Man Slammed Over Harsh Method To Stop Trespassers From Walking Across His Lawn

Oct 08, 2021

It’s normal for people to want to protect their property and keep their homes looking as nice as possible. A man with a large front lawn recently went to some extreme measures to prevent people from being able to stroll leisurely through his grass. Thomas Lyons, known as @tgunz81 on TikTok, shared a video of an automatic sprinkler system he put in place to stop people from walking across his lawn.

Lyons had gotten tired of having to ask people not to walk in his yard, only to get ignored in the long run. Rather than just let people walk all over him — and his lawn — he came up with an idea that definitely left plenty of trespassers surprised. 

Lyons decided that he needed to do something more drastic, so he installed a sprinkler system that automatically goes off whenever it detects someone in his yard. Once trespassers reach a certain point on the lawn, the system is set off and soaks them. There is also an alarm that blares whenever the sprinkler is set off. Lyons hopes to deter people from walking on his grass using this method.

The man’s first TikTok video was posted on Sep. 22, 2021, and two follow-up clips have been posted since, revealing more information about the sprinkler and alarm systems and what the result of installing both have been like. The videos went viral, racking up millions of views and thousands of comments. While some people agree with Lyons’ method of keeping his lawn safe, others are not happy and have deemed his methods cruel and mean.  

After Lyons posted a few TikTok videos showing his sprinkler and alarm systems put in place to keep people from walking across his lawn, thousands of people from all over the world left comments on the matter. Lyons’ first TikTok video from Sep. 22, 2021, has accumulated more than 45 million views and over 82,000 comments, while his two subsequent clips have a combined of over 4.2 million views.

In Lyons' first TikTok video, clips show people walking across his lawn while his commentary states, "When people won't stop cutting across your lawn ... set up an automatic sprinkler." Set to light and comedic instrumental music, the video quickly makes an impact. It shows that Lyons has a strong sense of humor but he's also deeply serious about people walking all over his front lawn. What's more, he's tagged the video as "#funny."

The follow-up video takes away the light music and keeps the original soundtrack of his camera — the "original alarm audio" as Lyons puts it. When viewing this version, it's clear that the people who are crossing will understand that the sprinkler turning on was no accident, as a strong alarm starts blaring at the same time. That's a smart addition by Lyons, as it means the culprits won't mistake the sprinkler as a coincidence but rather they'll know he's serious.

However, Lyons’ third TikTok video had the before and after results that many might have been curious about. The first half shows people, both young and old, cutting across his lawn, with one person even going over with a bicycle. Meanwhile, the second half showed people quickly scurrying off his lawn once the sprinklers went off, proving that his new setup is actually working. 

Captioning the third video, Lyons wrote:

"More lawn pirates! Asked nicely everyday to stay off the lawn but people just keep coming. #Lawnpirates #Lawnmageddon #Funny #Sprinklers"

While not everyone is a fan of the man’s methods, it is his property so he can do with it whatever he pleases. Ever since the video went viral, people have been weighing in with their thoughts. According to My London, some people supported him, while others described his extreme measures as mean and cruel.

From the camp that thought his actions were justified, one person commented, “I have always felt like it was disrespectful to walk on people’s grass.” Several users agreed and brought up the fact that people should respect other people’s property. A second user commented: “You’re all mad for no reason. This is their yard. Walking on it can kill the grass and there are sidewalks for a reason.” These are all fair points.

But while it seemed like Lyons had a strong support system, there were other users who called out his harsh actions. One user explained: “Cutting across the grass has saved me from missing the bus many times. People cut because it is always faster and even 30 seconds can make a difference.” Others pointed out that it really wasn’t that big of a deal. Another person said, “It’s just the kids walking home from school.”

It might seem like a minor deal to people who pass through once but for those who repeatedly disregard Lyons' pleas to walk on the footpath instead of his lawn, it's rather disrespectful, which perhaps explains why he felt he had to go to such measures. 

What do you think about this TikTok user’s method of deterring people from walking across his lawn? Let us know, and be sure to pass this on to your family members and friends to find out what they think, too.