Why do so many Americans think mowing the lawn (with a gas powered lawn mower) at 8am is acceptable in a neighborhood?

Are you objecting to the noise or to the time? 8 a.m. is not ”...so early in the morning.”

LOL… The people in the apartment above me think it is cool to have band practice at 8am.

These assholes now know the lyrics to every Public Enemy song ever made.

Grass is usually still covered in dew at 8 am. idiots

Yes, those rotary mowers do a nice job but without the gas engine to drive one, it’s a lot of work. Have you ever used a plain Jane you-push-it one?
8 AM on a weekday isn’t so early since everybody who works has probably already left the house. If it’s on a weekend, then, yes, they are inconsiderate morons.
The dew is still on the lawn at 8 AM and that isn’t good for the steel deck on the mower, plus the moisture helps to gum the thing up. But it would create less dust…

I think it depends very much on just where you live in America. You can mow your lawn at 8 AM in Omaha with no problems. Out here in San Francisco it’s the 3 AM garbage trucks that are particularly skillful at maximizing the noises. I swear you can hear those revving Diesel engines and whining lift hydraulics for blocks. But it’s one of those things we all get used to and usually sleep right through.

Suck it up, snowflake. Hard working ‘Mericans are up at the break of dawn.

If you lazy, self-entitled socialist liberals don’t like the noise of god-fearing, hard-working Americans pushing a good ol’ noisy gasoline powered mower in the morning—move to Cuba or North Korea.

Or Manhattan

Why do so many people think it’s perfectly acceptable to use a power mower or leaf blower so early in the morning?
Because they are insensitive fools.

Silent push-blade mowers are only $100 and work almost as well. So why do almost all the dads in America want to use power mowers?
Because they are lazy insensitive fools.

It’s not like there aren’t alternatives.
Real men use scythes.

People are assholes.

I keep a window A/C unit in my room. Keep it running when I’m sleeping, regardless of how cold it is. The white noise is the only way I can sleep. I sleep in the daytime mostly, so I hear it all. I try not to get too mad because I know that most people are up in the daytime.

They also make white noise apps.

Check your local sound ordinance. There may be specific rules in place.

Where I live, the sound ordinance is in effect from 10:00 pm to 7:00am in residential zones. Noise made is limited by decibel level at the property line. I can’t remember the number, but it’s equal to the sound output of a hair dryer.

Bear in mind that not everyone has the same daily schedule as you. Perhaps this neighbor works nights and sleeps during the day. He got off work, came home to mow the lawn before grabbing something to eat and going to bed.

Maybe the guy has bad allergies, or takes medication that requires he stay out of the hot sun. His health may require he mow the lawn when there’s less dust and it’s cooler outside.

I work from home, and my busy hours are in the early afternoon. I find it FAR more annoying to hear mowing lawns in the heat of the day.

Can’t please everyone.

Where I live, it’s legal to have such noise as early as 7:00am.

A non-motorized push power is not for everyone. Elderly, some women, some kids. People with bad backs, etc.

Get over it, @Kraigmo – it may not be your desire to have people mow their lawns early, but I imagine the person has his/her reasons.

I used to work swing shifts and had to do yard work at odd hours at times. Leaf blowers are common around 8am here. When I lived near campus I had to wear earplugs because the party was constant and the next apartment over. Such is life. You can always move to a quieter area if it bothers you that much.

If this is your great bitch about life, @Kraigmo, you are truly fortunate.

Odd wording for it, but hey, however you express a Gratitude is good, I guess.

What kind of lawn mower is used on your lawn? And do you push it? Just curious…

Dogs barking, kids screaming, motorcycles blaring, lawn mowers mowing, music blasting, leaf blowers blowing, garbage trucks trucking, why can’t life happen at a whisper. I hate the sound of people working in my vicinity.

Meh….it’s not like the lawn needs to be mowed every day, sooo, once in awhile, just get over it.
You’d hate my place, roosters crowing at 5:30 a.m., horses neighing for breakfast, wild canada geese flying around banging as they land on the metal horse shelter roofs looking for nesting places right now, my neighbor firing up his backhoe at 7 a.m. and lots of chainsaw action some days too. haha
Hey, country life is noisier in some ways than city life.
Ths morning the birds are going nuts out there, a constant tweet, chirp, warble goin’ on. Remember, the early bird gets the worm or the early gardener gets the mowing done before it heats up.

The team of gardeners here often show up early to mow and weed eat the several acres of lawns around this place.

@Coloma – I have this woodpecker that comes by most days and bangs on the metal cover on top of the chimney. What a distracting sound!

@elbanditoroso haha, yeah, here too. We have the Acorn Woodpeckers that stash their acorns all over the place and bang around under the eaves of the houses too.

Maybe because they think people will just tolerate that or won’t dare to complain in front of their faces. I don’t even understand why people want to keep grasses on their lawn. Where I live, the open area around your house are layered with other materials such as cement, ceramic, or marble so you won’t see the soil or grasses, it’s easier to clean and maintain. If you want some plant you can grow them on pots. Why even mown the lawn if you can simply transform it in to no-work environment.

A lot of yard maintenance noise is generated by yard care professionals who need an early start. So amy yards to do with so little time.

A home owner may also have a full schedule in which yard duties may need to be done early of not at all.

@Unofficial_Member: where I live, there are kids and dogs and games that happen on lawns, and the green growth is pleasant and cool and smells nice in the summer. Lawn maintenance is fairly simple n my neighborhood.

^ Yes, and lawns keep the dust down too. This property has huge lawns all around, I’d say about 3 acres worth, maybe more, but…we also get county ditch water for irrigation so not using precious potable water to keep the greens greens. Bonus, the horses here get to gorge on delicious green grass too when let out of their decomposed granite paddocks.

A nice big lawn was like one of the things on my “must have” list when getting a new house.

No lawn and forested and/or mountainous distance from neighbors are on my list. :-)

@Zaku We have both here, 10 acres of mostly wooded/mountainous land, pine & oaks with a couple acres of lawns around the pond and front yard, back part of the pool side of the house by the horse paddocks. Hey, lawns provide premium Gopher real estate, my cats are in in kitty Nirvana right now, so many Gopher holes to watch. The earth is moving all the time. haha

8 is on the boundary of being too early vs. being reasonable. I’m mostly up at 8 so it wouldn’t really bother me. 7 or earlier is too early though. My roommate used to get up really early and one time made himself a smoothie at 7 in the morning. The blender woke me up and I told myself if he ever did that again, I was gonna down to the kitchen and punch him in the face. Didn’t end up having to do it, though :P

@Coloma Sounds great! When I was in Colorado recently, one of my favorite things was watching the prairie dogs! Gopher-stalking cats sounds at least as good!

Oh, that reminds me of another alternative lawn care option: goats.

As much as I hate lawns (first thing I did at this house was remove all of the lawn), I would never use anything other than a push mower (and I do own one for the mini putting green I used to keep in the back). I like a crisp looking cut and a well-maintained push mower is needed for that. If you look at blades of grass after electric/gas mowers go through, the tops look shredded. Definitely not my aesthetic.

As to time, work noise is legal here after 7 a.m. so we just have to deal with it. The garbage trucks idle at the top of the street just before 7 a.m. Friday mornings waiting to be start the pick-ups. Lucky us – first block on the route.

I just googled my village’s noise ordinance and this is an exerpt:

The operation of any power or manual lawn mower or other noise-emitting gardening equipment at any time, except between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays, and 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Sundays and holidays.
G.
The operation of or permitting the operation of any radio, television, video cassette recorder, tape player, compact disc player, stereo, musical instrument or other sound-producing device in an unreasonable manner or with such volume so as to cause inconvenience or annoyance to the neighborhood or to disturb the quiet comfort or repose of persons in any dwelling or residence.
H.
Causing or permitting to be caused unnecessary noise, including the erection, excavation, demolition, alteration or repair of any building or structure, other than between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays, and 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Sundays and holidays.

I don’t know about unnecessary noise (although that would seem to be the case when people have conversations using their cell phones that people from miles away can hear), but certainly a lack of sympathy for one’s fellow man seems to be a growing problem.