New York State: Is It Legal to Shoot Down a Drone in Your Yard?

Picture this, you are sitting in your backyard on a weekend afternoon, just minding your own business and all of the sudden one of those camera drones appears, and it is just 'hanging' out in your yard, watching you.

Creepy? Ok heck yes. What can you do about it? Anything? Is your first inclination to call the police or to do something else? What can you legally do in New York State? Keep reading.

Can you shoot down a drone that is in your yard in New York State?

There are a few more things to it before you just start blasting it out of the sky, whether it is with a slingshot, a power spray or heavy ammunition, take a deep breath.

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Who is flying the drone that's in your backyard?

In NYS to fly a drone recreationally, you do need to get register with the FAA (the same people who give airline pilots their licenses) and if you are flying the drone for "commercial business" you will need to get a specific type of drone license.

That being said, why is this person flying their drone in your backyard? The distance that the drone can go means that there is also a person near enough to your house that you should be able to track them down fairly quickly. Didn't work? Don't want to have that particular conversation?

READ MORE: Is it legal to bury your pet in your backyard?

While you technically can't shoot down a drone that is flying over your house, you can 'render it harmless' if it is flying over your backyard, and you think that it is taking pictures of you and your family. Can you spray it with water? Yes. Can you call the cops and have them respond? Yes, but there is no guarantee that they will get there while the drone is still flying around your yard. The call to the police is so that it gets documented.