How can you tell if you’re dealing with someone who’s a meth abuser or a meth lab cook? Observe their behavior.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “In addition to being addicted to methamphetamine, chronic abusers exhibit symptoms that can include anxiety, confusion, insomnia, mood disturbances, and violent behavior. They also can display a number of psychotic features, including paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations, and delusions (for example, the sensation of insects creeping under the skin). Psychotic symptoms can sometimes last for months or years after methamphetamine abuse has ceased, and stress has been shown to precipitate spontaneous recurrence of methamphetamine psychosis in formerly psychotic methamphetamine abusers.”
1. Frequent visitors at all times of the day or night, followed by periods where there are no visitors.
Meth users can stay awake for several days and nights without sleep. During those “awake times”, buyers will frequently visit the meth dealer’s home. Cash poor buyers often bring stolen goods to the meth dealer’s home to barter for methamphetamine. Electronic items and tools are popular replacements for cash. Meth cooks will often “signal” buyers when they have meth to sell by doing something like leaving a porch light on or creating some other visible sign outside of their house.
2. Visitors park far away from the meth lab house, even though there is parking available in front of the home.
Buyers don’t want neighbors or other people that they know to see their car parked in front of a drug dealer’s home and meth dealers don’t want alot of vehicles showing up at their house. Some meth buyers drive stolen cars, but that’s not true of all buyers. If the car has been stolen, the door lock may be punched out. Stolen cars may be dirty, but they will have clean license plates.
3. Activity at the house is usually at odd hours or late at night.
Meth cooks usually cook meth in the early morning hours when most people are sleeping. Meth lab cooks that use motel and hotel rooms to cook meth often cook meth somewhere between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. Meth’s effect on users allow them to stay awake all day and all night for several days in a row, if they keep using more meth. Lack of sleep causes hallucinations and extreme paranoia.
3. Occupants appear unemployed, yet seem to have plenty of money and pay bills with cash.
Meth dealers get paid in cash and often with stolen property. Because of the laws limiting the sale of pseudoephedrine, meth dealers will also accept packages of pseudoephedrine as payment for meth.
4. Occupants are unfriendly, appear secretive about activities.
The last thing that a meth cook wants is a friendly neighbor stopping by and asking questions about anything they see or smell, or about them, for that matter.
5. Occupants watch cars suspiciously when they pass by.
Heavy meth users and meth cooks are always worried that someone is coming to get them and they want to be ready to a) make a quick escape or b) grab a weapon.
6. Occupants display a paranoid or odd behavior.
Heavy meth users who go without food and sleep for several days in a row are prone to hallucinations and paranoia.
7. Extensive security at the home.
“Private Property” or “Beware of Dog” signs may be posted as well as fences, large shrubs, bushes and trees. Security cameras may also be attached to the house, shed, barn, garage, etc. Anyone making and selling meth wants to know who is getting “too close” to finding out about their illegal activity.
8. Windows blackened or curtains always drawn.
Besides preventing anyone from seeing any signs of meth lab through their windows, they also prevent anyone from seeing the mess inside of their homes.
9. Occupants go outside the house to smoke cigarettes.
Meth lab cooks are smart enough to know that lighting a cigarette near the volatile chemicals inside their home or shed would be disasterous.
10. Chemical odors coming from the house, garbage or detached buildings.
11. Garbage contains numerous bottles, containers.
12. Coffee filters, bed sheets or other material stained from filtering red phosphorus or other chemicals
13. Occupant sets his garbage for pick up in another neighbor’s collection area.
14. Evidence of chemical or waste dumping (i.e. burn pits, or “dead spots” in the yard)
15. Meth users are extremely active. Methamphetamine gives the user alot of energy, making them very talkative and energetic. When 
they’re high on meth, they may be involved in several kinds of projects but seldom finish any of them.
For example, they may pull apart vehicles and other machinery with the intention of fixing them, but never complete the repairs.
Some meth lab homes have been found with graffiti painted on walls and ceilings. Meth gives them so much energy that they have to do “something”.
16. If the meth user / dealer/ lab cook has children or pets, they are typically neglected and in danger. Chemicals in meth lab homes are often left where children can reach them and drink them. Meth lab homes are full of toxic chemicals that are extremely dangerous to the health of children, whose immune systems are still developing.
During the times that the meth using parents crash by sleeping for days 
at a time, children and animals are often left to fend for themselves. During those times, many children don’t go to school. Older children often stay home from school to take care of their younger siblings, while their adult caretakers sleep.
Food may be scarce in a heavy meth user’s home, due to money being spent on drugs before food for their children and their pets. Meth users may also forget that children and pets need to be fed, as meth takes away their urge to eat.
Children may not be allowed to go outside without a parent or other adult present.
Originally published on March 13, 2009.
Can you tell me if you have ever heard of a meth lab refered to as “The Cafe”?
Can’t say that I have heard meth called that. It might be a reference to caffeine.
my next door neighbor is a meth tweaker off the show intervention im worried she may be making a meth lab in her backyard. i’ve seen her carrying what looks like big tanks for gasoline or some sort of liquid and put it in the back. she also always seems to have haggard looking people at her house at times. people who seem to be like twice her age and they are always around. she seems like she’s still on drugs cause of her eccentric activity and her sporadic conversations. i dont know what to do i want to call the police but i dont want to be wrong and look like a bad person
Sounds a lot like she’s back to using again and may be involved with manufacturing meth again, as well, according to what you’ve described. Are there children in the house or are there children going to her house? There are tremendous risks to children living in or around meth addicts and meth cooks, including sexual abuse and physical injuries including burns. The manufacture of methamphetamine is a serious public health and safety threat. Calling the police to investigate a situation that endangers others is the responsible thing to do if you suspect your neighbor is manufacturing meth, in my opinion.
Have you ever heard of meth cookers trying to disguise the smell of the cooking meth with cooking food at the same time? Once a meth user starts cooking how long does it take before it is completed? I have a neighbor who at irregular intervals cooks at nigh usually starting around 10:00PM and it always has a very strong dead skunk smell.
Lori,
Meth addicts aren’t usually interested in food, since the use of methamphetamine takes away their appetite, however the skunk smell that you’re smelling “may” be due to someone cooking meth. A commenter on my posting “Meth lab pictures for renters, realtors, home owners, home buyers” described the smell coming from their meth cooking neighbors as “They’ll be cooking tonite with various smells ranging from odor of paint thinner, dead skunk, and a really strange zoo like stench.”
According to my research, the time it takes to cook meth can range from 15 minutes to 48 hours depending on the method they’re using to make meth. Older methods of cooking meth, where they need to heat the ingredients, produces fumes and can take 48 hours to complete. Shake and bake meth or the one-pot method of making meth in a bottle, can be completed in as little as 15 minutes and doesn’t produce fumes.
Yup, they will burn trash or BBQ to cover the smell. My neighbors have been burning trash for 4 days straight and the young male is giggin hard.
So, I’m pretty sure my cousin has a meth lab going on in the garage, I’ve seen things that are odd, I’ve smelled things that are even more odd, and I’ve seen certain products I know we don’t use on a daily basis. I’ve also noticed every time there is salt brought into the house it is gone within a few days, I don’t want to call the police for there are people who are living in the actual house who are innocent bystanders like myself, but I’m not sure what else to do at this point. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Report your suspicions to the police. Meth labs are highly toxic and explosive. How will you feel if you don’t report it and your cousin dies because his (I’m assuming his) meth lab caught fire. Have you seen pictures of people who have been burned in a meth lab? It’s not pretty. Third and fourth degrees burns are common for meth lab burn victims and have caused the death of more than one meth cook. He is also inhaling very toxic chemicals that can cause him to get seriously ill, if not in the near future, in years to come. Also, how will you feel if another innocent bystander gets hurts or sick because of your cousin’s meth lab? If you really believe that your cousin is making meth, you should report him, in my opinion. He is playing with his life by making meth and he is putting the lives of others in jeopardy. It’s not likely that he’s going to stop making meth unless there is an intervention of some kind, like an arrest. Many meth addicts have told me that if they hadn’t been arrested, they would be dead right now.
You’re absolutely right, but if I report him, will everyone in the house be busted or just him? Like I said there are 4 of us who are totally innocent in this, and stay out of the garage, but since the garage is connected to the house, will we all be in trouble? I don’t want to get into trouble for something I have nothing to do with you know? How would I go about this without everyone being charged with possession or something?
That is why you ask to speak with an officer. They WILL advise you on what options to take and if you let them know who specifically it is – then they know who to look/ask for. If you sit and say/do nothing you will all be charged initially before interogation and hopefully then the charges dropped. Save yourself from 72 hours of un-needed jail time. Call and ask for advice.
My neighbors and I share one wall. About every three weeks starting at 10pm and ending around 3am there are drilling noises about every 3-4min consistently. Is that a sound that’s common with labs?
It could be. Meth cooks typically use food choppers aka food processors to grind up pseudoephedrine pills, which have a drill-like sound. If they are making meth, then it appears they’re making 3 weeks worth when they do make it.
I landlord a 12 unit residential apartment complex. We recently noticed that our water bill for the complex has skyrocketed… Exponentially. I have a unit that I am skeptical of the tenant. Knowing nothing about Meth I am unsure, but is heavy water usage a red flag? We have no idea where this water could be going and there doesn’t appear to be a leak of the magnitude that would use this amount of water. The tenant is also anxious and has always given me a strange vibe, pays in cash, his roomate walks most places with a backpack and they have gotten some strange nighttime traffic. I am fairly confident they smoke pot but my concern is if there is more to it. My main question lies in the role of heavy water usage in meth creation…. Is this a possible symptom?
Although it’s certainly possible that your tenant is making meth, heavy water use doesn’t usually signal a meth lab. I suppose they could be using lots of water to wash chemicals down the drain, but I think it’s more likely that your tenant may be operating a marijuana grow lab.
Do your tenants pay their own electric bill? Growing marijuana requires water and light, light that is oftentimes provided by means of grow lights.
When is the last time that you inspected the apartment?
We live in an apartment complex in rural Northern California. Across an eight-foot-wide fenced breezeway from us are two flats, the upper occupied by three people in their teens and early twenties; we’ve been told that the one in the bedroom facing our upstairs bathroom is 14.
Starting three days after we moved in, we’ve been vexed by their habit of running their dryer off and on all day and all night — with lots of dryer sheets — for up to four days straight, taking a day off, and then repeating the process. Since the dryer is in operation for up to fourteen hours on some days, this makes our apartment smell like the outside of a busy laundromat, which fouls the taste of all of our food and causes us great discomfort, so we took this up with the property manager, but he refuses point-blank to do anything. On the advice of our attorney, we’ve been documenting their behavior — which requires looking through the bathroom window at their dryer vent to confirm whether the machine is still in operation — but this elicits an extremely hostile response.
We’ve long been wondering why someone would do something like this, particularly when dryers are expensive to run. Now we wonder: Is it possible that they’re using and/or cooking meth?
Abdel,
If you suspect that your neighbors are making meth, you should call the police, asap! A dryer running for 14 hours a day with heavy use of dryer sheets, when it’s not being done by a laundromat, sounds suspicious to me. Don’t try to confront your neighbors. If they are using/making meth, confronting them could put you in a very dangerous situation. Guns are commonly found in homes where meth is being made. Bombs have been found in some meth lab busts too. Heavy meth users can go without sleep for several days, sometimes weeks, making them prone to violent outbursts and/or hallucinations. You need to be very careful for your own safety and the safety of your family. My advice is to call the police – as soon as possible – and let them know what’s going on, before someone gets hurt! Be sure to let them know that there’s a 14 yr old child in danger too! If they are making meth and an explosion happens, it could have tragic results. Burns, death, property damage. The sooner you call the police, the better! Good luck and stay safe!
I am curious to know about the health effects a meth lab would have on surrounding neighbors. I live in a very small community of studio apartments. I medically have lost all sense of smell. My neighbors moved in six months ago and shortly after there arrival, I started noticing these odd behaviors. I reported it to cops and the complex. I was told that they would be evicted due to have no income. They were not evicted because the mother renewed the lease. Six months of this has passed and two months ago me, my children ( I have two kids) and my dog, started getting ill. My son and I have started breaking out in hive like rashes with no explanation as to why this is taking place. Again, I have reported it to the cops and to the apartment complex and still nothing is being done. Within this time, the apartment complex allowed the dealer to move in down the way increasing the traffic that much more. We are moving but Im now wondering if these break outs are due to chemicals that I am not able to smell. Please help and tell me what you think. Laura
Laura,
Your family’s health problems could be caused by your exposure to meth lab chemicals. You do not have to smell chemicals for them to do harm to your body. Toxic chemical particles can be present in the air without anyone being able to detect them. You should let your doctor and/or veterinarian know that you suspect that you have been exposed to meth lab chemicals. Leaving that environment, as soon as possible, is a smart thing to do for yourself and your family!
Something else you need to consider. If your family and pet became sick because of being exposed to meth lab chemicals, it’s possible that your belongings may also be contaminated with those chemicals. As the chemicals travel through the air, some of them enter the body, and the rest of them end up embedding themselves in to everything else inside the home. You would need to have someone test your apartment and belongings to determine whether or not it is contaminated and to what extent it has been contaminated. If testing shows that the apartment is contaminated, you may be able to recoup the cost of your medical expenses and the cost of decontaminating or replacing your belongings. Talk to a lawyer about it…several lawyers, if need be. Personal injury law firms might be interested in taking on your case.
You should let the local health department know that your family and pet have become ill since your new neighbors’ moved in. Let them know that you suspect they may be making meth. I’d also notify the Department of Environmental Quality in your state about your situation. Maybe one or both of those agencies will help you to get to the bottom of the problem or at least push the issue with the police department. If they get involved, I think you’ll see quicker police action.
In the meantime……. open up some windows in your apartment, when the temps allow it. Getting more fresh air in your apartment will help to reduce the concentration of chemicals that you’re breathing in. Good luck!
Hi i was thinking my neighbor has a meth lab, he had someone build a room in his garage and he will never open his garage door he”ll open it a few inches every few weeks and you see dirt all over the floor, he is a big time tweaker, he props open one blind in every window. He had a baby monitor outside of his garage. he posted a label on his electic box saying “Medical emergency life saving equipment being used” . He’s just weird.. But you never see anyone going to his house he”s always leaving to go places.. Do meth labs use a lot of electric? or if he could be growing pot? I cant tell.. He’s up all night..
Hi Amy
It’s hard to say what your neighbor is doing, however both of your suspicions make sense. He could be growing pot. He could also be making meth.
Grow labs, as marijuana labs are often referred to, typically use artificial lighting (grow light bulbs) to provide the plants with the light they need to grow. Dirt on the floor of the garage could be associated with growing pot or he may have put it there to absorb spilled meth lab chemicals. However, when someone is high on meth, they can do things that only make sense to them. Days and nights without sleep can make a sane person do crazy things. Additionally, meth cooks and marijuana growers sometimes use fans to help circulate the air or remove fumes.
Despite all of the press about shake-and-bake meth labs, not all methamphetamine is made in plastic bottles. Older methods of making meth, that are still being done in many parts of the country, require a heat source and produce more fumes than one-pot labs. Portable electric stove burners that have 1 or 2 burners are sometimes used by meth cooks to give them access to a heat source in a basement, garage, attic, shed, etc. Baby monitors, outdoor cameras, leaving a blind slat open, etc., are common among meth-makers, who become paranoid that someone (cops or others) are coming to get them.
Staying up all night is common for meth addicts. Meth keeps them from being tired and they may stay awake around the clock for several days, before they finally crash and sleep for a few days. Do you smell anything coming from his house? If I were you, I’d ask the police to investigate the situation, before someone gets hurt. Don’t try confront your neighbor or ask him what he’s doing. In fact, you should stay far away from his house. Stay safe!
Hi …my husband and I are staying in a very nice RV park for about 3 months. He is working and I am home and have a few concerns about our neighbors. This is our 3rd year at the same park, so we have become friends with a few people who live here. I was told our neighbors are tweakers….which I think mean people who use drugs…..they never eat anything here but smoke a lot and stay inside for at least 2 days and never come outside….all their windows are covered with towels and there was a smell yesterday. They have a few people come by who go inside and don’t stay long. A couple of nights ago we were BBQ ing and I had my little wiener dog on my lap and the old lady was walking across the park towards her trailer and my dog was growling like I have never heard and showing his teeth. She stuck her hand by him and he almost bit her. Now he growls every time they leave in their car or come home. Behind us are homes and a chain fence. On the property right behind us there are 2camper shells and 1long trailer behind the house. The long trailer has a tarp over the entire half and just now I got a big smell of ammonia coming in my window…I actually got dizzy….is that a sign of drugs ? Under the trailer next to me there was some dark liquid dripping from somewhere….the lady came out and was dumping something on it and squirting off area under her trailer….now there is a bucket there. I don’t know if she had bleach but when I smelled the big whiff of ammonia it wasn’t same time she was doing that….I want to feel comfortable going out and sitting in my chair but I don’t….
Nancy,
Judging by your description of the situation at the RV park, I’d say the chances are good that your neighbor is making meth. An ammonia smell is commonly associated with meth labs. Becoming dizzy from breathing in the toxic chemicals used to make meth is also common. Tweakers are a nickname for hardcore meth addicts. I hope you’re staying in your own RV. Lastly, I think dogs are a good judge of character. Meth labs explode without warning and heavy meth users are unpredictable and they are often violent. Don’t let your dog wander about the property, for his own protection. Staying indoors, away from the chemical smells, is also better for your health and your husband’s. Be very careful. Notify the police to investigate the situation. Personally, I’d find another park to stay in, asap. Stay safe!