Plants as privacy screens

We have about 700 square meters of land enclosed on three sides with 2 to 2.5 meter high thuja. The annoying mother-in-law says that we and our child are being poisoned by them, the smell, and the roots growing into our flowerbeds, and that annoys me. Does anyone have an answer to this!?

Wood, cones and especially the branch tips of thuja are poisonous. The cause of this are essential oils from monoterpenes. Appropriate caution should be exercised during cutting; the cut material should be disposed of (landfill, organic waste bin).

Of course, one does not eat thuja or rub oneself intensively on the foliage etc. (whatever absurd idea might occur to people).

Simply standing nearby or just the presence of a thuja will never lead to poisoning, not even gradually.

Whether the concerns of the mother-in-law can be met with arguments cannot be judged from a distance. There are people who already have an opinion and are immune to facts .

well, thuja ARE poisonous... especially if you eat them
Seriously - all parts of the plant are poisonous, especially fresh green parts. You should cut them preferably with gloves because the oils can cause allergies können, which can show up as pretty painful rashes.
So just make sure the child doesn’t put anything in their mouth and that’s fine.

ps: I was probably too late, the email notification just came in a minute ago... hmm.