Mango Thief Caught

[CarolinaZone]

Yet another perspective:

There are those who might shoot a fruit thief, but not to kill.

A shotgun loaded with rock-salt could be a memorable reminder to lay off nabbing fruit uninvited.

That actually was a not too uncommon remedy for this sort of thing some decades back.  It seemed to work.

Just sayin'

Paul M.
==

You beat me to it. That or a squirt of water from the hose. The problem is nowadays if yiu squirt someone with a hose you will get an assault charge, medical bill for the fall they took, and a lawsuit for emotional stress they suffered from getting caught and squirted while in your yard stealing from your tree😉😁😉😁😉

[Calusa]

Has anyone been shot yet? Asking for a friend. 

[pineislander]

Can’t wait to retire ! , buying  mountain top hone in PR off the grid , no neighbors, HOA, nothing but nature ….

Fruit thievery happens in Puerto Rico and throughout the Caribbean.

[greg_D]

Sorry this happened. I think it's definitely good to teach kids to ask permission. I don't think it makes sense to assume the kid is gonna have some sort of life of crime. Growing up I acted similarly, it's what was taught to me by example. As I finished up my teens I started to develop more empathy and compassion for others. Sometimes our parents teach us what not to be.

[greg_D]

Yet another perspective:

There are those who might shoot a fruit thief, but not to kill.

A shotgun loaded with rock-salt could be a memorable reminder to lay off nabbing fruit uninvited.

That actually was a not too uncommon remedy for this sort of thing some decades back.  It seemed to work.

Just sayin'

Paul M.
==

You beat me to it. That or a squirt of water from the hose. The problem is nowadays if yiu squirt someone with a hose you will get an assault charge, medical bill for the fall they took, and a lawsuit for emotional stress they suffered from getting caught and squirted while in your yard stealing from your tree😉😁😉😁😉

I'm hoping the rock salt thing was a joke but if not please absolutely do not do this lol. It's 'an eye for an eye' not 'an eye for a mulberry'

Spray them with the hose if anything, much better idea

[drymifolia]

Yet another perspective:

There are those who might shoot a fruit thief, but not to kill.

A shotgun loaded with rock-salt could be a memorable reminder to lay off nabbing fruit uninvited.

That actually was a not too uncommon remedy for this sort of thing some decades back.  It seemed to work.

Just sayin'

Paul M.
==

You beat me to it. That or a squirt of water from the hose. The problem is nowadays if yiu squirt someone with a hose you will get an assault charge, medical bill for the fall they took, and a lawsuit for emotional stress they suffered from getting caught and squirted while in your yard stealing from your tree😉😁😉😁😉

I'm hoping the rock salt thing was a joke but if not please absolutely do not do this lol. It's 'an eye for an eye' not 'an eye for a mulberry'

Spray them with the hose if anything, much better idea

I agree causing "bodily harm" seems like a step too far, but if you catch someone stripping all your trees and loading their truck up, I think if their truck somehow got a little smashed up and needed a new windshield that might work to help them think twice about earning their living that way.

[Orkine]

..... I love when I get to share fruit, even with a stranger.

Noting beats gifting some nice fruits, ok there are things that are more fun including the stranger coming back to say thank you and sharing how they enjoyed the fruit, ... and getting to leave with even more or different fruits.

I love it and it happen often enough.

[roblack]

Agreed, violence is not the answer. Also, if you're gonna pick a fight, not a good idea to do it at home.

Motion activated sprinklers with strategically located security cameras can be a lot of fun.

[Johnny Eat Fruit]

Eastern Fox Squirrel eating my Beaumont Macadamia Nuts. Not native to California they have become quite agressive in eating fruit and nuts  in this area.

Take them out if you can. Traps exct. These are Rodents. Kill them.

Johnny



Eastern Fox Squirrel (8-19-2023)

[Galatians522]

Eastern Fox Squirrel eating my Beaumont Macadamia Nuts. Not native to California they have become quite agressive in eating fruit and nuts  in this area.

Take them out if you can. Traps exct. These are Rodents. Kill them.

Johnny



Eastern Fox Squirrel (8-19-2023)

Wow, looks nothing like a Florida Fox Squirrel. Ours get huge and are sometimes mistaken for monkies  by unsuspecting northerners. They are not very common. Our subspecies has a really dark almost black head.

[Calusa]

That's a common gray squirrel as as far as I can tell. I have gray squirrels (lot of them) hanging around in my yard, breeding in my Washingtonia palm, and a few have that same brownish/reddish breast. Some sort of genetic thing I guess. Like Galatians522 said Fox Squirrels are much bigger and have bold coloring.

[Tropheus76]

We had fruit thief issues here while I was deployed. Some big dude with a machete picked all my citrus and star fruit trees clean and then knocked on the door to be answered by my wife. He said he hoped we didnt mind him taking the fruit. She replied that yeah she minded but its a little late now. He then cussed her out and she slammed the door. We keep a shotgun by the door now. She was also severely suffering from a migraine and wasnt thinking straight.

[JakeFruit]

Sorry this happened. I think it's definitely good to teach kids to ask permission. I don't think it makes sense to assume the kid is gonna have some sort of life of crime. Growing up I acted similarly, it's what was taught to me by example. As I finished up my teens I started to develop more empathy and compassion for others. Sometimes our parents teach us what not to be.

I grew up similarly and it also did not serve me well in my teens and early twenties (I do have some funny stories, but little was worth it). Unseen victims are not the same as NO victims; a parent teaching a kid it's okay to take when people aren't looking is planting a bad seed. Like most seeds, it's likely to germinate at some point.

[Greater Good]

Put up some cameras

What does that do to prevent stealing?

[JakeFruit]

What does that do to prevent stealing?

If you can catch a license plate along with images of the thieves in action, that opens up multiple options for legal retribution/deterrence. Fruit has quantifiable monetary value; somebody cleans a tree(s) of 100+ mangoes, that's very likely considered a felony in Florida (>=$750).

[zands]

It’s amazing how some folks have the COJONES to walk onto private property and start picking fruit !

How about parking your Cadillac Escalade outside the property walls. Then with a long pole reaching in to grab  mangos off a tree. This was what Harry Hausman (famous local grower) posted here 9-10 years ago. If I got some details wrong, please correct me.

[JR561]

What does that do to prevent stealing?

If you can catch a license plate along with images of the thieves in action, that opens up multiple options for legal retribution/deterrence. Fruit has quantifiable monetary value; somebody cleans a tree(s) of 100+ mangoes, that's very likely considered a felony in Florida (>=$750).

Few DAs here will do anything like that.

They have a hard time charging people even with major crimes.

[irun5k]

I feel for you, at our old house (near downtown St. Petersburg) people were constantly stealing fruit.  One lady stopped and filled up and entire large shopping bag.  In years when we didn't have a lot of fruit, they'd strip it clean.

I saw one neighbor rip off a large branch with his hands- when I went to confront him he said he was going to graft it by sticking it on top of a plant he had that wouldn't fruit (what a genius)

Also caught one kid on video ripping branches off our plumeria, and he stood there and de-leafed all the cuttings right in my front yard.

I finally put a "no trespassing" sign in our mango tree and our neighbor called city code enforcement because of the sign!

The best thing we ever did was move away from the urban area to a more chill laid back area of the county where people don't live like that and do this stuff to each other.  For many years I struggled to try and deal with it and accept it as something I couldn't realistically change.

Many people just don't get it and will say "oh, it is just a plant!"... the plumeria that the kid ripped apart I had been cultivating for years.... imagine if your hobby was, I don't know- building miniature dollhouses, and someone walked into your craft room and stepped on one.  This is exactly the same thing in my book.

[JakeFruit]

What does that do to prevent stealing?

If you can catch a license plate along with images of the thieves in action, that opens up multiple options for legal retribution/deterrence. Fruit has quantifiable monetary value; somebody cleans a tree(s) of 100+ mangoes, that's very likely considered a felony in Florida (>=$750).

Few DAs here will do anything like that.

They have a hard time charging people even with major crimes.

Doesn't have to get up to the charging phase; having the police show up at their door with pictures of them in the act would be a strong deterrence alone. Local media might also give time to stories like this. Small claims court or a civil theft suit might also be options. If you have clear video of them in the act, you have some options for retribution...

[Epicatt2]

Doesn't have to get up to the charging phase; having the police show up at their door with pictures of them in the act would be a strong deterrence alone. Local media might also give time to stories like this. Small claims court or a civil theft suit might also be options. If you have clear video of them in the act, you have some options for retribution...

I get that completely but . . . .  Even if this works for a perp you caught on video, and a police visit discourages them from a repeat offense, then there's another poetential perp somewhere in the wings waiting to steal yours or someone else's fruit, alas!  Ahhh... the joys of urban fruit growing!

¡Así es la vida!

Paul M.
==

[Calusa]

A good old fashioned ass whipping works too. Forget the police - they don't care if someone steals your fruit.

[greg_D]

Some of you guys are gonna go to jail over a mango lol