now i am MAD!!! need legal advice

If you put dogs out they will probably shoot the dogs.
This country is full of thieving scum. It is hard to be a good person when most are corrupt.

I don't have any advice, but I hate a thief.
I'd be tempted to wait however long necessary and send em back to town with a knot on their head and no pants.
I hate thieves

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Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
Mark Twain
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Enforced tolerance is oppression

ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

You did not mention how far this was from your home or how large of a area the thieves have access to it. If it is with in a few miles, a cheap way to monitor this area is to get you a battery operated driveway alarm or 2, 3 or 4 of them(Harbor Freight has them for less than $20ea) if there is several access to your ginseng beds. These alarms will transmit up to about 200ft. What you want to do is camo/hide the transmitter(s) with paint/fake tree/what ever works, etc so it is set-up where if someone walks close to it they can not see it(do not block/paint the little screen on the front of the transmitter). It has to be within several feet of someone walking by to activate it(test it to find out the distance). Also a good idea is to have it at least 3 ft high so small animals walking by does not set it off all the time. You then want to find a location to put the receiver(s) part as far away as possible from the transmitter, but close enough that they work. A area that the thieves would not go into or have no reason to go into. You would want this receiver location to be about eye height and some sort of protection from rain etc like a little shelf with a top over it, not a metal type box that would block the signals. Get you a pair of FRS or Gmrs radios, You can get them from Wal-marts, Radio Shack, online etc. Get a set that has the VOX(voice/noise activation) feature on it. If you are not far from this location then you can get a cheaper set, if you are or several miles away you will have to buy the better GMRS model. If you are 5 miles or more away you would have to test the better set to see if it would reach you(They do make a set that has a 35 mile range which means it might work 5 miles or more--according to your location, trees, buildings, hills etc). Take one of the radio's and turn it on to VOX and put it right in front of the receiver(s) and hang the other one on your belt, night stand etc. Test your set-up to make sure all works well. make sure you can not hear the beeping from the receivers if you were the thief around your ginseng bed. If you can then you would need to put something over the speakers of the receiver to cut down the beeping sound but do not cut it down so much that the VOX wont cut on the radio. If someone walks by your transmitter, it will beep on the receiver which will turn on the radio with the VOX feature which will send a siginal to the radio on your side-----when you hear the beeps grab your gun and get to the ginseng bed ASAP. Have a place close to the bed where you can see the thieves but stay hid where they can not see you, start shooting over their heads to the point they think they are in a ginseng bed of a CRAZY person LOL. They should cut a trail but do not let them see you----If they call the law they can not prove it was you if they do not see you----------------------------Or you could just call the law and see if the law will get there before they leave. Good Luck!!

PS you will need to get extra batteries for these devices where you can go to the radio and replace the battery as needed. Getting some rechargable batteries would be the way to go. You will probable have to change the battery in the radio every day or two, The driveway alarms should last a week or two. I would get the FRS/GMRS radio's that have a rechargable batteries and buy a extra rechargable battery that you can switch out. You can set the radio on your side in the charger then trade it out with the one with the receivers then charge that one at night etc. Just do not forget to turn on the VOX of the one at the ginseng bed.

I found thieves at a neighbors house and shot all the tires on their car and put a 9mm hole in the trunk so that the police would have no problem finding them then called the Sheriff. What usually took 30 minuets to respond was cut down to 15 you could hear the sirens for at least 4 miles. The car was empty at the time but they gave no problem after I called the Sheriff.

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God must have loved stupid people because he made so many of them.

If you find their car on the road, just unscrew the valves to let the air out of two or more tires. With at least two flats they are not going anywhere. If you decide to fix the flats just screw the valves back in and inflate from an air tank. No damage done. Of course you don't know who let the air out in the first place.

Ginsang is not normally sold fresh. The thieves will take it home, clean it and dry it for sale..ususally to a buyer and by the pound. Only usable part is the root..and perhaps the fresh berries for planting. Unlikely to show up at a farmers market..I feel they have a buyer they have used for awhile.

Get some cams and catch them in the act.

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" As needs-MUST!!"--- in other words..a gal does what a gal has too!

Not if you carry a shovel.
Well, I learned something today.... www means something besides the worldwideweb...
I do this anytime I find a vehicle parked on my place... all four tires. Some folks carry air compressors, and one tire doesn't take long... four does.

Op asked for legal advice... legal don't do diddly till you catch them in the act.

Where were you when the thieving was going on? If you have detached property, or a lot of it, you either have to patrol it, or let the locals know your a crazy son of a biscuit eater that might just chew on them a bit.

If they stole all of it, maybe they won't be back.

If you do decide to use trail cams, learn a little about camouflage (helps if your a hunter already).... folks that'll steal ginseng or anything else won't mind snatching an expensive trail cam.

Good luck... have to say the odds of catching someone is mighty slim, even with a trail cam... they might not be back for another year, hoping your roots will have a chance to grow. You gonna change batteries for a year waiting for the off chance they'll return? Forget to change the batteries and that'll be the time they return... Murphys law corollaries...

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

My neighbor tried to grow ginseng. Deer and Elk gobbled it up.

Seriously, who knows you're growing it?

I don't know that you can count on catching their car. A tactic they use around here is the drop off. The driver drops off the crew and drives away. They stay in touch by cellphone. Driver returns to pick up the crew and on to the next stop.

Think about how they know where the ginseng is located on your land. Who would know that and how?

Around here these "groups" like to hit up the farm ponds and illegally gig all the frogs. Rarely hear a croaker here these days/nights. They keep the frog population cleaned.

It's also difficult to keep garden and orchard produce up to harvest. These "groups" really like fresh foods and usually harvest them just before peak time. But they tend to not bother the commerical growers because of the added security such as fences, dogs, security alarms, etc.

When/if caught, these "groups" are put in jail. Word is they don't mind that and enjoy their free room and board. The law really doesn't want to do that for them if they don't have to.

One of our best friends is a recently retired sheriff's deputy. He can tell some good ones on who these "groups" are and why they steal for a living.

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There are endless combinations of truth.

A simple little pebble in the valve cap works without unscrewing the valve.

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If the grass looks greener it is probably over the septic tank. - troy n sarah tx

Our existance here is soley for the expoitation of CMG

Don't just write the number down. Use a cellphone camera and take a picture of the plate and send it to someone. That way if anything might happen to you the police have someplace to start.

WWW

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If the grass looks greener it is probably over the septic tank. - troy n sarah tx

Our existance here is soley for the expoitation of CMG

Could you heavily sprinkle lye around the plants? Just wondering if it would affect the plant? I don't know. But, I do know this.......if the blame theives started scratching around in that stuff, they'd quit REAL fast............just a thought!

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Stephanie

Wife, Mom to 4 ( 2 in Tn, 2 in Gloryland), caretaker of chickens, rabbits, kittys, 2 dogs, 2 milk goats, 2 jersey cows, and 1 messy house

I've read about groups stealing ginseng on national park land. They were driving to MI from Chicago to do it. It's a pretty lucrative business with the high price of the roots.

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"Do you believe in the devil? You know, a supreme evil being dedicated to the temptation, corruption, and destruction of man?" Hobbs
"I'm not sure that man needs the help." Calvin

What do they call those tiny chips they implant in dogs and other pets? I hear they are just pennies. Perhaps a few of them implanted in a few roots would make things interesting. they would work fine even after drying and all you have to do is stop by your local buyers.

I like the idea of planting deterrants all around your patches. Any type of plant that will make a thorny/scratchy thick hedge would work wonders.

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I am what I am! Acknowledging this is the beginning; and my growth is yet to end. http://motdaugrnds.com/farmsales ~~~~~ http://motdaugrnds.com

no way they are driving in so there will be no car. the thing about this root is it only grows in select places and those that know that can find it
my place is fenced, well barb wired. and posted with bad dog and no trespassing signs so i don’t see how i could get sued for letting the dog loose (if i see them in the act) that is. please explain if i am wrong on this
i do not cultivate this, it is grow wild and has been doing so for many years and is still of high value way more than cultivated types the last time i was able to harvest it was going for over 300.00 an OZ for dry root. and it has to be of certain age or it will be worthless and not able to be sold. this plot most likely will be dead. at the least it will take 5 years or more to be productive again.
it is more of a tradition than a money maker and was always left to the kids to harvest because where it grows on the side of a mountain. my kids have grown and moved away but there will be grand kids (i hope soon) to bestow this treasure to. it just makes me mad that people will just come in and kill something that has been there for years for a few dollars. as i had posted this has been going on for a few years but always harvested the right way. plant the berry’s only harvest older roots and so on so it did not ---- me off but this...this is more than stealing this is just killing something for the heck of it. anyone that hunts the root knows you cant even sell the young ones and to be caught with berry’s is a federal offense i believe.

In MN it has to be 5 years or older before it can be sold.

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"Do you believe in the devil? You know, a supreme evil being dedicated to the temptation, corruption, and destruction of man?" Hobbs
"I'm not sure that man needs the help." Calvin

People do it because they can. I figure most people do stuff like this just because they are worthless trash with no regard for anyone else. The worry about theft is why I haven't tried growing ginseng. There are people around here that would take it just to be jerks and because they can.

I'm sorry your plot was vandalized and stolen. People who do stuff like that should be covered with honey and tied nekkid on a fire ant hill. Then whatever is left should be shot and left for the scavengers.

thats what gets me fishhead they cant even sell it!!! and if they stole plants that young i can be sure the berrys were not replanted as is the law in TN.

Best idea ever!!

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