Author Topic: Fruit thieves  (Read 10576 times)

TheWaterbug

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Re: Fruit thieves
« Reply #25 on: September 17, 2015, 05:32:45 PM »
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:
Quote
"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:"
Quote
"No. We use them all."
Me:
Quote
<slack-jawed silence>

I think I've been literally speechless maybe 3-4 times in my life. This was one of them.
Sunset 23/USDA 11a, Elev. 783', Frost free since 8,000 BC. Plagued by squirrels, gophers, and peafowl, but coming to terms with it!

OCchris

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Re: Fruit thieves
« Reply #26 on: September 18, 2015, 02:23:57 AM »
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

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Re: Fruit thieves
« Reply #27 on: September 18, 2015, 06:54:36 PM »
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

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Re: Fruit thieves
« Reply #28 on: September 19, 2015, 08:59:57 AM »
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

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ben mango

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Re: Fruit thieves
« Reply #30 on: June 10, 2019, 06:26:54 PM »
did You show the video to cops? Do they care?

arc310

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Re: Fruit thieves
« Reply #31 on: June 10, 2019, 07:13:20 PM »
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:
Quote
"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:"
Quote
"No. We use them all."
Me:
Quote
<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

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Re: Fruit thieves
« Reply #32 on: June 10, 2019, 07:29:12 PM »
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. 
Brad Spaugh

roblack

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Re: Fruit thieves
« Reply #33 on: June 10, 2019, 08:27:52 PM »
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

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Re: Fruit thieves
« Reply #34 on: June 10, 2019, 08:38:22 PM »
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
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ben mango

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Re: Fruit thieves
« Reply #35 on: June 11, 2019, 02:03:05 PM »
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

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Re: Fruit thieves
« Reply #36 on: June 11, 2019, 10:21:53 PM »
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 :-)






Regards,

   Gary

demingcr

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Re: Fruit thieves
« Reply #37 on: June 11, 2019, 11:43:49 PM »
why does this threat keep getting randomly Necroed? Lock it and move on.

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

pvaldes

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Re: Fruit thieves
« Reply #38 on: June 12, 2019, 05:21:35 AM »
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.
« Last Edit: June 12, 2019, 05:39:42 AM by pvaldes »

Oolie

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Re: Fruit thieves
« Reply #39 on: June 12, 2019, 06:32:04 AM »
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

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Re: Fruit thieves
« Reply #40 on: June 12, 2019, 08:23:17 AM »
one could argue that protecting property and aggression are also human nature

SeaWalnut

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Re: Fruit thieves
« Reply #41 on: June 12, 2019, 08:29:30 AM »
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.
« Last Edit: June 12, 2019, 08:48:00 AM by SeaWalnut »

fisherking73

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Re: Fruit thieves
« Reply #42 on: June 12, 2019, 11:14:00 AM »
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

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Re: Fruit thieves
« Reply #43 on: June 13, 2019, 02:44:11 AM »
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

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Re: Fruit thieves
« Reply #44 on: June 13, 2019, 06:20:28 AM »
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.
« Last Edit: June 13, 2019, 06:22:57 AM by pvaldes »

WGphil

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Re: Fruit thieves
« Reply #45 on: June 13, 2019, 07:31:40 AM »
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

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Re: Fruit thieves
« Reply #46 on: June 13, 2019, 07:48:29 AM »
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

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Re: Fruit thieves
« Reply #47 on: June 13, 2019, 08:09:40 AM »
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.