Is My Neighbor Operating a Meth Lab?
Learn How to Identify a Meth Lab
How can you tell if your neighbor is merely unsociable or operating a meth lab?
For many of us, those quiet neighbors are the kind we like. Unfortunately, a house that's a little too quiet during the day, but comes alive in the middle of the night is a pretty typical characteristic of a drug house. Meth houses have a whole range of additional characteristics that make them quite easy to identify if you just know what to look for.
Nasty smells originating from the house is one of the most telling characteristics that a meth lab is in operation. The smell is something like a cross between rotten eggs and ammonia. In our neighborhood, meth labs tend to have box fans in the windows that exhaust the smell outdoors where everyone can smell it.
Box fans, open windows in the winter and other types of ventilating systems are very characteristic of a meth lab. The toxic fumes need to be dispersed and fans are about the most efficient way of clearing the air.
Completely blocked off windows and doors also seem to be a typical characteristic of meth labs. Windows are completely screened off, often with things like black vinyl or aluminum foil which prevents anyone (including the cops) from looking inside.
Does your neighbor only go outside briefly just to smoke? According to our local neighborhood officer, a lit match can set off an explosion in the lab which is why the residents almost never smoke indoors.
Many meth lab operators have also mean dogs such as rottweilers, pit bulls, or doberman pinschers to provide security around the premises.
Does your neighbor put out strange trash instead of the usual type of garbage that the rest of us toss? Meth lab operators tend to throw out weird things like lots of empty Hardware or Automotive store chemical containers and a zillion empty boxes of Claritin or some other cold tablet product.
Does your neighbor and his friends occasionally run out of the house, coughing or vomiting? This is a sign that toxic fumes were suddenly released into the home.
Getting back to that late night time activity, a meth lab isn't a party house where a bunch of guys come over and party for a while. It's a business in which all sorts of strange people come and go all night long, never staying more than 5 or 10 minutes. It's that constant revolving door of nighttime visitors that is probably the most tale telling sign of a drug house.
So what do you do? Most neighborhoods have a Neighborhood Contact Officer that is assigned to your area. If you have a suspicion that a meth lab is operating on your block, call the Police Department and ask to speak to your assigned contact officer. The NCO will take it from there.
additional resources: http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/methnet/recognizingmeth/outside.html
Published by C. Jeanne Heida - Featured Contributor in Business & Finance and Lifestyle
Jeanne is a small business owner with 25 years experience in the real estate industry. A consistent Y!CN Top 100 writer, her articles can be found at Y!Finance, Shine, Your Wisdom, DEX, and the Scripps Net... View profile
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13 Comments
Post a Commentnosy paranoid neighbors are worse than meth labs
I can smell the Meth cooking from a neighbors home. It makes me sick. It irritates my nose and throat. What do they do with the leftovers? Throw it in the ground which affects the drinking water. It makes me so mad! This neighbor has his whole house surrounded with a privacy fence and does have a "mean" dog.
I think my neighbor is running a meth lab next door. Traffic comes and goes all hours of the night and my dog barks only when there is someone out there. It's always between 10pm-2am plus cars are there one minute and gone the next. A car was towed from in front of my home but that night I saw a guy removing what look like helium tanks from the broken car and placing them a truck at maybe 2am. My dog woke me up. The travel back and forth to the Phillipians. My son has constant headace... I think it's because his room is next to their home. HELP!!!!!!
Excellent article
Scared neighbor: this totally sounds like a place where drugs are being manufactured, especially if the place seems abandoned but there are trucks and vans coming and going at night. I would call the police department ~ using their non-emergency number ~ and ask to speak to someone in the Narcotics division or (if you live in a smaller town) the sergeant in charge of your area. They will take it from there.
New neighbors moved in about 6 months ago...They are not very friendly and have weird amounts of people coming in going for about two weeks at a time always in vans and trucks. Then it is like no one is living there. It is never real late at night that people come in go. Never past midnight. Never do people come and go during the day.
Strange odors are now coming out of the house. It seems they have a painting company, but I have never smelt paint or any other chemical a painter would use that smells like that. I know something is going on, but what? They are less than friendly as I said and sometimes scary with the type of people coming and going. What to do?
very interesting read! so many things to worry about in a neighborhood !...........................
Great article and meth labs are very dangerous :) Sheri
Very good information. I hope I never have to wonder about this. It's really very scary. Great job!
good tips for people to be aware of!