Several years back, neighbors, let us say young teens, would cut across the rear yard of my neighbor. When these “kids” did this they would pass through some of my border hedges and then enter my yard in the rear of my garage. Their trespassing was petty so at first I just ignored it. After a while using this “shortcut” these kids began to ruin my hedges, write on the side of my garage and even use it to relieve themselves.

What I did to get these kids without actually hurting them, well slightly let's say, is still a joke when I tell people what I did. I with my family went on a vacation to the countryside at a known resort. When we were there we were told to avoid a patch of green which I found out was Poison Ivy. After about 10 days there we started to pack for home. What I packed were several Poison Ivy plants that I dug up. (I had long pants, long sleeve shirt and gloves) When I returned home, I planted these Poison Ivy plants at the location where my trespassing teens entered into my yard. At first there seemed to be no reaction to my gardening in the rear of my garage. Forgotten over the winter, these plants grew in the spring to my surprise. All winter and very early spring kids used this route.

Well, when these plants started to grow, with some Miracle Grow© I could not wait until the “shortcut” was being used. One day a group of teens (about 5 or 6) came through my hedges and unknowingly into my crop of Poison Ivy. What was surprising was the next day, these kids didn’t learn. All Calamine-lotioned up, they continued to use the shortcut until finally one realized that it was my yard and hedges that was causing their discomfort. I eventually fenced the area but not until I got some sweet revenge on a group of wise guy and very rude teens.