13 Ways to Annoy Noisy Upstairs Neighbors legally (Revenge to Quiet)

You’ve lived in your apartment very happily for a few years. It’s convenient for shopping and transport and you can walk to work.

You don’t want to move, but the upstairs neighbors are making you crazy.

They never stop making a noise, but you can’t figure out what they are doing.

You’ve tried asking them to tone it down, but that made it worse. You’ve tried approaching the landlord to speaking to them, but he is not interested.

You’ve even reported it to the police, which stopped them for a while, but they are back to full strength.

Now you are at your wits’ end and really want to annoy your upstairs neighbors.

We’ll give you some ideas, such as:

• Borrowing your Dad’s electric drill and running that at full speed
• Get hold of their cellphone number and call them in the middle of the night
• Buy a durian fruit and let the smell waft upstairs

We’ll discuss these and other methods that should give you a good start on how to annoy upstairs neighbors.

You are becoming really upset with the constant noise, but you don’t want to get into trouble with the law either.

You want a solution on how to annoy upstairs neighbors legally, so you spend some time in your local library reading up on what you can get away with without losing to the legal system.

Local Noise-Oriented Laws

Before you take your noisy upstairs neighbors to task, make sure that you have your facts straight.

If they switch the TV on at full volume from 7 am every day, including weekends, you may have a case.

Your apartment block rules may state that there should be no excessive noise before 10 am over weekends, so you will be within your rights to expect them to be quieter then.

Local community laws usually include designated quiet times, but these may vary over weekdays and holidays.

There may be a decibel level over which noise is considered a disturbance, so find out from your local municipality if this applies in your area.

13 Ways to Annoy Your Neighbors Into Being Quieter

You are constantly tired and beginning to feel ill from the stress of incessant noise. You’ve spoken to your friends and family, and you’ve come up with a few devices to annoy your neighbors.

1. Smelly food

Everyone recognizes the awful smell of cabbage that has been cooking too long. It gets into your pores and permeates your kitchen.

So open all your windows, and spend a few dollars on a handful of cabbages that may be past their best-before date.

Get your friends involved and chop the vegetables into chunks before tossing them into boiling water – when some are cooked to a pulp, toss those into bowls and throw the next few handfuls into the pot.

Be sure to open all your windows so your noisy upstairs neighbors can share the aroma with you.

You can donate the mulch to your local dog pound to be added to their regular food.

Durian fruit is notorious for its vile smell.

Pick one up from your local market and leave it outside their door as a welcome home gift.

It’s even better if the fruit is slightly over-ripe.

2. Bouncing Ball

You haven’t seen your young niece and nephew lately, so you invite them and your sister over for an afternoon of games at your apartment.

Tell them to bring a ball so you can go and play in the nearby park, but you know you have other intentions first.

They arrive excited to start having some fun.

You encourage them to throw the ball against the ceiling as many times as they can and make a real competition out of it by encouraging them to shout every time they score a hit.

3. Knock on the Door

You’ve tried knocking on your upstairs neighbors’ door the polite way, in good spirits, but they won’t answer.

Now you decide that banging on their door at odd hours of the day and night may be more effective.

You don’t want to hurt your hands, so take along something hard like that pet rock you’ve kept from childhood. Wrap it in a cloth so it will make a noise but probably won’t cause any damage.

The important thing is to get revenge on your noisy upstairs neighbors, but you don’t want that reciprocated by them calling in the authorities on you.

4. Make a Prank Call

A colleague knows your noisy upstairs neighbors and has their cell phone numbers.

You change your cell phone settings so they can’t identify you right away, and you call them up in the middle of the night.

You say that they have been reported for inconsiderate behavior, and they are about to be arrested for breaking the peace if they do not desist..

They may not believe you, but it may give them a temporary pause for thought.

5. Use Petroleum Jelly

You are tempted to squirt superglue into their door lock, but you know that might be going too far.

But smearing the lock and door handle with petroleum jelly can be equally satisfying.

Be sure to poke it into the keyhole as far as possible so the key can’t get a grip.

This will make a greasy mess, and they will find it difficult to open the door without getting their hands covered in the slimy gel.

Repeat every time their noise gets out of hand, and they will get the message soon enough.

6. Put Speakers Up

You’ve got a pretty good sound system yourself, but you usually use it with headphones when you crank the volume so as not to annoy your neighbors.

This time, you set up a pile of books on top of your bookshelf where the speakers are installed.

Angle them so the top faces the ceiling, and surf YouTube for the most annoying music you can find.

Then set the volume as high as you can stand even with ear protection, and let loose.

It’s so loud everything is vibrating, but it has a great effect when they turn their music down immediately.

7. Hit the Ceiling

You’ve reached your tolerance limit, and you have to find a noisy upstairs neighbor’s solution.

If you stand on your couch, you can comfortably reach your ceiling with your broom.

It’s very satisfying to find a beat as you repeatedly hit your ceiling and their floor with your makeshift ceiling thumper, which you hope your neighbors find very uncomfortable.

8. Use a Ceiling Vibrator

If you really want to know how to annoy upstairs neighbors, invest in a ceiling vibrator.

This clever device is attached to your ceiling and sends out vibrations that will be felt through your floor.

It consists of an extendable rod with a vibrating device attached to one end.

You plug it into your nearest outlet, and once you have set the speed and vibration controls, you simply hold it against the ceiling.

Your noisy upstairs neighbors should find it annoying and inconvenient when their floor begins to vibrate.

9. Low-Frequency Noise

Humans can hear sound between 20Hz and 20kHz, but noise in the lower frequency range can be dangerous to your health.

However, you can set up a low-frequency noise to annoy your neighbors without causing them harm.

Go to a music site on your cell phone and set up a playlist you are sure will annoy your upstairs neighbors.

Then download a frequency sound generator app that allows you to easily control the frequency and volume.

The low-frequency vibes should penetrate their floor and may cause them enough discomfort to dial down their own noise.

10. Power Tools

You’ve complained to your parents about the level of noise your upstairs neighbors make. Your Dad comes up with a perfect solution — borrow some of his power tools that will deafen your neighbors.

You take his advice and run a hand power drill for as long as you can, even drilling into some wood scraps your Dad had lying around.

He also left you his electric screwdriver, which you use to do a few small DIY jobs around your apartment — at 2 am.

This is sure to infuriate your noisy upstairs neighbors.

11. Bowling Ball

In high school, you were the tenpin bowling champion, and you still enjoy making a few strikes.

You’ve kept your favorite bowling ball and hit on a brainwave.

You take up the rug in your wood-tiled passage and invite a few friends around, where they set up a makeshift rack with beer cans.

Then you take great pleasure in aiming at the empty cans with the bowling ball, making as much noise as possible.

The sound waves will rise and go through your ceiling right into your upstairs neighbors’ apartment.

12. Metal Barrels

A friend asked you to store a few 10-gallon steel barrels that he intends to use for a DIY project.

They are stacked in the corner of your lounge, but you suddenly think that rolling these along the floor will be a great noise deterrent for your upstairs neighbors.

They will wonder what on earth you are doing and may decide that noisy neighbors do not make good neighbors.

You make sure to protect your floor with a plastic sheet, but the noise is still high volume and very annoying.

13. Deal With Noisy Upstairs Neighbors

Your noisy upstairs neighbors simply aren’t getting the message.

You decide to confront them once and for all, as you simply cannot bear their racket any longer.

You can use Recording Device for Loud Neighbors  to record noisy neighbors for evidence

Getting into a fistfight is not your intention, but you are prepared to get in their face and let them know that you won’t put up with their constant noise at all hours.

This won’t make for the best of neighborly relations, but all you want is for them to be quieter and more considerate.

Conclusion

Noisy upstairs neighbors can make life a living hell.

Sometimes they may not be aware of how much noise penetrates down into your apartment, but others don’t care that they cause major inconvenience to others.

It’s best not to start off with a confrontation, but if talking to them in a civil manner has no effect, then you may have to resort to stronger measures.

Whatever you do, keep it legal, as you don’t want to end up facing the might of the law.

If all fails, you may have to move out and leave someone else with the problem of how to annoy upstairs neighbors.