Last Updated: August 5, 2022
Many of us might've encountered moving into a new neighborhood, with a house that seemed like a peaceful spot to live our lives. But then you suddenly have to face the frustration of dealing with noisy neighbors.
Despite anticipating a noise issue as a typical occurrence of living close to other people, excessive noise sometimes draws the line.
After all your futile efforts to be more diplomatic, you start thinking of how to annoy upstairs neighbors. Please read on to discover some exciting ideas for handling such distressful situations.
Some Tips Before Planning How to Annoy Upstairs Neighbors
Sometimes, no matter how you try to pave a tough road with good intentions, you will encounter a neighbor who will make it even more challenging. A significant part that causes stress in many interpersonal relationships is dealing with an unpleasant and downright mean neighbor.
Several instances will test your patience, like when you're resting after a tedious working day, only to have a noisy neighbor annoy you with loud music.
Or you're trying to relax with a good book to end your day, then suddenly loud footsteps from the upstairs neighbors floor will startle you.
But before you come up with a well-planned noisy neighbors revenge, it's best to try more amicable solutions first. Try giving these people a vote of confidence because they might not realize the amount of stress they are causing you.
Remember that you're dealing with the behavior and not the person. Therefore, try checking out some of the things you can consider before you resort to retaliation or annoying upstairs neighbors:
- Try communicating your concern courteously to your noisy upstairs neighbor before resorting to other solutions.
- Before assuming that you are a good neighbor and your noisy upstairs neighbor is the bad one, try to see things from their perspective first.
- Stay neutral, but maintain an honest conversation about what noise level is intolerable; be specific on what both parties can consider an annoying sound.
- Offer a suggestion or a compromise solution that allows both parties to meet halfway, preventing future conflicts from developing.
- Seek help from your landlord if you're renting an apartment and if your neighbor keeps disregarding your noise complaint.
Plotting The Perfect Noisy Upstairs Neighbors Revenge
If you're in an apartment living with many different people, it is not unusual to encounter loud neighbors. The impact noise can even be more disturbing if you reside in lower level apartments.
You hear amplified noise from incessant, raucous parties, barking dogs, and the stomping noise of footsteps. These distractions are only some of the ways your neighbor can misbehave. One of the disadvantages of renting an apartment building is dealing with noise pollution.
But what is more annoying is that regardless of your efforts to negotiate, some people seem unreasonable, relentlessly interfering with your right to quiet surroundings. In as much as you can, try not to retaliate in the same manner.
We all know that difficult people are everywhere. However, if our polite attempts to work things out are already ineffective, we need to set healthy boundaries.
When such nuisances occur after trying to deal with them courteously, here's how to annoy upstairs neighbors legally:
1. Put Something Sticky Or Greasy On Their Doorknob
While it might seem a petty way of dealing with a noisy neighbor, you can try greasing that neighbor's doorknob with strawberry jam or petroleum jelly. Don't forget to check that your offensive neighbor isn't using a smart doorknob since such a device comes with a camera.
It will be an undesirable surprise when they find it challenging the next time they enter their apartment.
Nonetheless, make sure you don't clog the door lock with jam or jelly, or else such actions might end you with costly consequences of shouldering repair. Remember that no matter how upset you are, you only intend to irritate them with a greasy doorknob and not lock them out.
2. Start Your Outdoor Housework Early In The Morning
Some neighbors have no regard for anyone around them; these are spoiled brats or people who think highly of themselves. Likely, such people will never cooperate no matter how you try to negotiate.
Even your considerate attempts to talk them out of the deliberate noise they make will fall on deaf ears.
When dealing with a neighbor like this, it won't hurt to allow them a taste of their own medicine sometimes. Please do not confront them head-on; instead, try mowing your lawn when your neighbor could still be sleeping during the quiet hours of the morning.
To boot, you may also try utilizing the loudest leaf blower available at your disposal and blow those leaves in your front yard.
3. Set That Loud Neighbor For Junk Mails
Another harmless way of retaliation is signing up that noisy neighbor for a considerable amount of junk mail.
If you're lucky and happen to chance upon the neighbor's email address, you can spam their inbox with unnecessary emails. The email should contain nonsense stuff, not threatening, and use a dummy email address to send them.
If you have no access to their email address, then try filling their letterbox with rubbish from anonymous letters to newspapers.
You can even disguise such a prank as a good act of service, like sending amazing deals your neighbor's way. The next time someone comes to your door to sell you some goods, tell them how much your neighbor loves the product.
Send the marketers to your neighbor's doorstep; tell them that your neighbor is pretty reserved and might need more persuasion to express interest in their products.
4. Annoy Your Noisy Neighbour With Prank Calls
Nothing comes close to the classic prank call to get back at a noisy neighbor. Remember that you should be able to execute this task anonymously.
Get someone you know to acquire your neighbor's home phone or mobile number, and give these neighbors as they sleep or while they are making noise.
If your neighbor's phone has a caller ID, ensure making that call with a phone service that leaves no record of your number. Hopefully, this prank call will serve its purpose of having your neighbor think things over. Maybe that will make your neighbors reconsider their misdemeanor.
5. Use A Clothes Prop Or A Ceiling Vibrator
When the upstairs neighbors stomping gets too bothersome, it might be worth the shot to try giving the ceiling a gentle tap. You may use a clothes prop or a broomstick for tapping on your ceiling.
If you have already raised your concern about the annoying sound to your neighbors, they will know why you're knocking on your ceiling.
Another option to do this is acquiring a ceiling vibrator, a tiny device that yields ceiling vibration. The investment will be worthwhile if the stomping sound is already disrupting your sleep.
6. Try An Excessively Loud Alarm
Having those noisy upstairs neighbors stomping can be downright irritating. It's such a pesky disturbance to hear such unwanted sound from your ceiling, even more, when it occurs as you try to sleep.
If you have that noisy neighbor that seems like a loose elephant walking back and forth, you will benefit from utilizing an exceedingly blaring alarm.
Such an alarm looks like your television's remote control, but it works like a conventional alarm clock, except it has a more ear-splitting sound. This electronic device yields a loud sound like a close-range lightning strike and chainsaw, with around 120 dB noise level.
7. Use The Vacuum Cleaner At Odd Hours
Like you would use boisterous outdoor chores to send the message of annoyance across to your noisy neighbors, you do the same using the vacuum cleaner.
Find the perfect time to execute this strategy. The best time is likely at odd hours when they could be asleep!
Regardless of their reasons why your neighbors are awake at such a time you are sleeping, it doesn't make their unwanted noise acceptable. Thus, when raising this concern to your neighbor, both parties should cooperate in settling for a feasible compromise.
8. Setup A Basketball Hoop In Your Driveway
Setting up a basketball hoop along the driveway or in your front yard will get the attention of your problematic neighbor. Do not be mindful of the time; dribble that ball day or night. If the odds are in your favor, these pesky neighbors will understand what you're trying to imply.
Such a scheme is not limited to basketball, as you may try other sports to obtain your neighbor's attention.
So long as you don't exceed reasonable boundaries, this prank is a legal way of drawing the line between you and your neighbor. This activity can be a fun family bonding time while getting your neighbor to notice your drastic actions.
Have your kids or friends join you in a friendly game; dribble and throw the ball against the hoop's backboard. You will create noise that's too impossible not to notice every time your ball crashes against the backboard as it misses the basketball hoop.
9. Throw A Party
If you can't get your neighbor to agree to a daytime or weekend party, let them savor the taste of their own medicine. Allow these offenders to experience how it feels to have someone partying when you're trying to get some sleep.
Plan a house party, and invite all your friends for food, drink, and music.
Best to have this rave party at midnight or the wee hours when your neighbors are likely to sleep. An even better idea is to observe the type of music your neighbor listens to every day.
Play sounds contrary to the music they prefer at your party, and do so at full blast. If such behavior doesn't get their attention, I don't know what else will.
10. Have A Pet Dog
Adopt a pet if you still haven't got one at this point. Aside from being effective stress relievers, barking pups at your house day in and day out will encourage these annoying individuals to pay attention.
The non-stop noise from your pets will undoubtedly derail anyone trying to focus, sleep, work, study, or even relax.
If you think that this step ends with adopting a pet, then that's where you're wrong. To establish a clear message, if all the other methods fail, set up the doghouse next to your neighbor's backyard, or they could be sleeping soundly.
11. Get Back At Them For Their Loud Sex Noises
If your neighbor's hot night of sexcapade keeps you up all night, don't forget to handle such a thing with more caution. Unlike the other annoyances that you can replicate, this noise can be a sensitive topic for discussion.
Try casually talking with the offender, explaining wall construction and how sound waves travel through walls, floors, and ceilings.
Make the conversation sound like it's no big deal, but also make them re-evaluate their actions and maybe they will embarrass themselves and stop doing it. You may write them an anonymous note and post it on their door or play some sexy music on full blast as they do it.
Fun Fact: Find the means of eliminating neighbor sex noises by installing the best sound dampening insulation on your walls. if this still does not work, then seek legal action!
12. Enroll For Some Music Lessons
We have to admit that nothing is okay about blaring hardcore rock music at three in the morning. Then maybe you can take this problem as the universe's way of urging you to put your musical repertoire to practice.
Enroll in a music class, whether learning to play the guitar, drums, piano, or singing.
Maybe it's time to bring out that virtuoso in you, power on that karaoke, and sing, dance, or play to your heart's desire. And before you lose sight of your goal, maybe playing an electric guitar or the cymbals for your musical band practice will do the trick.
13. Cook Food With Overpowering Smell
After being the neighborhood virtuoso, now it's time to take your culinary skills to the next level in your effort to annoy your uncooperative neighbor. Cook a dish with an overpowering smell and get it wafting to their apartment floor upstairs.
It may not always be a dish but a fruit such as a smelly durian or a spicy barbecued meal from your house party.
You can try anything with a pungent odor that will get your stubborn neighbors to think things over. Who knows? Maybe they will realize that giving in to your polite request for habitable living conditions would seem more manageable for them now.
14. Plan A House Makeover Or Renovation
A vast house repair or even remodeling can cause disturbance to your neighborhood. Consider all the mess that a renovation entails and the pesky hammering or drilling sound.
While this trick may not apply to an apartment renter, it is undoubtedly a foolproof strategy to irritate a troublesome neighbor.
A simple room makeover will do the trick if you are an apartment tenant and may not do major renovations. Or try to decorate your work desk at home.
Schedule the repair or renovation during the weekend, preparing the materials early in the morning while they could still be sleeping soundly.
15. Raise The Issue To Your Landlord Or Call The Police
Remember that you have the right to seek legal intervention for any pervasive, continuing, and severe nuisance from those noisy upstairs neighbors. It doesn't necessarily have to threaten safety, morals, or public health.
Offensive activities, such as excessive noise or open sexual conduct, are punishable by law.
Fun Fact: Involving the authorities is never a good thing! Try everything diplomatically at first like knowing how to soundproof a room from outside noise or learning how to install soundproof foam to quiet your place.
SoundProof Tip: As if you've settled your score with the upstairs neighbors! Hah! You still have to cope with the downstairs neighbors' noise and whatnot. Read our simplistic but effective means of maintaining peace and quiet for good -- How To Reduce Noise From Downstairs Neighbors In 10 Ways.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How can I get revenge on a loud upstairs neighbor?
Any loud sound, especially during unholy hours, will derail most of us understandably. Nevertheless, despite various options to retaliate against noisy upstairs neighbors, you must first try to resolve such conflicts cordially.
If your neighbors refuse to cooperate, you may try to devise a prank that will get their attention. Otherwise, advise your landlord about the problem, provide the necessary information, or seek legal counsel if communicating politely with your neighbor seems futile.
How to make noise for upstairs neighbor?
One way to get back at a noisy neighbor is to create a loud noise to catch their attention. You can play your music loud, have a house party, get a ceiling vibrator, or tap on the ceiling repeatedly if you are the downstairs neighbor.
But before you try these things, ensure that you tried talking to your loud upstairs neighbors first about the problem. It's best to ascertain that none of your actions will fall under public nuisance law, which will make you as liable as your annoying neighbor.
How to block the loud walking upstairs neighbor?
When dealing with loud noise problems from your annoying neighbors upstairs your place, you can try soundproofing your ceiling. Sound wave vibrations travel through various materials. So, if your ceiling is well-constructed with dense material, it can prevent airborne noise transfer.
Try adding insulation or using an acoustic sealant, as the adhesive can absorb sound. Likewise, you may use adhesive to seal holes and gaps in your ceiling. As a last resort, try to acquire a white noise machine for minimizing ambient noise.
How to annoy your upstairs neighbor without getting evicted?
Before plotting the perfect noisy upstairs neighbors revenge, try to identify solutions and consequences for when the other person refuses to cooperate. Always check your local ordinances before proceeding with any prank for your upstairs neighbors.
It will ensure that none of the methods you have in mind are against the law and put you at risk of eviction. Do not scheme any prank that may cause harm to your neighbor or their property.
Conclusion
The best way to resolve the noise problem with your upstairs neighbor is to determine your goal. Your efforts to annoy the upstairs neighbor are useless if none of those things bring you an inch closer to what you wish to achieve.
Despite learning how to annoy upstairs neighbors legally, it's still best to document every offense they make and keep a good record of it. Likewise, find more effective ways to block the noise if you can't stop them from making one.
If your upstairs neighbor persistently violates local standards despite your efforts, it's time to take appropriate action based on your rights to a peaceful environment.