Homeowner starts confiscating stray pickleballs after players trespass from neighbor's $18,500 court, getts billed $184: ‘My basil bed was flattened’

Cata Holmes • Writer

Sep 1, 2026 7:15 AM EDT

A few stray pickleballs sparked a $184 neighborhood showdown.

There's nothing worse than a bad neighbor who built a whole pickleball court in his backyard and hosts a tournament every weekend. As we can all imagine, the people who live next to him are not going to be happy with this, not only for the sound and the people cheering, but also because of the balls that trespass their fences and land in their yards… or their vegetable gardens.

In this case, the user u/Educational_Sink8355 shared the awkward situation with his wealthy next-door neighbor and those crazy balls. At first, the players decided to climb over the fence and pick the ball back up. This caused his vegetable garden to be stepped all over, and he realized most of his crops were flattened. He told his neighbor that this should stop, and if they knocked on the door, he would give the balls back.

There was a little gate next to it, and people started to open that door to get those balls, but they didn't latch it properly, and his dog escaped… things couldn't get worse, but they did. The dog got his paw hurt, and the vet bill ended up being $300! He was so furious that he decided to start collecting every single ball and put them in a gallon… and now the problem with the neighbor escalated completely.

The neighbor found out he had a lot of balls that are not cheap and sent him a bill of almost $184 for retaining them. Of course, nobody wants to pay that amount of money, especially after paying that vet bill because of the wrongdoing of a player…

*A pickleball player holds a blue paddle and a yellow ball over the net on an outdoor court.*
*Model portrayal.*

My neighbor spent $18,500 last spring converting his backyard into a pickleball court. Full resurfacing, permanent net, lights.

It's beautiful. He plays four nights a week, and open play on Saturdays means eight to ten people I've never met.

My yard backs directly onto his. Between us: a six foot cedar fence that I paid for, my raised vegetable beds along it, and my dog Biscuit, whose entire job is lying by the back door judging everyone.

Balls come over. A lot. On a good Saturday, six or seven.

I found a guy halfway over my fence at 6:15pm, one foot in my tomato bed. I walked the balls back over myself and asked my neighbor to have people text me, or use the side gate, but please stop climbing.

I left a note attached to his net: happy to return balls if you knock, but the fence climbing needs to stop.

Someone left my side gate unlatched after letting themselves in. Biscuit got out and was found three streets away. $240 at the vet for a paw he sliced on storm drain metal.

Another time, my Ring camera caught two players opening my side gate and walking into my yard without asking while looking for a ball. My basil bed was flattened. That was the day I stopped returning anything.

Now, every ball that lands in my yard goes into a five gallon bucket by my back door. I don't throw them back. I don't answer the door for "quick grabs." Current count: 41.

*A raised backyard vegetable garden filled with fresh lettuce, herbs, and other plants.*
*Featured likenesses do not identify those mentioned.*

Last week my neighbor came over with a handwritten, itemized bill:

He slid it through the gap in the fence on a clipboard. When I said I'd return the balls the day he paid the $240 vet bill and the $60 in plants, he told me, word for word:

"A ball doesn't become yours because it landed in your yard. It's still in play until we pick it up. If you returned them promptly, nobody would have to climb. That's on you."

My wife thinks I should just dump the bucket back over and buy a $35 latch. She says it's "a bucket of plastic, not a hill to di on," and my neighbor's group has now started knocking at 9pm on weeknights "for one ball."

Another neighbor suggested I install a ball return flap in the fence, at my expense, "since they're going to keep coming over anyway."

A) Return the bucket, put in the flap, and give my neighbor the side gate code. It's $35 of hardware to end a weekly problem, and 41 balls isn't worth a war with eight people who apparently have nothing else to do.

*A frustrated homeowner sits at a table looking stressed amid an ongoing dispute with his neighbor.*
*Image depicted solely for explanatory purposes.*

B) The bucket stays, and it fills. His balls are part of an ongoing dispute, not something I should have to manage every week. He gets them back once the vet bill and the garden damage are settled. Cash first.

In the comment section, most readers suggested that the OP put up security cameras and record everything. He's, of course, doing something wrong, and getting him on camera or recording him is going to be fundamental if he decides to file a report.

AdAccomplished6870 no trespassing sign, ring camera, and police report. They are damaging your property, causing harm to your animal, and being a liability risk.

Prisoner076 send a receipt back with the vet bill. And let your neighbour put up a net to catch the balls. and put up no trespassing signs. and give back the balls.

Technical Weird 1991 Your neighbour sounds like an ahle

kykiwibear Once my dog got out a dog got out and got hurt because of their negligence, I would go with option C. Hes trespassing. Which is still illegal. Pickle ball or n.

Ippus_21 His court, his responsibility to put up netting to stop stray balls. Once they're on your property, he and his friends are trespassing illegally if they hop a fence to retrieve them.

racincowboy9380 Has there been any damage to your fence? File a claim against his homeowners policy.

ruddy3499 I have found several species of cactus really makes the bottom of a fence look beautiful

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Homeowner starts confiscating stray pickleballs after players trespass from neighbor's $18,500 court, getts billed $184: ‘My basil bed was flattened’

A few stray pickleballs sparked a $184 neighborhood showdown.

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