There are many instances where a person driving through someone’s yard causes quite a bit of damage to the lawn. You must have also seen people rushing through someone’s lawn in their cars, leaving behind tire ruts. It is especially a problem for lawns with a low curb or no barrier. In this article, we’ll talk about barriers keep cars off grass.
A stop sign is not exactly a heavy-duty solution to keep foot traffic off the lawn.
The issue can also arise when cars on busy roads do not give enough space to the people behind so they can pass through. As a result, vehicles enter private lawns and create a total mess. So, how do you protect your lawn edge and keep cars off it? Well, there are several ways!
Here we will only describe the most effective ways to keep cars off your lawn. Some of these solutions are temporary fixes and are for times when your neighbors are having a party and run out of parking posts. Examples of such quick solutions include using a retractable driveway guard or thick plastic meshes.
However, homeowners usually go for other, more permanent options. Examples include metal fencing, large rocks, and concrete pyramids to keep cars off their grass verge. Keep reading and we will help you decide the best car barrier for your yard.
Best Barriers To Keep Cars Off Grass Verge
Installing a fence at the edge of your lawn is your last resort if you have neighbors who will not stop driving cars in your yard despite being asked politely, several times.
However, a simple fence might not be enough if you own a corner lot. Depending on your neighbors, vehicle traffic, and the location of your yard, you will have to choose between different types of barriers. So, here’s a list to help you out:
Hedges
Even a small hedge can stop cars from entering your yard.
Hedges are lines of closely placed shrubs, and occasionally trees planted to mark the boundary of an area or install a barrier. A hedge can consist of individual posts connected with a wire, or it can consist of any other fencing material.
Hedges are a great barrier against invading vehicles and neighbors that might ruin your lawn. The height of the hedges really does not matter. Even a low hedge effectively stops cars from entering your lawn and adds to the curb appeal. However, if you go with a high hedge, it will also come with the benefit of added privacy.
Depending on your needs, you can choose between a natural hedge and an artificial hedge. Some people refer to the natural hedge as a living fence. Nonetheless, both of these hedges mentioned above have their advantages and disadvantages.
A natural hedge, for instance, takes a lot of time, effort, and care to establish and maintain. Moreover, if you are establishing a hedge around your lawn, it will significantly increase your lawn maintenance costs and lawn care activities. On the other hand, an artificial hedge is cheaper to build and install, but they give a sort of “fake vibe” to your yard.
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Boulders And Rocks
Rocks can also be used to create a border around flower beds.
Using rocks is one of the most common ways to establish the boundary of a yard and prevent cars from entering the lawn area. Like a hedge, you can either use natural rocks or artificial boulders to keep the edge of your lawn safe. Natural stones blend in well with the aesthetics of most lawns and add to their beauty.
Moreover, stones are not easily moveable and can cause serious damage to the car bumpers and car undersides. This will keep any unruly neighbor and his vehicle off your lawn soil. However, if you cannot get access to natural stones, you can go with artificial boulders.
Artificial boulders are made up of fiberglass. They are also more cost-effective than natural rocks. In addition, they are lightweight, so they are easier to move around on the ground as compared to real rocks.
However, do not worry; fiberglass rocks come with ground anchors that hold them in place. They are also designed to look like real stones on the ground.
Other than preventing vehicles from entering the lawn, boulders and rocks can also be used on the ground to set boundaries of flower beds, as you must have seen in a park. In particular, white rocks form a beautiful edge around a flower bed.
Fences
A wooden fence on a home lawn.
Setting up fences around your lawn is another great way of keeping a neighbor and his car off your grass. In addition to that, fences are a great way to keep your pets from running around all over the block, and if you choose the right fence, it can add to the aesthetics of your lawn.
However, before installing fences around your grass or yard, check with the local authorities. In some areas, it is not allowed to establish fences outside.
However, that’s not all. Fences can also act as a privacy solution, provide a backdrop to garden beds, highlight ornamental pieces, support planters and keep aggressively spreading grass and other plants out of your lawn.
Fences can also act as stand-alone decorations to enhance the outdoor spaces of your house. Fences come in all sizes, shapes, and colors.
You can either choose to install a low-laying wooden fence, or if you live with a messy unruly neighbor, you might want to install wire fencing around your yard. Also, nowadays, many temporary fences are available in the market.
Such fences can be used when your neighbor is having a party, and there are a lot of cars that might enter your lawn because of insufficient parking space around your home.
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Driveway Guards
Netted driveway yards let you set up easily maneuverable boundaries around the grass.
Just like fences, driveway guards can also be used to set up a barrier to keep a vehicle or car off your grass. Mostly, netter driveway guards are used for this purpose. Netter driveway guards come in all sizes, shapes and colors. You can choose any of them to match with the landscaping of your lawn.
However, we suggest using a brightly colored netter driveway guard as it is easier to see at night on the land. This will help you steer your car or vehicle better around the house or the corner of your grass when your vision might be limited due to the darkness.
In some aspects, netted driveway guards are better than the other barriers. They are lightweight and can be easily adjusted or moved around the lawn.
Also, since these netter guards are see-through, you can watch your pets and children wandering around on the grass. However, they can easily move with strong winds because of their lightweight.
So, we suggest that you anchor the netter guards strongly around the edge of your lawn. Also, it is highly recommended that you use a bright orange netter guard on your lawn. It is easier to see during the night when you are inside your car, and your view is obstructed.
Spike Strips
Spike Strips are an effective but controversial method to keep people or cars off the lawn.
Another great idea to keep your and your neighbor’s car off your lawn is to install spike strips. The sharp spikes of these strips will immediately puncture a car’s tires on contact.
This will prevent cars from wandering too close to your yard. Moreover, you can paint the spike strips to any color of your liking to match the aesthetics of your lawn.
However, just like with fences, you will have to consult local authorities before installing fences around your lawn. It is illegal to use spike strips around your home in some states.
Also, despite being an effective barrier against intruders, spike strips are a common cause of confrontation. Nonetheless, spike strips can be occasionally used to deter people from entering your lawn.
However, we must suggest that you should only use spike strips as a last resort. The spikes on these things can easily hurt little children playing around the neighborhood or even the pets who are unaware of their presence. Also another thing to keep in mind while installing spike strips on your lawn is the pricing.
Parking Posts
Parking-bollards can also be used as a barrier on the lawn.
A parking post is a general term used for bollards on a parking space. They are places there to guide cars or to establish boundaries. They do not allow unauthorized vehicles to enter the parking space. Hence, these bollards can also be used around a lawn to prevent cars from entering the yard.
You can use bollards with colorful strips that will make the edge of the lawn more noticeable, and they will also be easier to see in the dark.
Moreover, the chances of someone accidentally hitting a bollard are significantly lower than other types of barriers such as rocks and spike strips.
In addition to that, bollards are anchored firmly in the ground using concrete and cement, making them sturdy. So, it is nearly impossible to move them off their place which will protect your lawn.
However, when installing bollards on your lawn, make sure that there is not enough space between them to let the vehicles go through.
Also, check with the local authorities if you can install bollards around your lawn as it might not be allowed in some places.
Concrete Or Cement Pyramids
You can also use concrete or cement pyramids to keep vehicles off your lawn. These structures can be placed at sufficient intervals around the lawn to deter cars from entering the lawn space. However, their use is somewhat controversial. People say that these structures can cause accidents and cause a lot of damage.
Nonetheless, you can get these pyramids in reflective shades, making seeing them easier and avoiding accidents. Also, instead of using pyramids, you can use concrete or cement blocks to set up a boundary and keep cars off your lawn.
However, just like all the other types of barriers on this list, make sure that you consult the local authorities before installing concrete or cement pyramids around your lawn. In some places, their use might be illegal or require the government’s approval.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How to Keep Neighbors From Driving on Your Lawn?
When you have worked hard to establish and maintain your lawn, the last thing you want is people driving their cars on it. So, if you see your neighbors driving their vehicles on your lawn, the first thing to do is politely ask them to avoid doing that.
If that does not work, you should consider installing barriers around your grass. However, setting up some types of barriers is not allowed in some places, and small obstacles might not be enough to deter your neighbors from driving onto your lawn.
In that case, you can take legal action against them by consulting the local authorities or your lawyer and press charges of trespassing and property damage.
How to Fix Tire Ruts in Your Lawn?
It will depend on the depth of ruts on your lawn. If they are shallow, you can gently take a spade fork and loosen up the soil. You can also pick up the compressed ground by placing a spade fork at an angle to the edge of a rut and moving it back and forth. Next, sod the rutted area with grass, and in a few days, the tire ruts will be gone.
However, if the tire ruts are deeper, you will have to go deeper into the ground to loosen up the soil. Depending on the depth of the track, you can also use sand, compost or topsoil to fill up the hole made by the tire.
Sources For Further Reading
- Garden & Yard – University of Maine Cooperative Extension. (2022). Retrieved 11 May 2022, from https://extension.umaine.edu/gardening/
- Home Gardening – Flower Garden Design Basics. Cornell University (2022). Retrieved 11 May 2022, from http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/homegardening/scene74a6.html
- Smart Gardening: Smart lawn alternatives to protect pollinators. Michigan State University Extension. (2022). Retrieved 11 May 2022, from https://www.canr.msu.edu/resources/smart_lawns_for_pollinators
Do you have other tips on what barriers keep cars off grass? Share it with us in the comment section below. Also, check out our other articles:
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