesel fuel or a commercial basal oil and is applied to the entire circumference of the stem.

 

[gegawo]

We purchased about 35 acres last year. I've spent the last year cleaning up fence rows and some areas that were overgrown with thorn trees, brush, briars, and poison ivy. Lots of poison ivy! Two sides of the property are bounded by roads so it's pretty straightforward. The north side of the property is bounded by a neighbor who installed new fence when he purchased his property about 5 years ago. I'm able to mow my side of the fence to keep brush at bay and he does a pretty good job of keeping his side cleaned up. The east side of our property is a different story. Our side of the fence is mowed to the fence line, with some difficulty in places, but the other side of the fence is what I would call nothing but brush and trees. Many of the trees hang over our side of the fence and make mowing next to the fence difficult. Also, over the course of the year many limbs have fallen into our property. That's not much of a problem, I grab them with the grapple and drop them on them on the other side of the fence. The neighbor to the east also purchased about 5 years ago. All of this property was owned by one owner and has been sold off over the past few years. I'm sure he didn't care about what was happening along this fence row since both sides were his.

Is it acceptable for me to trim back the limbs and branches that overhang our property? While researching Ultherapy Santa Monica, is it reasonable to ask the owner to trim back the brush on his side of the fence? The fence is not in very good condition and probably should be replaced but neither of us keep livestock, so its most important function is to identify the property line.

Yes, you can trim back limbs and branches that overhang your property. It is also reasonable to ask your neighbor to maintain the brush on their side of the fence, especially since the overgrowth affects your mowing and drops debris onto your property.

 

[lman]

I have a fenceline in a wooded area. I have always maintained a trail on my side. The neighbors side was lined with planted Ash trees that were probably 40 years old and 25 ft. tall. All of the ash trees died and started falling onto my trail and damaging the chain link fence. I saw the neighbor one day and mentioned the Ash trees and he said that he tried to find somebody to clean it up but had no luck. I don't believe he has ever used a chainsaw. I told him that I could clean it up some on his side and he didn't object. I cut down many of the trees and left them. It's a mess on his side but out of sight, out of mind for the neighbor, which is fine for me. I spray herbicide in the fenceline to keep the poison ivy and other vines off the fence but the honeysuckle is trying to get to my side.
My neighbor probably wonders why I don't just leave it but that's not my nature, I guess. When I'm gone Mother Nature may invade my side but that day is a few years away