Bug Zapper - Keeping me up at night

[Greg Madachik]

Looking for advice - a nearby neighbor recently starting running a 'bug zapper' 24 hours a day. It is ridiculously loud at night and constantly wakes me up with the annoying 'zap' electrical noise. I'm sure the neighbor spent a lot of money and feels they are justified in what they are doing. Because our backyard area is so wooded, I'm not even sure which neighbor has the device. Any suggestions to deal with this irritating situation?

[Alex Belisle]

Order a drone strike on all of your neighbors - problem solved. LOL

[Greg Madachik]

Eh, not quite what I was looking for...I'm all about talking to people first, but clearly this person thinks they are 'doing the right thing'. Do I have any legal recourse for this type of noise in an urban environment?

[Jim O'Bryan]

I believe the law is "an unreasonably loud noise."

There is mediation available.

Best way, talk it out.

[Stan Austin]

Best of both approaches-- Go over to your neighbor, drone in hand, and say you'd like to talk

[Matthew Lee]

Here is the noise ordinance from Lakewood that I could find:

http://onelakewood.com/pdf/2008_Good_Neighbor_Guide.pdf

NOISE (Ordinance 515.03)
• Please be considerate when you play your stereo or
television. Make sure that only you can hear it, not
the whole neighborhood.
• Lakewood ordinance states that residents are not
permitted to make unreasonably loud noise to the
extent that it disturbs the neighbors. Loud noise
violations (from radios, stereos, cars, fireworks, parties,
live music, etc) are cited by the Police.
• If you plan a party and foresee potential problems,
please be courteous and tell your neighbors. Ask
them to call you instead of calling the police if noise
becomes a problem. If they call you to complain
about the noise, be courteous and lower the volume.
• Ask your friends to ring your doorbell when they
visit. Tell them not to honk their car horns.
• Do not mow your lawn or operate machinery before
8:00 am or after 9:00 pm on weekdays and 10:00 am
and 6:00 pm on Sundays.

Steps I would personally take:

1) You need to know who/where is producing the noise. Without that info, you can't do much of anything.
2) Personally, I would talk to the neighbor first and come up with a reasonable solution (i.e. unplug it at 9 PM or something like that). You have the right to call the police and file a noise complaint, but I think it's best to amicably settle it.
3) Then, if the neighbor does not follow your agreement, you can go back and talk to them or file the complaint.

IMHO, most people are not malicious and do not realize the level of noise something might be producing. Asking nicely can go a long ways and help keep Lakewood "neighborhood friendly".

[Greg Madachik]

Thanks all who replied. Common sense suggestions got me back on track - I posted mostly out of pure frustration. Matthew Lee - Thank you for the detailed info. Time to chat with neighbor.