Firewood thieves!!!

Hey, MP,

You say this happened "down at your mom's place". Have you moved out?

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Popeye

I tend to agree with this thought.

What about just going with the attitude of:

"We've been having some problems with people stealing firewood and other things, and were wondering if you had the same problems?"

"I am curious if you would help me in keeping an eye on our place, and I will help keep an eye on yours. There are alot of wackos out there just looking to steal."

"We all need to stick together in this area."

"We have talked to the sheriff, who has told us not to take the law into our own hands...."

"The sheriff told me they are on the look out for a thief hitting homes in our area, but wouldn't go into detail. He said that when they catch that person, they are really going down."

If this is done in a non-threatening manner, and as a neighbor helping a neighbor, the result will most likely be positive, and probably will end your loss of wood.

My guess is that whoever is stealing the wood isn't out to steal something of monetary value (like a TV or jewelry), but is stealing a few sticks at a time because "they won't miss it". Kind of like the preacher's wife I know that cut down 40 stalks of corn to make Halloween decorations.

Clove

This would be funny if you knew that the thief was the one that was going to see the results.

But what happens if one of those firecrackers goes off, and a red hot ember hits a child, maybe a 6 year old boy, that one of the weekenders brought with them?

First of all, call the sheriff and let them know that people are stealling woods from your mother (it sounds like she is an elderly person so let the sheriff office knows that too). that the wood is used by her to heat the house during the winter. That the wood is generally stollen on friday.

Paint the log as proposed and next time you see a bonfire, just check out your wood pile and if something is missing called the sheriff again and let him know that more woods have been stollen, that there is a bonfire near your place going on and that you have paint the side of your log are paint whatever color you have been able to put your hand on and let the sheriff deal with it, there is a great chance that the sheriff will find moreunder age drinking and weed smoking that it won't even see a necessity to talk about your wood but the people are going to be reluctant to party in a place were the sheriff cames out and do some control.

I agree with what Clovis has said...you sure don't want to make matters any worse, especially if you aren't there all the time!

Annie

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"We've been having some problems with people stealing firewood and other things, and were wondering if you had the same problems?"

I like that one the best!

---- Ellm


Its a firewood that smells like cat ----. just a few sticks and they just might lose their interest in YOUR wood.

Of course any stink bomb could be hiddin in the wood

................motion detectors !! That's what I use , the sender is mounted on a fence post so it's infrared beam detects about 3 feet or so off the ground , this keeps it from getting pings from dogs and other small animals . The receiver is situated inside my trailer and is hooked to a very LOUD squeeker ; in fact I have to put a bowl over it so it is so loud . Visit radio shack as i think they have them there . , fordy

I'd stuff the top chunks with shotgun shells, sans pellets... have one of those blow, and they'd not be back...

of course, I'd just as soon leave the shot in, if I caught them, and give it to them personally... I have no mercy on thieves...

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

With that caliber of people in & out of the area I'd move the pile up to the house and add motion detector lights.

So have you been able to catch them yet? How did you decide to handle this? I have to agree with Texican--I don't have mercy for thieves either. You have a family to care for. You shouldn't have to deal with dirtbags who think they can take something that isn't theirs.

I was thinking of setting up a few trip wires. Do trip wires constitute booby trap? There would be nothing else except for a few tripds, mayble lay a shovel or garden rake out. Something along that lines. It would hurt pretty bad having an armload of firewood and be sneaking along then fall flat on your face, possibly injuring oneself on the chunks of wood?? Maybe at least a splinter or 2?? The spray paint would be a good idea. I dont favor going over to talk with them, as im not easy to get along with. Usually people dont find favor with me for how i look. Thats fine by me I think ill wait see what happens. I think there is a good chance of another theft as hunters will be down soon, probably this weekend. I will put a sign up with a few bundles of wood. You never know might make a couple bucks!

Keep your powder dry

BTW texican-- i like the shot shell idea, but i dont want to hurt someone that had nothing to do with it. I will admit 10 years ago i would have done that easily or maybe even 1/2 stick of dynamite!!!

yes i agree with clovis, and move the wood pile closer to house..

How about was trip wires attached to a bunch of noise makers, tin cans or whatever? I also like the idea of alarms. Heck I would use both.

Also, moving the wood closer to the house.

Interesting idea that if someone is stealing from you, you should just offer to sell the item to them. I would assume the would is there because she needs it. Why sell it.
And let's be politically or otherwise correct and not make them mad.
I'm with Texican and stranger. If they're going too take it I say give them a surprise.
What's that officer? Am I missing any firewood? I'm not sure. I don't really keep track of it that well.
FarmerDave
(Yeah, Yeah, I know....)

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FarmerDave
Taft, TN

It Works up in Maine to cut down on the thefts ,back in the 80's when I was logging in Central Maine , the Mill/Logger I was working for , told Me to keep a eye on " His " wood I had yarded and stacked . As someone was going around stealing wood nites and weekends .
I heard that a bolt of wood was cut oversize , drilled out and a unloaded shotgun shell inserted , then plugged , and cut off at 48 in.
Everyone had a idea who was doing it , and suspected a hippie couple living in a shack , they never bought wood , but always had a good supply .
A month or two later , there stove " Blew Up " .
Bob
Ps.
In a stack of Birch , don't allways think You are lucky to find 1 piece of Ash

I'm in the "zero tolerance for thieves" camp... If someone were setting foot on my property and taking something that didn't belong to them, there'd be a shotgun blasting into the air at the very least. (Probably not worth killing someone over, but hey-- they'd know I mean business!)

There's a lot to be said for having a "reputation" in the area... my parents live on a 100-acre farm out in the middle of nowhere, back a 1/4 mile long driveway with plenty of "NO TRESPASSING" signs posted at the road. My parents, and especially my mom, do not take kindly to unwelcome visitors, and in keeping with such, my mom routinely answers the door with her shotgun cracked and a shell in one hand.

One day, two guys from the local power company stopped by and knocked on the door to ask permission to check the lines (a power line runs through their property). They were driving an unmarked truck and neither guy was wearing a uniform. My mom, shotgun in hand, asked to see their ID from the power company-- which neither of them had. One of them said, "you wouldn't use that shotgun, would you?"

At that point she dropped a shell into the barrel, snapped it shut, and said, "you have no ID, no uniforms, and an unmarked vehicle-- which means you have exactly 10 seconds before you find out." Needless to say, they left in a hurry.

A couple of days later, they came back-- with ID, and in a company truck. My dad was home that day, and one of the guys said, "man, that wife of yours, she threatened to shoot us!"

"Yep," my dad said. "She's been looking for an excuse to shoot someone for a while, so it must've been your lucky day!" Since then, no unmarked/un-ID'ed power company workers come near their farm.

Moral of the story-- there's nothing wrong with people thinking you just MIGHT be a tad unhinged and you'd have no problem popping a cap in somebody if the situation presented itself... and you don't need to hurt anybody to get that point across.

If that was my firewood, I think I'd be camping out on Friday nights with a camera and some firepower, just for the sheer entertainment value...

The law states it is illegal to make/use a booby trap that is intended to cause bodily harm. So, just substitute the harm with say, red paint or blue paint. a shotgun shell and blue paint without the pellets, would be lots of fun to find the culprit. Just look for the group of Smurfs.

Stick a bee hive near the wood pile. Warning sign optional.