
Ask HN: How do I stop my neighbour flying their drone over my house? - agjmills
My neighbour must have recently purchased a drone, and they fly over my garden and house relatively regularly.<p>It is difficult to find exactly which neighbour it is that has the drone, as I live in a relatively built up area. The drone is a DJI phantom, and has a camera attached.<p>Should I leave a sign in big litters on my lawn saying &quot;please do not fly your drone here&quot;<p>Or do I contact the police?
======
cartercole
Unless they are spying on you you have little recourse... the government
considers anything above your property that's navigable airspace as a public
thoroughfare so they have the right to fly through it... they cant spy on your
sunbathing daughter but if they catch a glimpse flying by there's nothing you
can do. Its based on this case
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Causby](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Causby)
I would also suggest against taking matters into your own hands to shoot down
the drone or some jamming device as messing with aircraft in flight is a big
no no even if its just a little drone. its a safety thing

i cant find the original video i watched but here are some other sources
[https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/when-a-
drone...](https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/when-a-drone-flies-
over-my-house-is-it-trespassing.html)
[https://phantompilots.com/threads/flying-over-private-
proper...](https://phantompilots.com/threads/flying-over-private-property-is-
illegal.104094/) [http://www.droneguru.net/can-drones-fly-over-private-
propert...](http://www.droneguru.net/can-drones-fly-over-private-property-and-
how-to-stop-them/)

~~~
mattmanser
Depends which country he's in. In the UK you're not allowed to fly them within
50m of people or property without permission.

[https://www.caa.co.uk/Consumers/Unmanned-
aircraft/Recreation...](https://www.caa.co.uk/Consumers/Unmanned-
aircraft/Recreational-drones/Permissions-and-exemptions-for-drone-flights/)

------
qop
Insane idea here, have you thought about just asking him not to?

"Hey neighbor, I was wondering if you might do me a small favor. I noticed
your new drone, it's very cool. I'm sure you get lots of cool pictures and
footage, but it makes me a little bit uncomfortable when you're flying over my
garden and my home, do ya think you think you could still get your footage
from outside of my property's airspace?

Thanks pal, I appreciate it."

~~~
cosmie
OP mentions that he doesn't know which neighbor owns the drone. If he's in a
neighborhood like mine, he may only have line of sight of his most immediate
neighbor and past that it could be any of dozens of other houses within close
proximity.

~~~
qop
Hm, I skimmed over that.

He may have to follow the drone home next time he sees it.

------
jacquesm
First stop would be the municipality, to see if this can be resolved in a non-
legal way, second would be the police because flying drones over built up
ground is illegal in many places, finally, recording people without their
consent is illegal in private space (such as your garden).

I'm not the nicest person in the world and if someone flew a drone over my
garden I would ignore it but if they would hover there long enough for me to
be irritated I just might attempt to bring it down.

That would at least force the owner to identify themselves and I can afford to
replace the drone if ordered to do so by a judge.

~~~
bufferoverflow
> _recording people without their consent is illegal in private space_

Not if it's visible from the public space.

OP should check the local laws first. It's possible he had no recourse,
depending on how high the drone flies. It's not like airplanes need your
permission to fly over your property.

~~~
jacquesm
The air above your garden is not exactly 'public space'.

People will put all kinds of visible barriers around their house to get some
privacy, hovering your drone over those barriers is clearly a breach of sorts.

Depending on where this is happening the laws will vary but here is one
example from the UK:

[http://www.prettys.co.uk/drones-and-the-law](http://www.prettys.co.uk/drones-
and-the-law)

~~~
cartercole
is OP in the UK as I understand the drone laws any airspace over your house is
a public thoroughfare

~~~
loriverkutya
In the UK you cannot fly drones near any houses or person (less then 50
meters)

[https://www.gov.uk/government/news/drones-are-you-flying-
you...](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/drones-are-you-flying-yours-safely-
and-legally)

------
Smushman
Can't we jam these signals yet?

DIY method: [https://makezine.com/projects/build-wi-fi-drone-disabler-
wit...](https://makezine.com/projects/build-wi-fi-drone-disabler-with-
raspberry-pi/)

Pro Method: [https://www.droneshield.com/blog-content/2017/1/14/drone-
def...](https://www.droneshield.com/blog-content/2017/1/14/drone-defence-
jammers-101)

Seems to me with DIY method you aren't breaking any FCC regs (uses a wifi de-
auth). Still I would do it out of direct line of sight (hidden/obscured area)
in case operator catches you on camera.

When you pick it up just ask them to kindly come by and pick it up.

Being nice works well when people are doing questionable things (and
possession is 9/10 of the law if they are not nice in return).

~~~
forgottenpass
>you aren't breaking any FCC regs (uses a wifi de-auth)

Has the FCC's enforcement been successfully challenged in court? Because last
I knew their interpretation of 47 USC 333 explicitly considered monkey
business at layer 2 or above to be within scope of malicious interference.

~~~
Smushman
And here is a better definition. It appears you are correct by my
interpretation of this simple FAQ:

[https://transition.fcc.gov/eb/jammerenforcement/jamfaq.pdf](https://transition.fcc.gov/eb/jammerenforcement/jamfaq.pdf)

\- For example, jammers can: prevent your Wi-Fi enabled device from connecting
to the Internet

\- A jammer can block all radio communications on any device that operates on
radio frequencies within its range (i.e., within a certain radius of the
jammer) by emitting radio frequency waves that prevent the targeted device
from establishing or maintaining a connection.

And more is in there. Judging by these definitions the FCC believe they have a
pretty wide reach:

\- Any device that jams or disrupts cell phone calls, text messages, or other
wireless communications by emitting an interfering radio frequency signal is
illegal

As you stated, the courts would have the final say.

I guess with a 'Monetary Forfeiture' being the punishment I have to retract my
suggestion. You are better off breaking it with a rock, spear, or a shot-put!

~~~
Fjolsvith
Sling-shot would be my favorite choice. Buy lead fishing weights for ammo -
they're cheap.

------
eb0la
I would try to target the drone and record its activity.

If you can documentos that it is flying too much over you, you can take
action.

If that fails you can learn tensorflow and target the drone camera with a (low
power) laser.

Don't fry the camera justo point the laser at the objective while it is flying
and voila: privacy happens.

~~~
cheeze
Whatever you do, _do not shine a laser into airspace_. This is how you get a
visit from the FAA, who do not mess around.

------
Raed667
Depends on where you live. Check your local laws about flying drones over
populated areas and houses.

------
pasbesoin
Don't forget to film this happening, repeatedly.

If you can show it's much more than a one-off, and how low the drone is, etc.,
you may get a more sympathetic reaction from authorities. Whether it's the
police, a court, or whatever.

In addition to drone use and behavior, specifically, many communities have
nuisance laws and ordinances.

If your neighbor is making a nuisance of themself, the "drone" part may be
incidental in getting the behavior to stop.

Best wishes.

P.S. For example, you may have a perfect right to use a leaf blower on your
yard. But if you are compulsive with it and spend 2 - 3 hours every day
blowing every last speck off your lawn and driveway, you may be found to be a
nuisance.

------
s_m_t
Bigger drone

------
P0l0
I also have a drone if the person does not all the rules this is the best
advice I have for you, record the action of the Drone,find out who it is
resolve the problem with the drone pilot or the police........ obviously if
somebody has a drone they should know all the rules and regulations

------
angryasian
Like this obviously

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOnjlyZf6LE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOnjlyZf6LE)

~~~
agitator
Toilet paper seems to work just fine.

[http://i.imgur.com/c74fETo.gifv](http://i.imgur.com/c74fETo.gifv)

------
modbait
How about neighborhood flyers warning that a drone was watching your kid get
dressed. That ought to do it. (Kidding, more or less.)

------
kevinsimper
You could fly after his drone with your drone and see who it is!

------
owebmaster
You can try to grab it for you with a net or something.

~~~
tudelo
That sounds so impractical and difficult (even impossible...). It is hilarious
though to imagine what sort of reaction the drone pilot would have.

~~~
kridsdale1
Use a net dropping drone to fly above, match its movements, and deploy.

------
RightMillennial
Have you considered taking up the hobby of falconry?

------
gadders
Shotgun?

~~~
RightMillennial
You'd want to be very careful with that. Shooting a gun in the air isn't the
most wise choice. Not to mention that you should expect a law suit. My
understanding is the results have been mixed.

------
segmondy
catapult

