Thuja are dying little by little

when I look at the 40-year-old thuja of my mother-in-law and see what lives, crawls, and flies inside, I just ask very ignorantly: REALLYY???

Yes, people also live in the desert, although the place is not ideal.

better cherry laurel and thuja than 40m stone gabions or double rod mesh fence with woven privacy screen.

That’s true. Better a modern 3l diesel than a V8 gasoline engine is a comparably correct statement. I’m not judging the owners here, just explaining ’s question about the "why". It’s always the quantity. If one or the other thuja or cherry laurel hedge goes, there’s nothing to complain about. Against residential areas full of thujas and cherry laurels, however, there is.

What does the neighbor say? Does it bother him or is he happy about the evergreen hedge?

The neighbor once mentioned that he would like to renew the fence "sooner or later" and that they would have to be removed anyway. Since the plants stand clearly too close to the boundary, he will probably be right. We were told elsewhere that they have to stand one meter away from the boundary. No idea how reliable this statement is. If our patio roof is installed, and the terrace might be extended a bit (outdoor kitchen!), they would be superfluous except as a habitat.

Amazing what everyone always has against thuja, the same with cherry laurel. Better a green hedge than a fence.

Green hedge yes, cherry laurel and cemetery plants no. There are also beautiful hedges ;)

Yews? Cemetery plants and toxic from wood to needles to fruit.

Thuja is also poisonous. Apart from that, children should know not to eat hedges.

Good alternatives are e.g. red beech, copper beech, hornbeam or even privet. But of course there are many more.

Good alternatives are e.g. European beech, copper beech, hornbeam or also privet. But of course there are many more.

Only the privet is somewhat evergreen. The rest are therefore not an alternative.