Indestructable No Trespassing Sign
 

Hi all,

This site is really great. I've been reading for the past few weeks and have learned a ton.

So, I am in search of a bullet proof way to post my property. I am only there a few days a month now and I could post new signs every time and they will be shot to hell by the time I get back. Not just a few holes, but totally destroyed. Anything that sticks out gets shot. This problem should be reduced once I'm there full time since I have guns too ;).

However, in the meantime, I'm getting tired of providing free target practice. From a liability standpoint, it also seems much more critical to meet the signage requirements when I have people shooting all over the place.

Will covering signs with plexiglass provide much additional resistance? I'm guessing not, since bullets are cheap and they can just use more. Thicker metal signs maybe (but the paint will get blown off anyway)? Any other ideas?

Maybe I should just put up a billboard - it would take a helluva lot of bullets to shoot it up.

Thanks!
-Bill

Take an old tire and paint "no Tresspassing" on it in a bright color. Hang on fence post. Done all the time here. Lasts forever with a little paint touch-up. A few bullet holes won't matter.

Reply
 

[Check the laws where you are. Most places, a red circle spray-painted on a tree is considered the same as a No Trespassing sign, and in a lot of places you don't have to post at all, just growing a crop is considered the same as posting.

I took 1/2 inch steel plate and with my torch cut no trespassing etc on it. lol Extreme but it got the message across. I then painted the entire thing with blaze orange paint.

I would suggest getting you some game cameras for about 50 bucks and get a picture of your trespassers. I caught a couple guys on film and left a copy in their mail box. Moved the camers so they wouldnt be able to find it using the pics and I have yet to catch them back. It also helps prove trespassing to the law. Time etc

K-State PURPLE
 

Purple is the color you paint.It is the color picked for the USA..Read you saftey laws and rules..............

Bill,

Just use the bright yellow tyvek ones. They are inexpensive, nearly indestructible (unless someone rips them down) and cheap!. You can put them up using 1/4 inch staples and a staple gun. If you bring a short step ladder (one of those 3 step ones) you can post the signs higher than people can easily reach.

We walk the perimeter of the property 3 times a year to check and replace signs. Twice in the fall (once before hunting season starts and once during) and once in the spring.

Mike

I like the Tire idea! I had never thought of that nor seen it.

I was going to say "tombstones" made of Quikreet with "No Tresspasing" embedded in them, but I like the tire idea.

Tires are absolutely no fun to shoot. No "plink" sound, so shattering, no satisfying hole, no puff of dust, they barely even move.

a farmer owned a bunch of woodlands around where i grew up. he cut out portions of 55 gallon steel drums and painted the no tresspassing on them. then mounted them to large trees (so the curved in portion of the drum 'wrapped' around the tree). it seemed to work and they lasted many many years.. i think they are still there today!

I only see the big deal about trespassing if the folks are hunters. I routinely trespass but I make sure I check in with at the house on the property even if I enter through and area that butts up against a park. Very rarely I see signs that say "Private Property - leave it better than you found it" or "If you do not have an appt you will be considered trespassing". If I ever own land I want it to be open to others even for hunting but I do want to know who is out there and how long. If someone is on there without coming just to say hello first and let me get a sense of their character (and good or bad intentions) then they're probably no good. I can understand "no trespassing" signs as I don't want to get shot by someone hunting while I'm out for a walk and I wouldn't want any livestock or tools etc stolen. But I wouldn't be greedy and say no to other people.

Megan

What I understand is even if you do have all that, if you did catch the Trespasse, you can't do much the first time you catch him, you just have to give him a warning and report it to the cops, what I understand is you can get busted only after you get caught the second time(this is assuming the tresspasser "didn't know" that you don't want people on your land, and the trespasser isn't commiting a crime on your land(other than the obvious)

I've learned the best things to do if ya got to go on other peoples land to fish/hike/investigate.
#1 don't draw attention- if there is trucks parked by the road, chances are there are people in the woods.
Avoid Dogs-They Bark
If your using a ATV, install a Silencer on it! Noise is Bad!
don't trespass around popular hunting seasons.
always tresspass unarmed, with knives.
If they got No Trespassing signs, just cover them up, mud, rip it down, so you can proclaim your innosence latter on
if they got that "special paint" on a tree, just bring your OWN special paint and turn that "circle" into a gang symbol.
The best time to Trespass is Mon-thrs. Usually the Landowner is at work, and the Landowner usually is off on the weekends.
KNOW the landowner, if you can.

Yes, KNOW the land owner. I rarely meet people I don't like or who don't like me. Once I meet someone I know them. Alot of times folks with property become like this forum in real time.

Thanks for the ideas - I think a combination of tires and painted trees will be the next attemp.

As far as the issue of trespassing goes, I unfortunately live in California. Even more than most states, no one is responsible for their actions here. Due to that, I will never allow anyone on my land without my supervision. The risks are too great. In a perfect world, I would have no issue with it, but I can't afford to pay if some jackass should manage to fall down one of my old mineshafts, or shoot his foot off, or get mauled by the resident mountain lion.

-Bill

:haha: Nice Oilpatch. Your type would be why so many of us who own our land would like others to stay off it. I feel like I am the one paying the big bucks for the taxes on this land and I should be able to walk on my own land without running into someone. We have given permission on several occasions for people to hunt here. Why are so many hunters so totally inconsiderate? We even leave shovels around for them to bury their guts, but they leave them out for my dog to come onto and eat. Then I have to worm extra etc. I don't go onto anyone's land without permission and I expect the same respect from others.

Oilpatch doesn't understand the concept of private property when it comes to other peoples property. He wants to be able to control his own property though. Go figure.

Oilpatch thinks he will be able to claim innocence if he gets caught trespassing. I hope that the person who eventually catches him stumbles across his postings here. I'd love to be a spectator in court the day he is confronted with that.

Oops!


Mike

well, let me say this, when my neighbors about a 1/4 mile away here me do target pratice with the Semi-Auto, and I got my signs up, word gets around...hehe.

Yeah, that is annoying, Hunters leaving the carcases in the feild, last year they dumped one in a creek near my house.

" I feel like I am the one paying the big bucks for the taxes on this land and I should be able to walk on my own land without running into someone."
Your More likely to run into a Hunter than somone like me. I'm the type that explores the terrain, I'm mostly into historical abandoned OilFeild sites. If I see you, I hide, but the advise I gave above should avoid landowner/trespasser contact.
I don't know why you'all are stiff-necked about trespassers, If somone was on my land, I would ask them to leave, only if the person repeatedly trespasses, then I "Pull the guns" so-to-speak:haha:
I think that is reasonable, as long as the Trespasser stays away from barns and such, I have a rule, I NEVER get within 200feet of a building that isn't abandoned.

I am a Ethical Trespasser. :p

madmarchie:

Please send me a check large enough to buy 2 child sized caskets as my kids think our property is theirs to explore, not yours. I don't have enough money for funerals, having paid the taxes and homeowners' association dues.

Oilpatch:

Don't forget to wear those self-adhesive targets so I don't just wing you by mistake.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kosh a farmer owned a bunch of woodlands around where i grew up. he cut out portions of 55 gallon steel drums and painted the no tresspassing on them. then mounted them to large trees (so the curved in portion of the drum 'wrapped' around the tree). it seemed to work and they lasted many many years.. i think they are still there today!

This has got to be the coolest idea! It's going into my homesteading notebook to do when buy my own property in a few years! JackieA

There's no such thing as an ethical trespasser.

Jan, what do you mean two child size caskets? I don't hunt. If I did I wouldn't do so without permission. Oilpatch says not to approach unabandoned buildings. I say I want to meet you and your kids and your DH. I want you to tell me about your show pigs and how many head of cattle you run. I want to inquire about the age of your house and compliment you on keeping it in the family for so long. I want to smile at you and congratulate you on tending such a beautiful garden. Lastly I want to praise the town you live in and inspire you to keep farming traditions alive. Then I just want to sit quietly by your brook and daydream for a while. If you give me permission to fish thank you. If you make me sign a waiver your smart and I will readily comply. If you tell me in know uncertain terms to beat it then again I will cheerfully comply.

Megan

madmarchie:

You would have to tresspass to "visit" with us in the first place. Our land is double gated and posted and by invitation only. We are not open to the general public (in fact, you would really have to go off public land a long ways to get to us). Tresspassers upset our critters and destroy the peace of our wildlife refuge.

I had to bring the dog in yesterday as we could hear hunters shooting but could not tell if they were aiming at her or not (she is deer colored, poor thing). The geese and chickens were begging to come in, too, but I had to tell them to try posing like lawn ornaments and hope the hunters don't notice them.

Even without guns we prefer not to have strangers here. For one thing, I like to wear as little as possible and am sensitive to laughter and finger pointing. I bought this land to escape from the general population. I don't want them following me to my doorstep.

Wow. Definitely a "flameproof undies" thread, huh?
But in terms of actual information, the color to paint on trees in maryland in blue. Blue blazes have the same legal standing as a no trespassing sign here.
And hunters are required to CARRY with them written permission from the owners to hunt.
FYI