Options for dealing with trespassers?

gated community.

that has a very bad meaning around here... the gated communities around here are when yuppies come in buy a 500 acre farm, bulldoze build and then set up gates on the roads into the 'hood'. some even have their own patrol cars.

ranch and farm-ettes in a gated community.... I HOPE you didnt get that gated community built by yuppie slash and burn engineering.

or have the whole twp REZONED to jack up your property values.

no offense... you might live in a different type of 'gated community'.

here, they are just eyesores. lke the one down the road that bought the resuvoir, immediately bulldozed every tree in sight, put up 1/2 mil$ patio homes, and the infamous 'gate'.... and a big sign that says 'no fishing, residents only, no special permits issued'

no problem greaseballs, you killed all the fish in the lake with the runoff and diesel fuel spills from the bulldozers. and all the wildlife ran away. that is, the ones you didnt poison trap and shoot.

I hope... you live in a different kinda 'gated community'.

Comfortablynumb,

That's exactly what I was thinking when I saw the words "gated community" They do have a bad rep in rural parts of Texas AND Kansas. I'm finding out that Wichita is growing and is considered one of the top 25 best towns to raise your kids. Kirsten Alley has moved back here (she's orginally from here) because she considers this town a good place to raise kids and she has bought a few businesses here. She's investing in this town..back to the point..there are a few gated communities and they're hard to get in if you're not a dog, lol.

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Ted H

You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas.
-Davy Crockett

That's good to hear about my old hometown.

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I had a 'gated community' move in next to me about 5 years ago. My property surrounds their's on two sides... They refuse to give me a key to their locked gate on my property, or a key code for their electronic gate. I find it hilarious that they refuse to give me, a propertied gentleman, a key, or dedicated code access, yet they freely give away the key-codes to illegal aliens, drug addicts, alcoholics, people on probation, people on the run from the law, people living under bridges... One of the owners told me that they didn't want ME stealing from them................I told him that he or anyone over there was welcome to visit me and my farm anytime they wanted...and if they wanted to find out who was stealing from them, maybe they should put up a camera at their main gate (seems some of their 'contractors' are always making 3a.m. visits---------my sister lives across the road from their humongous stone gate entrance )...

I see gated community, or hear about one, and I think negative thoughts (started to mention something about Satan and his 'love life' partners, but thought better about it.... ooops, DOH!!!)

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Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Seneca
Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival. W. Edwards Deming

I guess I'm a little confused and maybe CN, TedH71 or Texican can explain it for me.

You all feel strongly about the right to be left alone on your property to make choices about how you live. What business is it of yours if someone else chooses to live differently on theirs and isn't coming on your property?

I'm not a fan of gated communities and I would never live in a community with a homeowners association. If other people choose to do that then what business is it of mine?

Texican, if they choose not to give you a key to go through their gate on to their property, what's the problem? You go about your business and they go about theirs. Just as you wouldn't want someone else telling you what to do or who to let on your property, why should you have any expectations as to what you may or may not do on their property? They have told you where they stand. It doesn't really matter about the whys or wherefores.

If they choose to let contractors cart stuff off through their front gate and won't let you in the back gate, that is their perogative. You may scratch your head, laugh about it or get ----ed off. It still doesn't change the fact that they bought the property and have the right to make those choices.

The discussion at hand (to try and bring it back somewhat to why Randy started the thread) is whether people have the "right" to trespass on other peoples property against their wishes and how someone might deal with those that do.

The fact that you don't like someone or that their house cost more than yours or that they have a gate on their road does not justify trespassing when someone has indicated they don't want you (specifically or generically) on their property.

Personally, I don't care if it is someones trailer home on a tiny lot in a trailer park, someones mansion or someones farm. I beleive in respecting other peoples property and I simply don't understand people who don't.

Mike

Yeow. Some heated stuff in this thread.

All I can say is that I've never understood people deliberately trespassing AND tearing down NT signs and the like.

On the few occasions where I've been "caught" on private land (usually because I'm lost) on my dirtbike, I've always been VERY polite, VERY apologetic and NEVER come back. I wouldn't dream of going on someone else's land after they'd pointed out that it was private land and I shouldn't be there.

Then again, I guess that some people like confrontation and some people figure that if they want to do it, they'll do it, and whether or not you actually own / pay for / work the land is your problem, not theirs.

Sorry to hear this.

As far as the OP, I would get the law involved and hassle them until they do their jobs. People tearing down signs, tearing up your land, and threatening you is not a happening way to live. Sheriffs and the like are susceptible to continued persistence (I know, I badgered a SoCal Sheriff into giving me a CCW, hoywa like THAT?!) and you just have to make them realize that you are *not* going to go away until they handle the problem.

Cameras are a good idea, photographing is a good idea, going out armed is a good idea...as long as you are going out armed STRICTLY in the idea of self-defense and not to start a confrontation. Many states have rules about "escalation of violence" with a firearm, i.e., an argument starts, you pull your pistol, they point their rifle at you, you shoot 'em, YOU are in trouble.

Hope this works out for you. The "chasing dogs" excuse sounds plausible until you factor in tearing down the signs and so forth. This indicates a "I will go where I want to go and I don't care if it's your land" attitude, and the "chasing dogs" excuse is merely a cover for the fact that these guys don't intend to be blockaded by something as mere and stupid as a NO TRESPASSING sign.

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Gun-toting, church-going, homeschooling, right-wing conservative, happily married, stay-at-home mom of three living in the real United States of America!

Gated community..meaning it's securely gated so that dogs can't get in? I'm trying to remember. I can't really help you except to say if the dog was tracking the intended animal out of your property as the dog was supposed to do on permitted land and the intended animal ran into your property and the dog will more than likely follow...the dog is just doing what it was trained to do I was wondering if your animals were penned up or allowed to free range? Big difference if they were allowed to free range or not.
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Ted H

No, it's not a yuppie gated community. It is virgin woods and dirt roads with a community picnic area and boat ramp on the St. Johns River. Nothing fancy, just a security gate to limit access to the landowners with our own volunteer fire station at the gate. Most of us are just back-to- the-woods types that want to be left alone to do our own thing. Still some idiots manage to sneak hunting dogs with electronic collars in and then expect us to allow them to do their thing on our property. My pets were in coops and hutches, by the way, but shouldn't I be allowed to free range my animals without poacher dogs destroying them? The deer live on our land. We enjoy watching them graze in our yard. The does bring the fawns by every spring to show them off to us. I want this property to be a wildlife refuge. I pay the taxes. Why should I have to even explain this to trespassers?

threejane
Whats a CCW?

Mike in Ohio,

I'm not one of those hunters that tear down signs, etc...that's stupid. If a dog is chasing an animal and happens to be say...5 miles from your property and all the land that I've been able to get permission to get my dog on or hunt on ends on your property and the dog has been chasing the said animal for over 10 miles (it's happened before) and the chased animal decides to run on to your property in order to try to shake the dog...I follow the dog the best I can do and the dog is a hound (an example)..hounds do not call off that easily. They become deaf when their nose is on a track...and I do not realize the dog has gone on to your property until the radio tracker device tells me. I am say...3 miles away and trying to catch up with the dog. I show up on your property and knock on your door and ask if I can get your permission to get my dog off your property. What would you do? On another situation, what if you were not home? What should I do..wait for the dog to keep chasing the animal to more unpermitted properties owned by your neighbors that I've not gotten to ask permission on? Or try to catch the dog before the dog runs off your property? Dogs can and will track animals that far..the worse case scenario I've heard was 30 miles in one night! That was a plott hound, btw. If it's a cur dog, they do not carry the fight that far unless they're actually battling the animal..say a hog face to face..I've heard of dogs fighting a hog for 4 hours until the hunter was able to locate them and get to them due to the thickness of plants and rough terrain. Cur dogs do not tend to follow cold tracks therefore they're called hot nosed which is why I stick to cur dogs but since I moved to Kansas, I might go to hounds simply because cur dogs tend not to be tree minded...I might try a mountain cur which is supposedly tree minded and hot nosed but bays on track like a hound (usually). Does anyone know a good mountain cur breeder?

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Ted H

You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas.
-Davy Crockett

Jan,

I saw where you live at. Florida is well-known to have alot of poachers..hog or coon hunters included and I've seen some of their comments online which really digusts me. We do not have that kind of problem in East Texas except in some areas...my family is mostly living in Tyler where that problem doesn't exist usually. I know alot of poachers who ask permission to hunt on orange groves and then they go off the properties to get whatever animal they're chasing and plead ignorance. I don't know why I didn't realize you were in Florida until now but they do have a bad case of poachers however if you live in S. Florida where ranches still exist then the cowboys still use the Florida curs to round up cattle then hunt hogs..in that case, I wouldn't know how they react to people buying up property, etc...sorry to hear that you live in Florida. I usually tell people to move out of Florida because the native born Floridans are in the minority and the yuppie wanna bes are ruining Florida, JMHO.

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Ted H

You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas.
-Davy Crockett

Ted if I love deer or hogs or whatever and would protect them on my land dont I have that right?How can I do that if you allow your dog to come on my property? After all Like the dog the game cant read either.
Dont feel picked on I think you are getting it a lot here because you seem reasonable.Hopefully we can find a way that is fair to all of us. Im still waiting to hear what to do on that flock of dead sheep. Ask your dog hunting buddies what they think and lets hear what they would do.

TedH71,

I don't run hunting dogs so I wouldn't run into the situation you describe from your perspective. As you can tell, I'm not real sympathetic about the wants of the person who has intentionally set their dog(s) to run.

As far as what I would do if you showed up at my front door...not something I can tell you in advance. It would depend on a number of factors at that time. Are you the nth hunter trying to come on my property that day/night...well, I just might be a little POd by that point. Perhaps I am like fantasymaker or my neighbor down the road and simply don't like hunting. My neighbor down the road thinks I am a bit overboard on the privacy issue but would gladly shoot every hunter she sees (really loves animals). I say her property, her rules. She doesn't actually shoot them but boy have I seen people running out of their woods at a fast clip.

You don't have an issue if I say yes so for arguments sake let's assume I say no......

What are you going to do? You could stand there and argue with me. You could threaten me. But in the end, you have a choice.... make an issue of it or accept what I say as we are both standing on my property. I'm not the one that intentionally set the dog loose to run. From what I have seen and heard, when somebody pushes another person on their home territory, the person being pushed is likely to dig in quite firmly.

Let's say I'm not home. I've already expressed my intentions by posting "No Trespassing" signs. They don't have a little asterisk that says "except for TedH71 if he feels like turning loose his dogs to run". I would expect you to respect my wishes as expressed by the "No Trespassing" signs that I took the time to post.

If you say that you would ignore the signs then you are saying that your avoiding inconvenience is more important than my right to decide who has access to my property and in what manner.

And just a reminder, I believe it is just as important (if not more important) to respect other peoples privacy and property rights as I expect others to do so with regard to mine. It's not a one way street. I've also pointed out that we do permit unrestricted access to some people we know and limited access (we need to know ahead of time) for others.

I lived rural when I was younger (went to a one room schoolhouse and remember when we got telephone service...a party line). Respect for other people is respect for other people. It doesn't matter whether it is their person or their property. It doesn't matter to me whether the person grew up rural or moved out from a city.

Mike

i used to work for a guy that once he had asked nice and been told off but the trespassers he would load up the Ak and ride around on the 3 wheeler firing bursts into the air this usually did the trick just don't hit any one or anything

have fun playing crazy or yes it is time to just call the police

you don't need a cho vang (the mung hunter from minisota who killed 6 unarmed hunters in wisconsin 2 deer seasons ago) funny the 2 guys that did have possetion of the one gun between them the secon picked it up after the first was shot did both live it was the unarmed ones he chased down and finished off point blank

the first guy went out to his stand to find chow van in it asked him to leave but radioed the rest in the cabin when they cam out cho vang walked away taking the scope off his sks and turned and began firing

WOW you are way Off if you dont think I like hunting! but even more I like personel responcability.

I was referring to your post just above......

"Ted if I love deer or hogs or whatever and would protect them ....."

make a bunch of cyote trap sets. let the word get out that you are trapping and you will be suprised how the dogs dont get to your place

It's a concealed firearms permit, pretty hard to get in Southern California.

But I wasn't about to be put off by a Sheriff telling me "That's just the way we do things here."

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Gun-toting, church-going, homeschooling, right-wing conservative, happily married, stay-at-home mom of three living in the real United States of America!

yeah Cops usually like the status quo

Some states require a certain number of acres before dogs can be used to hunt. If the dog runs onto your property chances are he will run out of it also. There isn't any reason for the hunter to come on your property. Wait until the dog runs out of the posted property. If the dog trees on posted property get permission before going onto the property. If the dog quits before you get permission he will return to you.
No reason to go onto others property even with the excuse of hunting dogs. Your dog will come home or run out of the property.

I dont care what someone else does on their property, or what they allow in their 'gated community'.
my problem with the 'gated community' is they dont move here to live in the country they move here to rape the country into a city suburb. In doing it they raise the property taxes, show up at the twp and county meeting with strange and outlandish demands on their adjacent neighbors they moved in on.

one of the local yuppies claimed my riding a horse past his house on the road filled his kitchen with house flies.... he complained to me as I rode by and didnt go off to the twp... so kudos for him... I guess.

I have aproblem with the impact they bring, if they want to live in a sterile super neato upscale community why dont they move into a cramped suburbian neighborhood... why come out here, rape 500 acres of peace and quiet and try to make it a city suburb??
and we wont talk about the stank that follows them in... sheetz miini marts that run the local gas stations and little mom and pos stores that have been here forever... out of business. they actually voice this in public... "we need more central and more convenient place to gas and buy bread & milk".

you know... we liked having 3 little stores and no supersheetz. p1ss off.

oh look! there just went one of their yupiie larve itdots in a little rice rocket car daddy got em for a 16th birthday pressnt... using the road here as a racetrack.

probably going to visit the other yuppie who moved in, who sells the crack.

No I have no problem with what people do on their own property.
But I wouldnt move to a suburbia and set up a pig farm or start a chicken ranch... i fail to see why if they want a tiny suburb why they come all the way out here to build one.

heck... I know of 3 little towns that would welcome them to come in and renovate the whole little town into a modern suburbian village...go there.

ya know, the new age gated community nearby that built up around the aforementioned resuvior? well seems they didnt NOTICE that beside it is 2 dairy farms.

they have been there for... maybe 100 yrs i guess.

the pasture creeks run into the resuvoir.

this makes a poo poo run off, into the "marshy end" of the resuvoir where all the reeds and cat tails and muck used to absorb and filter the water before it went into the resuvoir.
and in spring, that end of the lake [they insist on calling it a lake, cuz its called "lakefront property"] has ALWYS got a seasonal alge bloom on it.... this is nature.. it works just fine.

well they started digging and raping the marsh part, and OMFG they saw a dairy farm.
and poop runnoff.

and they noticed, without the marsh and reeds and weeds, the stank washes out into their lake.

they are now making life hard for the dairys because... 'they pollute the waterways"

NO.... you morons... the 1-2 acre of reeds and marsh cleaned the water, and you screwed with it. now, you have a poop slick on half the lake for the sprng.
and more alge.

the dairys are not doing anything wrong, you fouled up a perfectly functioning natural machine.

stop whining. we out here in hicksville cant help it you have no idea how a watershed works.

now, they have a right to buy property..no arguement. they have the right to build it up, rape their new property and live however they like.. no argument.

do they have the right to intentionally impact the quality of life of those they move in on?

live with the sh1t slick on your lake, you were told not to take the marshland out.

ya know what kills me? they ruined 1-2 acre marsh, and huge lake, [what the DCNR and EPA calls "wetlands"] but a few miles away, they eminent domain an old mand farm to dig it out.... and create a wetland sancuary where there was none ro begin with.

hey morons... the geese and ducks used to fill that yuppie lake every yr. now they pass it over.
clue?

someone hurry up with that turnpike so I can sell out and move away...
dont worry.. I d0nt even cut grass let alone bulldoze anything. youll never notice i'm there.