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The world of Animal Crossing: New Horizons gives players a chance to have the adorable neighbors. Every villager in ACNH is a different animal with a different personality, and they all will give players different ideas for how to improve the island, share items, and (usually) maintain a positive attitude. However, much like any other neighborhood, there are some neighbors that make players frown. Whether it be because the animal is not as cute as players wanted or because the villagers' attitude is frustrating, thankfully players do have the option to remove villagers from their island.

Related: Unique Animal Crossing Catchphrase Ideas For New Horizons Villagers

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has over 400 villagers, but only ten can live on a player’s island at once. New Horizons actually makes removing these tedious neighbors somewhat difficult. Unlike previous games, there is no foolproof way to kick a villager out off of the island. Removing villagers actually takes time and dedication on the part of the player. There are a few different ways to help influence the neighbor to leave.

Stop Talking To Your Animal Crossing Villager

Animal Crossing New Horizons Villagers With Angry Eyes

One of the sure-fire ways to remove a villager is to just completely ignore their existence, and don't give them any gifts, especially if it's the Animal Crossing villager's birthday. Although this can prove to be tricky, it's one of the few ways to guarantee a neighbor moves out. By not speaking with the villager, the villager starts to feel as if they have no friends on the island. Even if the scorned villager chases the player down, just keep running away and ignore them.

While not speaking with the villager, make sure to keep an eye out for them. Eventually, the villager will be seen walking around with a cloud above their head. This is the moment where players should speak with them. This cloud represents the villager contemplating something, and often it will be whether the villager should leave the island or not. This is the players' opportunity to encourage the neighbor to find new prospects somewhere else.

However, not every cloud represents a villager thinking about leaving. Sometimes, the villager will give the player an item in an attempt to garner friendship. If this is the case, players should follow up on the conversation by hitting the villager with the bug net. This will discourage and enrage the villager, which will help convince the poor animal to leave the island.

Related: Animal Crossing: Villager Greeting Ideas

This approach also requires players constantly interact with the other "wanted" ACNH villagers on the island. It may sound mean, but it helps to speak with all the neighbors players enjoy having around while simultaneously ignoring the villager that needs to move out.

Complain to Isabelle

A player files a complaint about Moose with Isabelle at Resident Services in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Another way to encourage a villager to leave your Animal Crossing island is by complaining to Isabelle. Simply enter the Residential Services building, then sit down and speak with Isabelle. Select the option to Discuss a Resident, and pick any reason to complain about the resident. By complaining about a villagers' clothing or the way they speak, players are able to change what the ostracized neighbor wears or their catchphrases.

This approach takes a fair amount of dedication to pull off. In order to have Animal Crossing's Isabelle remove the villagers, players will need to discuss this resident with her multiple times. This approach could take days before the villager gets the hint. However, it is worth a shot to get rid of that unwanted neighbor.

Sending and Ignoring Letters In ACNH

A player sits by the mailbox in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

One way to encourage ACNH villagers to move on is using letters. The first step is to send mean letters to the villager you want gone. By sending mean letters, the villager gets the hint constantly from the island representative that they need to move away.

In addition to sending mean letters, players need to ignore letters coming in from that villager. This can prove to be tricky because sometimes the unwanted villager will send the player gifts. It can be hard to ignore these notes, but the payoff will be well worth it in the long run.

Use Animal Crossing Amiibo Villagers

Animal Crossing New Horizons Isabelle amiibo

For players who collect ACNH Amiibo figures, removing despised neighbors is a little easier once Tom Nook unlocks amiibo scanning in the Nook Stop. However, this plan only really works if the players' island is full. Once full, players can use the amiibo figures to invite their favorite villagers to live on the island. Use the figure on the Nook Stop machine, then wait for the next day.

Related: Animal Crossing: New Horizons - How To Grow Blue Roses

But wait! Isn't the island full?

It absolutely is. This will prompt the new ACNH villager to ask the player which old villager should be convinced to leave the island. Select the scorned villager to give them the boot from your lovely paradise. It is also worth noting that some players have mentioned a glitch with this process. The scorned villager that has been forced out of another player’s island leaves a plot of land on the island that is meant to be a new home. These plots can be bugged and will simply read “ ’s New Home,” with the building supplies simply waiting. The player will not be able to place more plots for new villagers and the booted villager never really moves out. This glitch appears uncommon and may have been patched out, but be warned - perhaps it is really that maltreated villager getting one last jab in.

Remove ACNH Villagers Using the Time Travel Method

Why You Can't Change Your Birthday In Animal Crossing Horizons Time Travel

Players can use ACNH's Time Travel method to replace unwanted neighbors; however, the entire process can be a bit tedious due to the number of villagers available in the game. Using this method is also the fastest way to evict villagers and does not cost any money. Here's how players can replace villagers in Animal Crossing: New Horizons using time travel:

  • Step 1: Skip the time 15 days ahead and see if any villagers have a thought bubble above their head.
  • Step 2: If there aren't any thought bubbles, repeat Step 1.
  • Step 3: Make sure the villager with the thought bubble is the one players want to evict.
  • Step 4: If not, change the game's time to 4:59 AM and save the game.
  • Step 5: Watch the daily broadcast to skip time to 1:00 PM
  • Step 6: Check again to see if the unwanted villager has a thought bubble above their head. If not, repeat Step 4.
  • Step 7: The next day, players will find boxes out of the unwanted villager's house. The villager will leave the day after the boxes appear.

Next: Why Animal Crossing: New Horizons Only Lets You Have 10 Villagers

  • Animal Crossing New Horizons Poster Art
    Animal Crossing New Horizons
    Released:
    2020-03-20
    Developer:
    Nintendo EPD
    Franchise:
    Animal Crossing
    Genre:
    Simulation
    Platform:
    Nintendo Switch
    Publisher:
    Nintendo
    ESRB:
    E
    Platforms:
    Nintendo Switch
    Expansions:
    Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Happy Home Paradise
    How Long To Beat:
    68-600 hours
    Prequel:
    Animal Crossing: New Leaf
    Expansion Packs :
    Animal Crossing: New Horizons- Happy Home Paradise