Fruit thieves

[horseshoe_bayou]

I saw this on my drive home the other day and it got me thinking on the topic of fruit thieves. 

Now I'm just wondering from those who have been victims to fruit thieves of the 2 legged kind: how do you deal with fruit thieves?

I have more front and side yard than backyard, and this will no doubt be an increasing problem for me. fences can't be over 4' tall in front yards and my neighbors mother in law is a notorious fruit thief who will throw her grandkids toys over the fence and then go in my yard with the excuse that she was "retrieving a ball" and for example, help herself to a few of my avocados. lol, I dealt with her BS but now I plant all the "weird" stuff on that side of the house now; all the fruit they won't recognize or fruit that stays green through maturity and you have to know when to pick it etc.

I'm thinking maybe motion sensing sprinklers connected to a miracle grow container that I would fill with dye. lol 

[treefrog]

thorns!  plant that side with thorny types.  this variety of variegated pineapple has some vicious thorns!



it grows to nearly four feet tall.   i'll send you a sucker to swap for one of your spanish red (?) type pups. 

i got it from just fruits and exotics.  here's what they say about it.

http://www.justfruitsandexotics.com/JFE/product/variegated-pineapple/

naranjilla has some impressive looking thorns too.

[Guanabanus]

"Bird Proof", "Tangle-Foot", or similar yuky gunk, spread along the top of fences and walls, discourages fence hoppers, and squirrels and roof rats no longer run along them either;  however, leaves and dust stick, and can get messy looking.

[bsbullie]

"Bird Proof", "Tangle-Foot", or similar yuky gunk, spread along the top of fences and walls, discourages fence hoppers, and squirrels and roof rats no longer run along them either;  however, leaves and dust stick, and can get messy looking.

If you luve where there us a HOA, they may make you clean anything like that off your fence so it might not be worth it.  If the streets are public (not gated), the governing municipality may make you clean it also.

You should post no trespassing signs on the gate to your back yard. If you are worried, install some cameras so you can get a good view of the back yard area.

[Mark in Texas]

Pellet gun if in town, 12 ga. loaded with salt if rural.  They get what they deserve.

[cfinley]

I feel ya, I have this old mexican lady that lives somewhere in my neighborhood that I've caught more than once stealing all the ripe loquats off our tree which hangs over the fence. It's not even the fact she takes fruit, its that shes like barely 5 feet tall and breaks entire branches off bending them down to get higher fruit!

Maybe try seeing how Cherry Prinsepia does in FL? http://www.oregonlive.com/hg/index.ssf/2009/08/cherry_prinsepia_makes_a_sturd.html. I'm in San Diego and mine seems to be doing ok so far but its a year old seedling. If it does well, I plan to plant several as a natural barrier when we buy our new house. You could also try some fruiting cactus.

I kinda like the idea of removing most of the nails on the section she usually hops over, so the fence comes apart on her when she tries to hop it. Even if she doesn't injure herself, just the shock of that happening might make her think twice... plus now you can confront her about not only stealing your fruit but destruction of your property...

Or just get a big scary dog 

[cfinley]

Then again, it is Halloween time and drones aren't that expensive 
! No longer available

[bsbullie]

I dont know about in California but in Florida,  if your tree encroaches onto another property owners property,  they can legally do what they want.   They can pick the fruit, they can even prune it flush to the property line without asking or obtaining your permission.

With all the suggestions,  I highly recommend everyone be weary and alert to any applicable laws, ordinabces and municipal codes.

[echinopora]

I'm sure some ultrahot chili oil strategically painted would be a good deterrent.

[Fiddler]

Have you ever noticed that the worst fruit thieves tend to be third-world immigrants? At least that's the way it seems in my part of Florida. What is it about the concept of Private Property they don't understand? Maybe it's just a white people thing?
     A few years ago I pulled into my driveway and got quite a shock. All three of my citrus trees were totally stripped, 75 fruit in all. I eventually found out an old Korean immigrant did it. I confronted him and told him I would have happily given him some if he would have asked. Why did he take them all? He had no satisfactory answer.

[From the sea]

Down here the people who steel the most fruit are the neighborhood drunk bums. Also plenty of white folks don't believe in private property.

[Bob407]

In Vieques people gladly let you have their fruit. On my first trip here I offered to buy some mangoes from someone and was met with an expression of confusion. Twenty minutes later I walked away with a 35lb bag of mangoes, numerous cashew apples and a few squamosas. I was also told that I could come by any time and get some more. Everyone I have asked for fruit has been very generous and informative. This was never my experience with random strangers in the states.

I don't care for the term "third world" it is antiquated.

[Tropheus76]

In some places fruit is easy to grow. In others we have to spend a good deal of time and money zone pushing , fertilizing and babying trees to get them to produce and do not appreciate our hard earned work and effort getting stolen by some uninvited Joe from the street. Not to mention we tend to believe in the concept of personal and private property and usually make great efforts to maintain it. Different cultures I guess. In my neighborhood we have a hard time keeping the saw palmetto palm berry pickers from coming onto fenced in property to take berries. True I have no use for them, but at least ask permission before jumping the fence, I prefer not to have to deal with the police and animal control about my rottie taking a bite out of them. Not to mention liability issues of people getting injured on your property.

[SWRancher]

In Vieques people gladly let you have their fruit. On my first trip here I offered to buy some mangoes from someone and was met with an expression of confusion. Twenty minutes later I walked away with a 35lb bag of mangoes, numerous cashew apples and a few squamosas. I was also told that I could come by any time and get some more. Everyone I have asked for fruit has been very generous and informative. This was never my experience with random strangers in the states.

I don't care for the term "third world" it is antiquated.

Curious...what term for "third world" do you prefer? 

[TheDom]

In Vieques people gladly let you have their fruit. On my first trip here I offered to buy some mangoes from someone and was met with an expression of confusion. Twenty minutes later I walked away with a 35lb bag of mangoes, numerous cashew apples and a few squamosas. I was also told that I could come by any time and get some more. Everyone I have asked for fruit has been very generous and informative. This was never my experience with random strangers in the states.

I don't care for the term "third world" it is antiquated.

Curious...what term for "third world" do you prefer?

This is all pretty OT, but personally I think "developing nations" is a more accurate term in most cases.

The term "third world" initially referred to countries who were neither allied with the US (first world) or Soviet Union (second world) during the cold war. I agree that it is antiquated. By that definition Ireland, Finland and Sweeden are technically third world countries, but don't fit the most common use of the term.

[geosulcata]

Have you ever noticed that the worst fruit thieves tend to be third-world immigrants? At least that's the way it seems in my part of Florida. What is it about the concept of Private Property they don't understand? Maybe it's just a white people thing?
     A few years ago I pulled into my driveway and got quite a shock. All three of my citrus trees were totally stripped, 75 fruit in all. I eventually found out an old Korean immigrant did it. I confronted him and told him I would have happily given him some if he would have asked. Why did he take them all? He had no satisfactory answer.

When we lived in Ecuador, teen children would break off fence boards to steal our citrus...then they would knock at the gate and ask for salt to go with it. When confronted, they said they assumed we didn't want the fruit because it was ripe on the tree and they weren't sure if Americans ate fruit. After our talk, they would knock on the gate and offer to buy fruit for 25 cents (with a dash of salt), but it was no longer a daily occurrence. Here in FL, we had some people from Jamaica stop by and ask what we planned to do with our bananas. They were surprised to hear that we planned to eat them and felt okay to leave once they were assured that the bananas would not go to waste. Very strange to me.

[sapote]

Have you ever noticed that the worst fruit thieves tend to be third-world immigrants? At least that's the way it seems in my part of Florida. What is it about the concept of Private Property they don't understand? Maybe it's just a white people thing?
     A few years ago I pulled into my driveway and got quite a shock. All three of my citrus trees were totally stripped, 75 fruit in all. I eventually found out an old Korean immigrant did it. I confronted him and told him I would have happily given him some if he would have asked. Why did he take them all? He had no satisfactory answer.

If he was not a crazy man, then I would think his reason to take all the fruits was someone told him that most Americans didn't eat the fruits in their house -- ornamental purpose only.

Mad like hell too

Sapote

[Pan Dulce]

Developing country.

[fyliu]

I also think Americans hardly use any of their lemons and limes.
Vietnamese and maybe Mexicans will use all of theirs.

I tried asking a neighborhood Mexican household for a few loquats to sample and they got really spooked. Maybe the old woman doesn't speak English and thought a stranger will do her harm. It's a little hard to make friends across cultures.

My next door neighbor actually doesn't eat their lemons and told me to take them. I wish they'd trim the large plumeria shading out my mango though.

[sapote]

" I wish they'd trim the large plumeria shading out my mango though. "

Fyliu, I have never seen a 7ft or higher plumeria in Orange or Los Angeles County. How tall is this one? color or any photos?

Sapote

[Mark in Texas]

If illegal aliens flip the bird at the sanctity of our borders, why would anyone think they'd think twice about crossing into someone's property and stealing what doesn't belong to them?

[Tropicaliste]

This isn't apart of Filipino culture. If the tree is out in the open, say in the forest or park, you can pick it's fruit. If it's on someone's land, even if that property is not used, it's a no no. Only children get away with this, and even then their parents will hear about it, or they will be the source of gossip ... simply asking the owner usually ends up in free fruit, because it would be rude to be so unkind ... but outright stealing is thought to bring bad luck and shame.

Some folks, regardless of origin have no manners. It probably has less to do with where they come from, and more to do with who they've decided to emulate here in the U.S.

[fyliu]

" I wish they'd trim the large plumeria shading out my mango though. "

Fyliu, I have never seen a 7ft or higher plumeria in Orange or Los Angeles County. How tall is this one? color or any photos?

Sapote

It's maybe 9-10 ft and very healthy. The most common kind with yellow-white flowers. My dad cut it back to the short dividing wall during the winter and I gave those cuttings away to friends. Hopefully it will stay like this.

[Mark in Texas]

Doesn't surprise.  They make small trees in Hawaii, 20' tall.

[greenman62]

i have a 4 footed thief.

i got a very sweet dog from the rescue center a few months ago
she is small, and i guess she feels like she has to chase and/or catch something to be part of the team
so, she chases lizards... and i have a LOT of them.
she often chases them up my mutingia tree, where they escape
but, she scratches the trunk with her toenails.
She will stand o her hind legs and poke her nose up into the tree.

Since i am vegan, my dog samples a lot of fruit...
Papaya, blueberries, mango, mutingia...
now, she sees the ripe fruits fallen at the bottom of the tree
and even sees low-hanging fruit, which she picks and eats.
I wish i had video of it, but, i only saw her do it twice, not a lot of low-hanging fruit.

On another note...
my contractor and girlfriend are  Spanish. Born in Tx, but near the Mexico border
He often comes to my house, and will pick a guava from my tree without asking.
i think it is just normal for them.
They always share what they have , even if they are broke.
They  bring me back "tunas" (opuntia fruit)
 from Mexico when they go.

He even comes in my house without knocking on the door.
I see that in  movies sometimes, but, you dont do that here (New Orleans)
you will get shot.
i had to drill it into him not to do it anymore.

[TheWaterbug]

Heh. My "neighbors" up the trail have a very nice pair of avocado trees that make lots and lots of fruit. I never take without asking, so I walked around to the front of the house and introduced myself. Me:

"Hi! I'm your neighbor from 4 doors down. We moved in last year. I've got the big backyard garden with the pumpkins and corn, etc. I'm having my big corn harvest party on Sunday. Why don't you come by and pick some corn? We also have tomatoes, artichokes, leeks, onions, and a few kinds of squash. I'm wondering if you'd like to trade some vegetables for some of your avocados!"

"Neighbor:"

"No. We use them all."

Me:

<slack-jawed silence>

I think I've been literally speechless maybe 3-4 times in my life. This was one of them.

[OCchris]

Hi Sapote, there are plumeria's in and around my neighborhood in Old Towne, Orange that are up and over the roof of a single story home. I believe at least 12 feet with trunks of approaching a 1' in diameter. Sorry no pic's but I will snap a few if I think about it. Chris

[Future]

Have you ever noticed that the worst fruit thieves tend to be third-world immigrants? At least that's the way it seems in my part of Florida. What is it about the concept of Private Property they don't understand? Maybe it's just a white people thing?
     A few years ago I pulled into my driveway and got quite a shock. All three of my citrus trees were totally stripped, 75 fruit in all. I eventually found out an old Korean immigrant did it. I confronted him and told him I would have happily given him some if he would have asked. Why did he take them all? He had no satisfactory answer.

It is 2015. There is only 1 world.

[mangomandan]

I've tried offering a free mango tree to would-be thieves.
So far no takers, as they are renters rather than homeowners.

If they offer to buy fruit I tell them that, sigh, mine are much more expensive than the ones sold at the produce market a mile away.
One response:  Well, if I can't buy them, can I have some for free? 

[FlyingFoxFruits]

https://www.facebook.com/flyingfoxfruits/videos/2287234828026805/

[ben mango]

did You show the video to cops? Do they care?

[arc310]

Heh. My "neighbors" up the trail have a very nice pair of avocado trees that make lots and lots of fruit. I never take without asking, so I walked around to the front of the house and introduced myself. Me:

"Hi! I'm your neighbor from 4 doors down. We moved in last year. I've got the big backyard garden with the pumpkins and corn, etc. I'm having my big corn harvest party on Sunday. Why don't you come by and pick some corn? We also have tomatoes, artichokes, leeks, onions, and a few kinds of squash. I'm wondering if you'd like to trade some vegetables for some of your avocados!"

"Neighbor:"

"No. We use them all."

Me:

<slack-jawed silence>

I think I've been literally speechless maybe 3-4 times in my life. This was one of them.

haha..this was like a /yesyesyesno
i had to pause and re-read that again...can't imagine it in person.

[spaugh]

The thing is avocados are way better than squash and corn and whatnot.  I would have actually been annoyed if a neighbor I never met asked for my avocados first time we met. 

[roblack]

Caught some people (parents and kids) snatching passion fruit off one of my fence vines. I informed them that the green fruit they picked was no good and would not ripen, and gave them a couple of ripe ones. Also gave them a 3 gallon seedling. Hope they will grow their own, or at least leave the green ones be.   

[edzone9]

In Vieques people gladly let you have their fruit. On my first trip here I offered to buy some mangoes from someone and was met with an expression of confusion. Twenty minutes later I walked away with a 35lb bag of mangoes, numerous cashew apples and a few squamosas. I was also told that I could come by any time and get some more. Everyone I have asked for fruit has been very generous and informative. This was never my experience with random strangers in the states.

I don't care for the term "third world" it is antiquated.

I love PR some day I’ll be back ! Want to buy a mountain home and retire in a few years .
I’m hoping the situation in PR improves by 5hen .
Ed

[ben mango]

I've tried offering a free mango tree to would-be thieves.
So far no takers, as they are renters rather than homeowners.

so you are labeling people as would-be thieves and belittling people who rent instead of own a home.

gotcha

[gnappi]

How about a sign...

WARNING, these trees are infected with a newly
discovered Pathogenic bacteria that can be trans-
mitted to humans with undesirable effects on them.

In order to save the trees they have all been
inoculated with an experimental agent considered
dangerous in California and the EU.

DO NOT EAT THIS FRUIT!

Failing that release a big dog on them every time you see one, or walking the yard with a baseball bat may send a message too :-)

[demingcr]

why does this threat keep getting randomly Necroed? Lock it and move on.

People steal. It sucks. It's human nature.

[pvaldes]

If it grows over the fence anybody is welcomed to pick it, unless breaking branches or thinking that I'm stupid. There is a lot of english and french backpackers traveling and I couldn't care less. I'm happy to share my fruits with neighbors also. If it grows towards the inner side, is for my family.

I had a lot of elders making noise with umbrellas and even a "very white" man descending from a expensive car, dressed as golfer (shorts, cap and all the stuff) pretending to exercise its swing in the street, with the very obvious purpose to hit my walnut with the golf stick when nobody is looking. The little man smiling defiant to me was so ridiculous and annoying that I stand in place until he got tired of waiting, and I removed all fruits hanging over the street in the very next day.

[Oolie]

People steal. It sucks. It's human nature.

I'm not sure that it is human nature, so much as cultural values.

For instance, when I visit Japan, I would never expect someone to steal from me, and I have had people track me down to return things that have been misplaced.

Certainly it is not something I would expect to experience in Japan like I would expect in America.

[roblack]

one could argue that protecting property and aggression are also human nature

[SeaWalnut]

If it grows over the fence anybody is welcomed to pick it, unless breaking branches or thinking that I'm stupid. There is a lot of english and french backpackers traveling and I couldn't care less. I'm happy to share my fruits with neighbors also. If it grows towards the inner side, is for my family.

I had a lot of elders making noise with umbrellas and even a "very white" man descending from a expensive car, dressed as golfer (shorts, cap and all the stuff) pretending to exercise its swing in the street, with the very obvious purpose to hit my walnut with the golf stick when nobody is looking. The little man smiling defiant to me was so ridiculous and annoying that I stand in place until he got tired of waiting, and I removed all fruits hanging over the street in the very next day.

If the tree branches spread on the public domain like a street ,then that part of the tree doesnt belongs to you legally.You can cut the branches thogh .Still id ask permission ( if possible) when i steal lets say a.scion or 2 from a tree like that that spreads on public domain.
In Spain you have bad laws that atract thieves to your country.In Romania if you steal a potato you get criminal record and if you steal again a potato you get 6-5 years jail.Thats why criminality here its similar to that of Canada altough on comunist times it was much less criminality and small kids would go on theyr own on bicicles houndreds of kilometers distance from their home.Now a days nobody would have the courage to let its kid do that.

On comunists times it would have been like this. https://youtu.be/mEifDUJS1Yo
EDIT ,now i realise that guy was annoing because he would use the walnuts for golf or poking them for fun ,not to eat them.That would have annoyed me too.

[fisherking73]

Caught a mango thief yesterday on one of my cameras. Happened to be the mailman (not our usual mailman). He walked by the pickering and helped himself. Hoping to find him tomorrow and show him the video and ask him kindly to please leave my trees alone.

[Oolie]

Caught a mango thief yesterday on one of my cameras. Happened to be the mailman (not our usual mailman). He walked by the pickering and helped himself. Hoping to find him tomorrow and show him the video and ask him kindly to please leave my trees alone.

Stealing fruit is not a long way from stealing mail.
I'd report it to the local admin, as there may be more being stolen that you aren't aware of.

[pvaldes]

There are three kinds of fruit thieves. 1) People picking one or two fruits one day, for hungry or curiosity, 2) people stripping the entire tree for selling the fruit and 3) non human fruit thieves.

I'm more forgetful about two of them than the other. Children are children and foxes patrolling the fig tree all night deter rats (and erradicate vermin the rest of the year) so they pay several times the fruit with environmental services. I imagine that living in a tropical country with wild monkeys could be a different situation.

I'll not report a new mailman without talking with he/she before; and my advice would be to not disclose the presence of cameras still and see if the mailman deserves a confidence vote or not.

[WGphil]

Back in the 80’s a guy came to the door calimondinwanting kumquats

Told him those are Calimomdins and very sour and he gives me the face like I’m lying

So I get a paper bag and let him fill it up and when he was getting in the car I said try one

I repeated that they aren’t Kumquats and sour


He expected Meawa sweet kumquat and tried his first and maybe last calimondin

[pineislander]

I'm pretty sensitive to theft having been a victim many times of household burglary and fruit/garden theft in another country. The result of these continued and usually unsolved violations has left me with a strong feeling against it and I would probably lose my temper if I saw it happen again. I once walked around a tree to confront a teenager starting to fill a bag and picked up a long pole and began beating him till he left the property. The next time I had a machete in hand and did not strike but the chase continued while someone called the police and the thief was arrested. Another time it was a car chase on a thief with bicycle loaded down with 50 lbs all the way to town and police would not react. The bag was found in a dumpster and I negotiated with the thief's family who was known to me.
This happened 30 years ago but the memory is still strong. I hope that I can act responsibly now that I am older but no guarantees.
Thieves probably don't realize what they are getting themselves into if they move against me.
 

[SeaWalnut]

I once caught a group of thieves that were stealing my fence because they were thick steel pipes,barb wire ,steel net and a heavy 5 cm(2 inches) thick steel rope at the bottom.I cornered them but they were soo poore and weak people that i didnt called the police and i didnt hurt them ,( actually me and them were polite)They were the type of gipsyes that break reinforced concrete from abandoned buildings to sell the metal at scrap metal.
After that incident i took the whole fence home and my neighbour buyed a cow and he tied his cow on my terrain.I didnt cared about his cow until he told me that meanwhile he got documents for the whoole terrain from the village counsil.Actually he stealed my terrain legally( until il confront him legally because i have private property docs also).Meanwhile he quit having his cow because i dumped an outdoor toilet several times on that land and also somme poison coated seeds that you actually need a permit like a fire arm permit for them.The cow its innocent thogh and i would feel sorry for her if she died but it didnt, luckily for her.