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'Kool-Aid Man' TikTok stunt causing issues for homeowners in Caldwell

The challenge - which involves teens throwing themselves through vinyl fencing to replicate the '70s Kool-Aid commercials - have cost thousands in damages.

CALDWELL, Idaho — A new challenge popularized on TikTok has been causing issues for homeowners nationwide and now in Idaho.

Caldwell homeowner Richard Phillips says the new TikTok challenge, called the "Kool-Aid Man," encourages running through fences mimicking the old Kool-Aid commercials.

Phillips said this happened to his house and a couple of other neighbors.

“What in the world goes through these kids' minds to drive around so late at night and have the thought process of ‘oh, I’m going to destroy someone’s fence?'” said Phillips.

Phillips first found out about his fence being damaged when he received a call from the Caldwell Police Department while he was out of town.

"It's a group of high school aged kids driving around the neighborhood targeting people with vinyl fencing," he said. "They get out of the car long enough to plow through someone's fence while someone is recording, and they jump in the car and leave."

A couple of weeks later, Phillips says, someone broke his fence again, causing thousands of dollars in damages.

Not only was his house targeted, Phillips says, but other neighborhoods in the area were also hit.

“My house was the second one to be hit. I would say about 10 to 15 others were hit in total,” he said.

Caldwell Police say they are aware of this issue and are working to identify those responsible.

“They are super helpful, and they want to help us catch these people and put an end to this,” Phillips said.

Phillip and his neighbors are working with Caldwell Police by sending in videos captured with their home camera systems.

If this is happening in your area, Caldwell Police encourages the community to submit a vandalism report on their website at cityofcaldwell.org or call their non-emergency line at (208) 454-7531.

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