John Corliss wrote:

Can you explain why college kids would want to **** you off by
messing up your lawn and shrubery? Instead of, say, scratching
your car or slashing your tires?

It's not a matter of ****ing me off, but rather getting even
with me for ruining their fun.

What's the difference?

They want to get back at you by vandalizing something they know you own.

I just find it strange that they'd take it out on your lawn and garden.
A fence, a mail box, a car, are usually the targets for property
dammage. But salting a lawn ???/

Did you in any way make references to your lawn or property
during your confrontation with them? Were they ****ing on
your lawn and you told them to stop - and that's how they
got the idea to vandalize it later?

They saw me fertilizing it and bragging about how nice and
green it was this year.

Was that before, or after, you called the cops on them?

And why salt? That sounds like a crazy idea unless there
happened to be handy supply of salt nearby.

Not at all. Salt is cheap and college kids tend to refer to
"How to Get Even" books, there are many such websites as well.

So you've got sophisticated vandals? The kind that go out and read
books and do research on how to commit vandalism?

One common tactic is to salt somebody's lawn.

Was it table salt (bought from a grocery store) or road salt?

Is road salt still available at your local big-box building store this
time of year?

Normally, vandals don't tend to spend any of their own money to obtain
items or materials by which to perform their destruction or dammage.
Again, this is why I find your situation so bizarre and atypical.

I saw them doing it, but they ran when I came out of the house
and it was too late. I couldn't prove who it was because I didn't
get a good enough look.

But you said earlier that you remarked to them that your lawn was nice
and green this year. Did you get a good look at them when you made that
remark?

I would give odds that the average college fool would have
no idea that salt could be used to kill turf and other
vegitation. Is this an agricultural college by chance?

See my above remarks.

Ah yes. Your lawn was salted by Ferris Bueller. I forgot.

You say you saw it when it was happening.

Why didn't you go out with a shop-vac and simply vacuum up the salt out
of the lawn before it dissolved into the soil?