The Tropical Fruit Forum
Tropical Fruit => Tropical Fruit Discussion => Topic started by: horseshoe_bayou on May 29, 2020, 04:59:43 PM
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Many of us wait for this time of year to enjoy the fruits of our labor but regrettably It's also fruit thief season. Besides the typical iguanas, racoons, possums, birds, and squirrels, people are the worst they're out and about at all hours.
A few people knock on the door and ask, which is the polite thing to do but they knock even at night sometimes. Even then I must confess it still gets on my nerves a bit. These people are not neighbors on my street, I have no idea where they come from and how they make their way to me almost at the end of a dead end street?
They'll knock asking for mangos, june plums, jackfruit etc and if you say no but you can buy some they quickly lose interest. I guess stolen fruit taste sweeter.
I'm sorry to feel like the little red hen but no, grow some in your own yard or purchase them. and unless you see fruit spoiling on the floor as an obvious sign that the residents of the house dont care for the fruit don't even knock to ask.
I wonder for everyone I catch how many get away with it.
Those who reap where they don't sow are the worst kind of people.
post and wire fence going up tomorrow; because I'm sick of it.
I'm at the point I can spot them when they drive past the front window and begin to slow down. I'm considering video recording them from now on, and putting printed still shots of their faces at local supermarkets to publicly shame the thieves; who knows, maybe a youtube channel in the works. ;D some good should come of it.
anyway, I know y'all feel my pain.
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Several people drive and walk through my neighborhood daily, snatching whatever fallen mangoes they can. Go all up in people's yards, right by their windows and such. Got my hose ready.
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So perhaps there are some benefits of having a tiny secluded yard, but then again, even I have had a fruit thief or two. My tree was full of Carambolas last season and one day we just woke up to find them all gone... And that's the story to how I decided to get a fence. But this was at the start of the whole covid problem so besides the usual approval waiting and other stuff, it was all delayed because suddenly just about everything closed down for the quarantine... I still don't have my fence.
Fence always works, not because they can't pass it (unless you got barbed wire all over it) but usually because they don't even bother out of fear or laziness. Maybe some threatening sings? Fake cameras if you can't get real ones? Plenty of ways to stop those thieves.
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home grown fruits taste better than store bought fruit.
that is why we grow our own fruits and veggies. Plus it's pesticide and chemical free.
my worst theives are the squirrels and rats. they are so smart.
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Squirrels seem pretty dumb to me, either that or they are plain rude. Eat half a mango then just let it sit there. If you are going to steal a meal at least finish it don't just leave it on the ground and alert me of your presence.
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Budtropical,
watch this and you wlll see that squirrels are smarter than the average human species.
https://www.facebook.com/MarkRoberYouTube/videos/727828361391817/ (https://www.facebook.com/MarkRoberYouTube/videos/727828361391817/)
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No problems for me. Fenced in yard with house in the middle, and two oversized dogs on patrol. No trespassing signs don’t hurt! ...I love your idea of publicly shaming the thieves though! 🤣
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I found one of my newly planted trees missing.
Then i saw the tree 20 meters away dumped on the road.It was paonted with white paint ,thats why i could see it.
Aparently a human took it out of the ground to steal it then because he could not identify the tree he throwed it on the road.
I picked the tree ,wetted its roots and i planted it back in the same hole.
It started grow leaves,didnt died.
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I found one of my newly planted trees missing.
Then i saw the tree 20 meters away dumped on the road.It was paonted with white paint ,thats why i could see it.
Aparently a human took it out of the ground to steal it then because he could not identify the tree he throwed it on the road.
I picked the tree ,wetted its roots and i planted it back in the same hole.
It started grow leaves,didnt died.
That's horrible. At least you got it back! Este atit de trist ca avem asa oameni in tara noastra!
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Yeah at my old house we had a huge persimmon tree and it produced way too much fruit. So much fruit that I would give away bags full to all my neighbors. Random people would ring the doorbell asking for persimmons and I gave them away because we had so much. But I got mad when people didn't ask and stole the fruits. >:(
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I was on my way to work when a lady asked for some mangos from my tree. I said,” sure you can have a couple”. When I came home the tree was emptied. You lose faith in humanity sometimes.
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I think the moral of the story is don't let random people take your fruit, it usually ends in trouble. Then again, that isn't going to happen every time, but you can usually tell who will take everything.
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I was on my way to work when a lady asked for some mangos from my tree. I said,” sure you can have a couple”. When I came home the tree was emptied. You lose faith in humanity sometimes.
ha ha ha. Next time, you need to take a picture of their ID first., then say, you can pick only 3, anything after than is $5/each. Now you know where the person lives and you can report it to police if three is empty.
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We have a lot of palmetto in my area and in my yard there are some large patches and my hedgerow from the road is 4-8 feet tall of saw palmetto. We get the berry thieves who come through in their cars and climb around in the patches to steal the berries. Sometimes they don't just take the berries, but see other trees with fruit and take them too. When I was deployed one of these guys picked all the citrus from one of my trees in addition to the berries, and then walked up to the front door with a bag of fruit in one hand and a machete in the other and asked my sick wife if she minded if he took them. She was scared to death and called the police who as typical took almost an hour to show up thanks to the piece of manure sheriff(now mayor) who felt saving money for his campaign was more important than putting deputies in the field.
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or you can get some type of food coloring that looks like blood and splash all over the fruits and put a sign up "coronavirus blood" .
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It is worse here in SoCal, thieves are hitting the nurseries and stealing whole trees from people’s yard.
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I'd be tempted to saboutage some. Inject capsaicin oil into say 5-10% of fruits, the most appealing / accessible ones. Keep careful track of which ones you did it with so you don't eat them yourself.
Thieves should learn the lesson pretty quickly. ;)
Honestly, saboutaged bait is a pretty good tactic. I once had thieves steal a toolbox and two full cans of gasoline (back before I went electric). So I left out several additional gas cans, which were all promptly stolen as well. And to be fair, they did contain gasoline.... on the top. Anyone who smelled it or poured off a little would see gasoline, no question. But it was only half the liquid in the cans, flowing atop a denser layer of... concentrated hydrochloric acid. Which eats steel ;)
The only downside is you never get to see the thieves faces when they realize how badly they screwed up.
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15 km ( 7 miles) away from me,2 idiots have cut an entire walnut orchard on a field ,at night ,then sold them as firewood.
I think they cut about 60-80 trees that were about 15-20 years old.
Lucky i am that i live in an area wich has natural gas from our hills and nobody heats theyr home with wood here.
But in the place where the orchard was cut theres no natural gas and everybody has central heating that works on wood.
Off course they thieves got jailed and i think for a long time because they allready had criminal record for stealing wood.(https://i.postimg.cc/4NC8SNrn/nuci-taiati-buzau.jpg)
But the most famous theft ive read is from a botanical garden in China.The thieves got in the botanical garden at night to steal a branch from a tree with precious wood( a rosewood tree).
They cut the branch and got away with a fast boat.
Off course they were caught and jailed.
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I planted some purple sweet potatoes cuttings on the sidewalk infront of my house. Some asshole stole it.
They dug the topsoil off where I planted the cuttings.
(https://i.postimg.cc/sMBKBbbK/IMG-1929.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/sMBKBbbK)
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Are you sure the assholes weren’t raccoons ?
I planted some purple sweet potatoes cuttings on the sidewalk infront of my house. Some asshole stole it.
They dug the topsoil off where I planted the cuttings.
(https://i.postimg.cc/sMBKBbbK/IMG-1929.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/sMBKBbbK)
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getting me a moat with venomous snakes and gators, and dogs that bark killer bees
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Game Cameras. (animal trail hunting cameras). easy to place several around the yard.. even the cheap $25 ones we have work pretty decent.
Simmons makes a 4 pack for 90-150 dollar range depending on sales.
(https://i.postimg.cc/6y2tqgv8/00000034.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/6y2tqgv8)
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Almost as annoying as the thieves themselves are the idiots in our neighborhood that believe the homeowners growing the fruit are the bad guys. Someone could clean your tree completely off and if you post about it on the NextDoor app, you'll be shamed. You'll hear everything from how you don't like to share, how nobody should be able to own anything that grows on the earth, etc.
I had someone (caught on camera) steal several large cuttings from a rare plumeria in my yard. When I called the police non-emergency line to report it, the officer shamed me and tried to make me feel as small and ridiculous as she possibly could. I'm sure had I called about a $20 stolen yard ornament it would have been OK but calling about hundreds of dollars of cuttings stolen was apparently out of line.
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Game Cameras. (animal trail hunting cameras). easy to place several around the yard.. even the cheap $25 ones we have work pretty decent.
Simmons makes a 4 pack for 90-150 dollar range depending on sales.
(https://i.postimg.cc/6y2tqgv8/00000034.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/6y2tqgv8)
How many mangoes did she steal? They look less than ripe. It looks like she is squeezing fruits like in a supermarket and looking for a ripe enough fruit. Keitt?
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I'd be tempted to saboutage some. Inject capsaicin oil into say 5-10% of fruits, the most appealing / accessible ones. Keep careful track of which ones you did it with so you don't eat them yourself.
Thieves should learn the lesson pretty quickly. ;)
Honestly, saboutaged bait is a pretty good tactic. I once had thieves steal a toolbox and two full cans of gasoline (back before I went electric). So I left out several additional gas cans, which were all promptly stolen as well. And to be fair, they did contain gasoline.... on the top. Anyone who smelled it or poured off a little would see gasoline, no question. But it was only half the liquid in the cans, flowing atop a denser layer of... concentrated hydrochloric acid. Which eats steel ;)
The only downside is you never get to see the thieves faces when they realize how badly they screwed up.
Good one mate!
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100% not raccoon. I had my pot of taro plant stolen from the front yard in the past. Also, the purpose sweet potatoes are just about to sprout out new shoots. Its not an entire potato that the raccoon would want to eat. It's little slips that I cut up and stick into the ground.
Are you sure the assholes weren’t raccoons ?
I planted some purple sweet potatoes cuttings on the sidewalk infront of my house. Some asshole stole it.
They dug the topsoil off where I planted the cuttings.
(https://i.postimg.cc/sMBKBbbK/IMG-1929.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/sMBKBbbK)
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Two footed rats steal my lychees every year from the side of my house. They would even break branches, climbing up to strip off all the fruit. I’ve finally dug the trees up and moved them to my acreage out in the countryside. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYX6GKoG4K8&feature=share (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYX6GKoG4K8&feature=share)
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I have had quite a bit of fruit stolen over the years especially lychees and cherimoyas. Now I am relatively rural and well fenced so fingers crossed. Stealing is always wrong. I am usually willing to share, particularly during these tough times. Lots of people view what is on our trees as an unobtainable luxury and it is great food. I will install some cameras is I get fruit looters. LOL.
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A roofer was scouring the neighborhood on his break, I just happened to be on a step ladder by the fence chasing squirrels off. He walked up and grabbed a mango right in front of me. So close I could've bit him. When I burst through the vines, he almost crapped his plants and exclaimed that I scared him bad. Told him that he should be scared, demanded my mango back, and then went around and had a talk with him. He rudely stated the mangoes were free for the taking because they were within reach. He told me to go ahead and call the police. Informed him he may actually need an ambulance.
He proceeded to walk all up in my neighbor's yards and look for more mangoes, near their windows.
His company name was on his shirt. They knew who he was by me just telling them he was stealing mangoes.
My neighbor had received a quote from them, but now will not hire them. He loves and grows mangoes too.
Gave away many pounds of mangoes this week. Love sharing.
Can't stand brazen thieves. Gave stolen mango away to a nice person.
Sleeping in my tree till the last one ripens...
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always grown fruit trees in backyard. Or if potted, move it from front to back yard when fruiting.
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A roofer was scouring the neighborhood on his break, I just happened to be on a step ladder by the fence chasing squirrels off. He walked up and grabbed a mango right in front of me. So close I could've bit him. When I burst through the vines, he almost crapped his plants and exclaimed that I scared him bad. Told him that he should be scared, demanded my mango back, and then went around and had a talk with him. He rudely stated the mangoes were free for the taking because they were within reach. He told me to go ahead and call the police. Informed him he may actually need an ambulance.
He proceeded to walk all up in my neighbor's yards and look for more mangoes, near their windows.
His company name was on his shirt. They knew who he was by me just telling them he was stealing mangoes.
My neighbor had received a quote from them, but now will not hire them. He loves and grows mangoes too.
Gave away many pounds of mangoes this week. Love sharing.
Can't stand brazen thieves. Gave stolen mango away to a nice person.
Sleeping in my tree till the last one ripens...
Put some eye black on, attach a hammock to your tree and sleep with this on your chest
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41Cexr4h1ZL._AC_SY450_.jpg)
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Game Cameras. (animal trail hunting cameras). easy to place several around the yard.. even the cheap $25 ones we have work pretty decent.
Simmons makes a 4 pack for 90-150 dollar range depending on sales.
(https://i.postimg.cc/6y2tqgv8/00000034.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/6y2tqgv8)
How many mangoes did she steal? They look less than ripe. It looks like she is squeezing fruits like in a supermarket and looking for a ripe enough fruit. Keitt?
they are def not ripe, and just 1 was taken.... (before and after photos show 1 missing) Lancetilla .
she def does not have permission to be on the property regardless.
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It amazes me that people don't bother to ask. I showed up to my land the other day to work on the fence in the canyon, only to find a 20-something couple already out there, sitting on my land and trying to poach brown sea trout from the river (which the neighbors have the fishing rights to). I was of course mad and kicked them out immediately, but it's like... geez... just ask, you might well get a "yes".
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I just caught another fruit thief. This time after my Alano sapodillas. Confronted them and said why do you steal instead of ask and he said, he just didn’t want to bother me. 😂 the guys wife then chimes in saying “I walked by the other day and saw them and I’m pregnant, and had cravings”. There is no excuse for it. Get it elsewhere. I don’t know how they find me on a dead end street. Tree is maybe 6’ tall. I don’t have a single fruit tree over 12’
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On threads like these I'd like to see descriptions of the perps. Some other fruit grower in your town might benefit if these people tend to be serial offenders. My neighbor, a retired cop, once told me that 10% of the crooks commit 90% of the crime.
I also encourage the use of trail cameras commonly used by deer hunters. These will take photos and videos in the dark without using a flash. The photographed subject isn't tipped off.
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Just thought of another way to possibly catch thieves if you don't have any cameras: look for any neighbors on the street who own a Tesla and have it parked outside. Teslas have a feature called "Sentry Mode", which uses the car's autopilot cameras as security cameras if someone trips them. It's possible that the perps might have triggered Sentry Mode either on the way in or the way out.
(If the owner of the car thinks it might have been triggered but they deleted the video, deleted files can still be recovered off of USB sticks if they haven't been overwritten yet)
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I also encourage the use of trail cameras commonly used by deer hunters. These will take photos and videos in the dark without using a flash. The photographed subject isn't tipped off.
I have thought of using trail cameras but the problem is I only have fruit trees. ;D will probably spot them as they are raiding my trees, and maybe steal those too.
fence permit is in the review stages now. I am hoping that will help.
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My suggestion is a perimeter living fence of thorny bushes, trees and cactus
citrus, dragon fruit, medjool date palms, even dwarf barbados cherries (no thorns but prickly) pineapples would work, oh and beaugainvillas
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My suggestion is a perimeter living fence of thorny bushes, trees and cactus
citrus, dragon fruit, medjool date palms, even dwarf barbados cherries (no thorns but prickly) pineapples would work, oh and beaugainvillas
Salak should work well too.
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In my younger years I never heard of people going to peoples houses asking for fruit.
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In my younger years I never heard of people going to peoples houses asking for fruit.
They usually tend to just walk in and steal the fruit.
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If one catches a thief what can you yourself do to that person? Can you attack and beat the crap out of them or just ask them nicely to leave the fruit?
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If one catches a thief what can you yourself do to that person? Can you attack and beat the crap out of them or just ask them nicely to leave the fruit?
I think you can beat the crap out of them if they try to run. They are stealing so i'm sure that its justified and won't get you in trouble. Either way the person is on your property so at the very least you can call the police on them.
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Would any of us really want to escalate the situation by confronting the thief, who may not wait for you to throw the first punch? Just saying.
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I have used a long bean pole it gives you some advantage when they are running fast. It was amusing watching him leap over the fence running full speed.
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I have used a long bean pole it gives you some advantage when they are running fast. It was amusing watching him leap over the fence running full speed.
I imagine he dropped all of the fruit when he ran? So you get your fruit back and a show.
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I had a neighbor above my city apartment that was both World wars veteran and really old man.
One day a gipsy was in the linden tree( tillia tree,lime tree) on the sidewalk and colecting flowers to sell them for tea.
But he was breaking manny tree limbs to get to the flowers wich annoyed the old man ,that throwed with an axe right into the thief .
The thief fell from the tree in a spectacular way with all the big branches he cut.It survived but was badly injured.
Altough the old man throwed the axe on a long distance from first floor( height must have helped him) like a pro and the fall was spectacular,it wasnt the right thing to do.
Wasnt even his property,its public property.
Now a days he would have been charged with atempted murder.
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Don't murder the person stealing! That does not mean that you cannot get physical if he causes damages to your property and/or steals and tries to get away....
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SeaWalnut from Romani'a : Your information about an attack on the poor Romani (Romanian) who was rightfully harvesting flowers of 'tilla tree' belonging to the public. The Veteran of WWII throwing an ax at the 'Romani' and hurting him adds to the proof of 'genocide' of their people in Europe including UK. Interestingly the DNA of most of the Europeans have traces from their 'Romani' ancestry! They brought music, dance, acrobatics, jugglery and circus with them over two thousand years ago.
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Sorry. I did not say that all the Romanians are Romani. I very well know that Romania got it's name from the Romans who occupied there. There are more Romanis in Bulgaria than Romania.
Romani have been in whole of Europe and grossly discriminated like outcasts leaving them with misery and never been openly accepted.
I was fortunate enough to know few of them in 1960s in Canada and UK and then later in US. I know of few musicians and few musical groups/bands who are very popular. Please note that the Romanis living in Romania like anyone else living there are also Romanians.
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Somme of my best friends are gipsy but those are decent people.
I dont discriminate them but here even the stray dogs are racists. If they smell your a gipsy they start to bark and chase you.
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lol this was a great thread until it went off on a Gypsy rant instead of a fruit thief rant.
Had to share this: I was walking down the block
From my house yesterday evening with my wife, baby and dog. I spotted a middle aged overweight couple trying to hoist each other up to the unripe mangos on the swale of a duplex property. They were well dressed and kind. Me and my wife assumed they were residents of the duplex and I said “need a hand” because they had no picker. I’m about 6’4 and they were both knee high to a grasshopper. I figured they were one of the residents of the duplex standing next to their car and in their front yard. They were in no hurry and very nice. They spoke Only Spanish and I speak half-ass Spanish I learned living in Miami my whole life. The tree was holding heavy for very late In this Strangely early season and I must admit the thought crossed my mind of possibly receiving a mango-commission for my help. I reached and jumped and plucked the ones that I could reach and looked like they would maybe ripen in 7-10 days in the garage. They were very pleased with me success and offered my three of their mangos. I accepted happily. Then, to my surprise a black ford pulled along side them, they jumped in and cruised off into the sunset.
My wife, child and dog had just witnessed me as an accomplice to a mango heist, Complete with a sneaky getaway car and driver.
“THE PERFECT CRIME”
You can’t make this stuff up. Miami is a freakin Jungle.
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Glad we are back on track.
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Nice gipsy that probably stole more fruits than anybody else on this forum.
Became EU parliamentarian for 8 years then moved back to our nice country to live a humble and honest life.
For a professional thief to live where he lives after being like 8 years high end politician it doesnt seem he stole much.
Im glad that USA or otther countryes didnt stole our national value,this gipsy.
https://youtu.be/M-_d2Nbu5Bg
The otther bad guys- send them to the gulag ;D.
(https://i.postimg.cc/jSmznQmd/res-1a269641c4ab2e74abd8f21e65c5b0c6-full.jpg)
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Fortunately my fruit trees back a barranca, so no one can get to my ripe fruit. I've seen one or two people in the barranca on rare occasion, but they can't reach the fence-line. Anyway, one way I've discouraged thieves of many types (animal, human) is with a water scarecrow. It doesn't hurt anyone, but scares the heck out of them. I have it on pretty high so the pressure is good enough to soak them in milliseconds. I discovered them after I got tired of someone's big dogs using my front yard for their private bathroom. I also have cameras now. I just bought the signs saying protected by Ring, so hopefully that will add to the protection level.
Honestly, in most communities I've been in, people are happy to share if asked. We have a great group of people in my area trading for various fruits and veggies, and it's a load of fun. Many of us are on local Facebook and NextDoor forums and offer our excess produce to others for free. It's the stealing and self-entitlement that drives me crazy. It would never occur to me to just take fruits or veggies that I hadn't grown.
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Fortunately my fruit trees back a barranca, so no one can get to my ripe fruit. I've seen one or two people in the barranca on rare occasion, but they can't reach the fence-line. Anyway, one way I've discouraged thieves of many types (animal, human) is with a water scarecrow. It doesn't hurt anyone, but scares the heck out of them. I have it on pretty high so the pressure is good enough to soak them in milliseconds. I discovered them after I got tired of someone's big dogs using my front yard for their private bathroom. I also have cameras now. I just bought the signs saying protected by Ring, so hopefully that will add to the protection level.
Honestly, in most communities I've been in, people are happy to share if asked. We have a great group of people in my area trading for various fruits and veggies, and it's a load of fun. Many of us are on local Facebook and NextDoor forums and offer our excess produce to others for free. It's the stealing and self-entitlement that drives me crazy. It would never occur to me to just take fruits or veggies that I hadn't grown.
That is a wonderful idea. I will try to incorporate that into my squirrel deterrent program but they're like ninjas they come from the air Land and Sea. I have to be honest my first thought was Jehovah Witnesses apparently the sign in front of our subdivision that says no solicitation is not deterring them LOL
(https://i.postimg.cc/Yv8BM96K/giphy-downsized-large.gif) (https://postimg.cc/Yv8BM96K)