Your backyard is a place at home that is meant to be relaxing and it’s like your personal sanctuary. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case as some backyards are disturbed by traffic and highway noise. You could also get disturbance in your private sanctuary if you have noisy neighbors. And so if you on a quest to find how to reduce or dampen traffic and highway noise in your yard or garden, this is for you.
In a hurry to find out what the top solutions are on how to reduce traffic and highway noise in your backyard? Having a brick wall or Mass Loaded Vinyl soundproof fence around your backyard is an effective way to reduce the noise coming in from the road as well as going out. You can also have a source of running water close to your favorite sitting spot so that it drowns out most noise coming from outside. We recommend the highly rated Peaktop Waterfall Fountain with LED Lights for Outdoor Patio Garden.
Backyard Noise Reduction: Best Ways in 2024
1. Wall or Fence
The use of brick walls around your home is an effective way to reduce traffic and highway noise in your backyard. Having the wall as tall as you’d like would make it even more effective with dampening the noise. This is because when you don’t see the source of the noise, your mind reduces the magnitude of the noise.
Bricks are an excellent solution because of their dense nature. Thanks to the density, sound vibration can hardly get through thus absorption takes place. When done the proper way; without any gaps for sound waves to escape through, your brick wall would be a very effective sound barrier.
As effective as brick walls are, they are however expensive and time-consuming.
A cheaper and easier alternative is to soundproof your fence with MLV. Use the highly rated TMS Mass Loaded Vinyl.
It’s also very effective and much faster. Read here in more detail on how to build a soundproof fence with mass loaded vinyl.
2. Water Feature to Drown Out Traffic Noise
The concept of using water feature to drown out traffic noise is that it’s a noise that more pleasing to the ears.
The sound of running water is relaxing and soothing, has the same frequency as road noise, and is a great addition to your backyard if traffic noise takes your peace away.
Artificial streams, fountains, and mini waterfalls are all sources of white noise, and they add to the beauty of the place as well.
They are so effective they can turn your once noisy backyard into a spot for meditation. Pairing the artificial fountain or other sources of running water with another method such as a fence would be highly effective in reducing the noise in your backyard.
The size of the fountain or stream doesn’t really matter in reducing traffic and highway noise. It however needs to be close to your backyard; your favorite spot. This way you would have the full effect.
Note that the presence of a water fountain or other water features won’t protect your ears from very loud traffic sounds like horns and sirens.
A good choice is Peaktop Waterfall Fountain Patio Garden.
3. Backyard Noise Reduction Speakers
You can install backyard noise reduction speakers as a source of white noise.
White noise would drown the traffic and highway noise coming in, allowing you have better relaxation.
If you are not in the mood for white noise, you can choose to go with songs from your favorite artiste as a form of distraction from the traffic noise.
By doing so, you would be turning your regular speaker into a backyard noise reduction speaker.
4. Traffic Noise Reduction Fences
The use of traffic noise reduction fences is another way to soundproof your backyard. They are made specifically for the purpose of soundproofing and so are dense and tall. 
This way they transfer minimal vibration from the outside.
You would see a typical noise dampening fence made of layered wood or plastic composite Reinforced with Mass Loaded Vinyl.
The good thing about noise dampening fences is that apart from being effective, they are also cheap and easy to install compared to brick or stone fences.
5. Landscaping
Landscaping is another way to reduce road noise in the yard. This would come in very handy if building fences isn’t an option you like. You can hire a landscaper to reduce the land level of your outdoor space relative to the surrounding area.
This would make the surrounding areas act as a wall to block out the outside noise. It also adds to the aesthetics of your property.
6. Vegetation
Trees, shrubs, and other plants are good at deflecting incoming sound. So having these in your backyard is a great way to reduce road noise in the yard. Apart from backyard noise reduction, they are also pleasing to look at, and have decorative advantages.
Adding another method such as a fence would be even better at reducing noise as they both complement each other. When choosing the type of vegetation to go with however, go for broad leaf evergreens.
Being evergreens, they would function all year round, and the size of their leaves makes them more effective at the sound reflection. Another advantage of vegetation is that they can also create white noise that’s more pleasing and relaxing when they respond to the wind.
Just as with hedges, vegetation takes a lot of time to grow to maturity, and that’s the downside to their use.
7. Hedges
Most people who live in residential areas have hedges around their backyards. It’s a beautiful and natural way of reducing road noise in the yard.
Most people use hedges for decorative purposes and not soundproofing purposes, so if you are looking for an appealing way to keep your backyard quiet, this is a good one.
A disadvantage to the use of hedges is that they take a long time to grow to maturity. On average, hedges take anywhere from 5 to 7 years to reach the right height.
Getting the semi mature ones is an expensive decision. You can however construct a wooden fence around your hedges, and wit for their maturity. While the hedges grow, your wooden fence does the job of soundproofing your backyard.
8. Metallic Panels
Including metallic panels in your fence is a good way to turn your regular fence into a traffic noise reduction fence as metal is a good sound deadener. It’s particularly useful in reducing airborne noise such as car noises, and loud talk and music from your neighbors.
For the best effects when using metallic panels to reduce road noise, you would have to invest in the thick and very dense metallic fence. This way your fence would keep the noise down rather than vibrate and amplify the noise coming in.
9. Wooden Fences
Building a tightly packed wooden fence can also help reduce the noise coming into your backyard. This is a cheap alternative and it’s also effective.
Being tightly packed, it reduces the amount of vibration that goes through, absorbing a great portion of the sound waves. For the best results, ensure that the fence you build is over 2 meters tall and has no gaps.
Wooden fences are not the best choice if your noise problem is a really serious one. It’s only recommended if yours is a minor issue, as it saves cost.
10. Shed
Having a shed can be used to improve the acoustics of your garden. An opening or corridor leading to your garden can serve as an echo chamber that amplifies the sound coming into your garden from the road.
So how then can you reduce road noise in the garden? Building a shed at the end of such a passage would effectively deflect the sound away from your garden. This way you would reduce the noise coming into your garden.
11. Wind Chimes
Wind chimes are a cheaper source of white noise when compared to water fountains and waterfalls.
They are different though as they dot produce such sounds constantly but only when there is a wind.
The use of wind chimes is effective especially for those who live in locations where the road sound is amplified by the wind such as downwind of the road.
With the chiming of the wind chime, the noise from the road would fade into the background of the more pleasant chimes.
Final Thoughts On How to Reduce Traffic and Highway Noise in My Backyard
The backyard is undoubtedly your sanctuary at home, as it gives you the opportunity to be at one with nature and be at peace with yourself. If you however stay close to the highway, the peace and quiet that you desire would be taken away from your backyard.
Your backyard can also be unbearably noisy if you have noisy neighbors. So how ten do you reduce traffics and highway noise in your backyard?
By having a brick wall or soundproof Mass Loaded Vinyl fence around your backyard, you will have much less noise coming in. The brick wall or fence due to its thickness and density works great to absorb incoming noise thereby giving you much more peace and quiet.
You can improve the aesthetics of your backyard as well as drown out traffic noise with an artificial source of running water like a fountain. Top rated one is the Peaktop Waterfall Fountain with LED Lights for Backyard. You could hire a landscaper as well to redesign the space around your house.
Dave Pearson is a Canadian musician, sound editor, and audiophile. He is also the founder and owner of the website SoundProofGeek. On SoundProofGeek, Pearson offers advice and resources on audio equipment, including how to assess and improve audio quality, how to troubleshoot and repair audio equipment, and how to improve the music listening experience.
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