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Old 08-19-2010, 04:59 PM
 
Location: Between Seattle and Portland
1,266 posts, read 3,212,473 times
Reputation: 1525

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People who wouldn't dream of setting up a picnic on a suburbanite's front lawn, injuring a family pet, or picking tomatoes out of a garden plot in a fenced back yard nowadays don't seem to extend the same courtesy to rural settings.

Without getting into the prevailing entitlement mentality and decline of ethical standards, especially as pertains to private property rights in ANY environment, how do you prevent trespassers and thieves on your rural property? And how do you deal with them if they DO show up? (Now, now, that's "deal with them" LEGALLY. No booby traps.)

Seriously -- and this is not to include law-abiding riders who respect posted properties -- ATV enthusiasts are becoming the worst offenders for trespassing. They ignore or tear down signs, cut through fences, laugh and flip off the property owner when challenged, and sue in a heartbeat if they get injured while pursuing their illegal activity on YOUR land.

And, no doubt due to the terrible economic times every state in the Union is experiencing, reports of outright theft of crops, animals, and equipment on rural properties are skyrocketing.

So I'd like to hear some effective strategies that have either worked for you personally, or that you've heard were effective for others.

I had never heard of these approaches, for instance:

1. Motion-sensitive SIRENS, in addition to motion-sensitive cameras.

2. "WARNING: if you can read this, you have been photographed trespassing on my property. There is no hunting or trespassing here, and this will be enforced by civil and criminal prosecution."

3. And, from a hunting forum (remembering that most hunters are respectful of the laws governing their sport), "Based on personal experience, the type of hunters who ignore "No Hunting" signs will also set fires if you take effective measures to keep them out. Their attitude is 'I've always hunted everywhere, and no #$%&* outsider has the right to say different.' If you buy a house in the country, hunters come with the territory. They came with the land, just like the trees. There's nothing you can do about it. They have no problems coming on your land, and they'll have no problems destroying your stuff if you try to keep them out."

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Old 08-19-2010, 05:11 PM
 
Location: Between Seattle and Portland
1,266 posts, read 3,212,473 times
Reputation: 1525
I didn't post this thread in the Rural Forum, as I am most concerned with theft of prepping supplies, be they buckets of wheat in an outbuilding or backyard chickens free-ranging on your land.
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Old 08-19-2010, 06:23 PM
 
Location: Itinerant
8,278 posts, read 6,231,537 times
Reputation: 6681
Easy...

Put the following on a sign...

DANGER! live ammunition and firearms in use on this property enter at your own risk, the owners accept no liability for any injury or death that may occur if you trespass on this property.

It scares people much more than security provided by Winchester and DuPont.

Our range also doubles as our driveway (it's angled away from the house) I normally get in about 100 rounds a month, but that increases to 100 rounds a week during hunting season.
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Old 08-20-2010, 07:51 AM
 
Location: The Woods
18,332 posts, read 26,352,341 times
Reputation: 11328
Around here, no trespassing signs usually work against you more than for you; there's a long tradition here of not posting land and anyone being free to hunt, etc., on unposted land. You can start a war of sorts here by posting land. Not that troublemakers, thieves, etc., would be tolerated....one of the better ways of dealing with them is to tell them to leave (note: don't do so unarmed but likewise don't point a gun at anyone who isn't threatening you...), have cameras to capture anything they do if they return and then get an order from a court to keep them away. Then they'll go to jail if they ignore that order.
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Old 08-20-2010, 12:04 PM
 
48,505 posts, read 96,476,720 times
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Lookup your sate laws on waht defines trepassing and the required posting in rural areas.Otherwsie its not a enforceable law.Also rememeber that soem people you have service with have egress rights as long as you have their service. Governamnt also has certain different rights.
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Old 08-20-2010, 02:20 PM
 
Location: Tennessee
1,031 posts, read 2,436,273 times
Reputation: 745
Since you're more interested in stopping thieves from stealing your grain and livestock than preventing the common trespasser, you should check with your county to see if non-lethal electric fences are allowed in your area. The fence would obviously be too costly to surround acres of land but you may be able to justify erecting a fence around a shed, henhouse, and grazing area if you have had problems with theft in the past. Think about getting a guard dog as well. I also agree with your 2nd idea of putting up signs and cameras. There is no foolproof, legal way to keep trespassers and thieves off your land but at least you will have evidence to bring to police if trouble occurs.
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Old 08-20-2010, 03:40 PM
 
Location: Itinerant
8,278 posts, read 6,231,537 times
Reputation: 6681
Quote:
Originally Posted by texdav View Post
Governamnt also has certain different rights.
Only any clauses in your land contract (which you should know) any posted exceptions to Federal law (for instance for life saving medical assistance to the property owners), and to access with a warrant,. They have no other access rights even though many times they may claim such, a lot like the police claim they have the right to search your vehicle after being stopped for a speeding ticket.
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Old 08-20-2010, 05:25 PM
 
19,023 posts, read 25,861,818 times
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We asked the LL if these ugly signs could be taken down here. No one comes here unless they are lost. I don't care what hunters do so long as they don't shoot the place and property on it up. Don't care if hikers or passers by come and go at anytime what so ever, so long as they don't leave trash.

Theives and outlaws i will deal with as i see fit and they will be lucky if i call the cops at all.

I am one who still thinks I can hunt where i aways hunted, I don't leave a thing behind but boot prints. Where i can tell who owns the land I will search the deeds too and call, to see if I may have written permission to be there. Mostly that works.

Maybe hunters cameras would help you if this is a big enough problem to cause expence. it waits and when it does take a pic that pic is dated and time stamped.

Now i got a old buddy who lives in town and has a full time series of cams recording all the time. I fiund that a lot of work to see what occured all day, but he is ammused as i give my wife wheelbarrow rides and she puts her arms out like a pretend airplane, and i can't say I haven't mooned his cameras a few times either. Mostly all he sees is the grass grow other than me and my antics.

One day here 3 years back a couple of goons seeming lost entered here. I walked over to ask if they needed any assistance which is what i do, and the one driving got a bit chatty and asked what i would do if he were armed, as he peeled back his coat at the waist, reveling a the grips of a gun..

I looked down, and came right back with my kimber pointing it at him, taking 3 steps back, Said 'Have a nice day elsewhere, I'm getting my AK'. Never saw that truck again. Noted the tags as it left too. Once isn't enough to really upset me.
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Old 08-20-2010, 10:36 PM
 
Location: Cartersville, GA
1,265 posts, read 3,448,917 times
Reputation: 1133
Quote:
Originally Posted by texdav View Post
Lookup your sate laws on waht defines trepassing and the required posting in rural areas.Otherwsie its not a enforceable law.Also rememeber that soem people you have service with have egress rights as long as you have their service. Governamnt also has certain different rights.
Good point. These laws tend to be very specific as to the minimum size for the signs, and the maximum distance between signs for larger pieces of land.

I think most jurisdictions consider a person to be trespassing if he or she has received prior notice from a landowner to stay off of their land. If a landowner has a particular problem one or more individuals, then a legal notice to the problem people might suffice (I would get an attorney to handle these notices.) If a trespasser is caught on the land thereafter (via. camera, a law enforcement officer, etc,) they would probably have a hard time explaining themselves in Court.
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Old 08-20-2010, 11:51 PM
 
Location: Itinerant
8,278 posts, read 6,231,537 times
Reputation: 6681
You mean like this...
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs367.snc4/45042_1541474572740_1111220608_1608804_8051559_n.j pg (broken link)

fully legal in Alaska, posted every 100 yards.
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