It's easy to tell the kids to clean up the room but how do you get your neighbor to clean up their unkept lot?
One Hidalgo County woman has spent years trying to get her neighbors to clean theirs.
"People come and throw stuff just because they see it abandoned,” Marissa Ortega said.
Ortega has lived in her Hidalgo County home, north of Mercedes on Orange Grove Avenue for nearly 30 years and as time has gone on the abandoned lot behind her home has only gotten worse.
"There are snakes, lizards, tarantulas, cockroaches, and cockroaches go into the house,” Ortega said.
"When it rains, in the middle it's a hole and it gets full of water and the mosquitoes start and then the kids can't be outside."
All over the property you will find areas full of trash, Gatorade bottles, aluminum cans, and plastic containers. The property has become more of a junk yard for the neighborhood.
Ortega tells action 4 news illegal immigrants even hide in the brush.
Ortega says the owners live out of state and haven't been seen in years. She has called the county multiple times, but nothing is ever done.
"They never called me back. We are just tired of having it here,” Ortega said.
The Hidalgo County Health Department says it's against the law for the county to go onto the property, so they can’t just come in and clear out the property or hundreds of other properties like it across the county.
Ortega says they have attempted to clean it up themselves but just feel overwhelmed.
"I want someone to come clean it and then we can maintain it after that,” Ortega said.
For now they will just have to wait till the owner comes back.
If you have a complaint about a neighboring lot, contact your local county precinct office.
They can create a work order with the county health department and help you contact the owner.
Property owners who don't respond to a request from the county to clean their weedy lots could face fines and have warrants issued for their arrest.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKGBT