| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| brightmeadow |
Posted - May 24 2006 : 7:09:27 PM
Our farm is our "vacation hideaway", not a working farm, and since we are usually not there, we are often troubled with trespassers.
In the spring they come for mushroom hunting, in the summer for berries and apples, and in the fall they hunt deer and turkeys.
Sometimes they actually trespass when we are there for the weekend but usually it is while we are not there. When I catch them I ask "Do you have permission to be here?" and sometimes they even LIE and say yes!!!! Other times they say, well, a friend told us about this place, and they said the owner doesn't mind... I say, well, I am the owner, and I didn't give you permission, so I would appreciate it if you don't trespass any more.
The first time I did it the trespasser was a hunter - it never even occurred to me that he had a loaded gun until later, after he left the property... Pretty dumb, huh?
So I am looking for suggestions on what you farmgirls do when you catch someone trespassing on your property.
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
| 14 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| JennyWren |
Posted - Jun 02 2006 : 9:17:21 PM
Geez Louise...
You guys are starting to make my living in the city sound good.. 
Stop that! hahaha...
We put up a six foot fence to deter some very unsavory people from breaking into our house, walk around looking in the windows.. or just generally take whatever they want out of our yard. We posted NO TRESPASSING signs only to have them peeled off the fence and thrown into the yard!  The one thing that has helped a little is the Beware of Dog sign.. Little did they know we have a Maltese and a Teacup Chihuahua.. !!
The best thing I did do so far is plant climbing rose bushes  the other night I was standing at the kitchen sink only to hear the sound of some very foul language..I looked a little closer.. and I could see two people running through the alley.. apparently whatever the signs didn't take care of the roses did! 
If you treat an individual as what he is, he will stay that way, but if you
treat him as if he were what he could be, he will become what he could be.
-- Goethe
www.jennywrensurbanhomestead.blogspot.com/ |
| LJRphoto |
Posted - May 31 2006 : 7:51:23 PM
It's certainly possible, Dar, but it would take a pretty big bird to drop a chicken carcass. Also, it's right out their backsteps where I've found some stuff. I'm more "riled" about it somedays than others :)
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority." -E. B. White
http://www.betweenthecities.com/blog/ljr/
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| Destiny~ |
Posted - May 31 2006 : 10:53:21 AM
Laura, just a thought, but are you sure its not the birds who are bringing over the food? It would explain the food in the tree.
I only mention this because that is a problem we are having. We've found all sorts of stuff in our yard, dog food, plastic pellets etc. And I know its not our neighbors, we all have high fences and some of the stuff was too far from anyone else's house to have been thrown. One of the pellets was on my window sill on the other side of my house.
"Let us, together, sow seeds for a better harvest-a harvest for hope."
Jane Goodall, Harvest for Hope |
| CabinCreek-Kentucky |
Posted - May 29 2006 : 2:08:19 PM
we must be blessed down here in Kentucky .. surrounded by a thousand acre woods .. most of it by far does NOT belong to us .. and there are no fences or dividing lines or signs in the forest. we just avoid going into the woods during hunting season. the only place we requested privacy was the 'end of the road' ... and directly in front of our cabins is, indeed, the END OF THE ROAD. used to get a lot of four-wheelers using this route into the woods. just told our two neighbors who own much of the woods, that we would prefer that guests, (invited and uninvited) not use this path .. because we have the two dogs (until just recently when we got the big fence built .. had the run of the property, hill and woods). and they would get all excited when four-wheelers would ride through .. and gawd knows .. unexpected visitors might catch hank and/or me .. NEKKED .. down here .. sittin' on the front porch or watering the gardens .. at any given time! They had no problem with letting their friends know that they were to enter the forest from THEIR property .. or from another point of entry .. (at the other side of the forest).
Their friends have honored that request. For the occasional stranger who might not know the neighbors .. but who have for years used this path .. i just put a sign at the top of the road that reads: ROAD ENDS .. NO WAY TO FOREST
and put a big gate at where they would HAVE to ride through. (It can be seen from the cabins) .. NOT ONE stranger has come here in the year since the sign/gate has been up.
We actually don't mind if hunters or four-wheelers ride on our property on the OTHER SIDE of the fence .. because this is the 'wilds' of Kentucky .. and it is what families do. They hunt for the food. They ride for the pleasure. And that is very acceptable to us. I am so sorry that some of you have not had the same great experience we have with trespassing. Just sharing this story .. cuz' maybe you have adjoining neighbors you can just have an 'honest' neighborly talk with and enlist their help. xo
True Friends, Frannie
My KENTUCKY RAMBLINGS 'blog':
http://cabincreekfarm-kentucky.blogspot.com/ |
| MichelleTN |
Posted - May 29 2006 : 1:32:31 PM
Laura,
We have one neighbor emptying their Charcoal grill ashes now over the fence, the other throws beer bottles. What is wrong with people. DH waited until beer throwing neighbors were in their yard, then threw all the bottles right back over the fence into their yard. They didn't say a word. The other one throw watermelon peels, etc. I tell you its gets crazy. One neighbor's trash from their dogs getting into it use to blow in to our yard until we built a fence, now the fence catches it. We have two acres behind the barn that borders all these houses.
Bordering a subdivision is a pain.
People.
My Blog: http://tangledthreadsandknottedyarn.blogspot.com/ |
| DaisyFarm |
Posted - May 29 2006 : 11:54:36 AM
I've found my big obvious "beware of dogs" signs work really well. Our winding driveway starts with a bridge over a creek which the dogs can hear when someone comes over it so they bark like mad. They sound pretty scary...truth is, they are the residential welcome wagon and will be sure that you came just to see them.
I did have a tiny little lady in her nineties park on the road and walk down the drive one day to see if I had eggs for sale. I shudder to think what could have happened had I had real guard dogs.
Di
http://www.daisyfarm.blogspot.com |
| LJRphoto |
Posted - May 29 2006 : 11:25:39 AM
My ex-in laws allowed one local man to hunt their 80 acres and only him. In exchange he keeps the other hunters chased out and has a vested interest in doing so because he does't want anyone else creating a lot of traffic that would scare off "his" potential buck. It's a system that has worked with them for years and years.
I understand the annoyance. We have a neighbor who feels at liberty to take her small children on "nature walks" around our property. I think they are also throwing food scraps over our fence, I'm sure thinking that they are being nice to "nature" (probably they are encouraging the ground hogs I'd like to be rid of). My dog got a chicken bone once (luckily I was right there and pulled it out of his mouth) and this morning I found a piece of broccoli hanging in a tree. I've been at a loss as to what to do about it because I don't want to be unkind, but now that I'm convinced they are throwing food trash on our property I'm pretty annoyed. I gave them the benefit of the doubt when the dog found the chicken bone, but the broccoli in the tree is pretty damning evidence.
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority." -E. B. White
http://www.betweenthecities.com/blog/ljr/
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| sleepless reader |
Posted - May 27 2006 : 7:04:59 PM
We live in an area that gets very tourist-ridden in the fall. One man, after finding a family picnicking in his front yard,asking them to leave and them ignoring him, took down their license plate number and had a friend (somehow???)look up their address. Later that year, he and his family went to their house with a picnic lunch and ate on the front lawn. The "flatlander" came out of his house, just irrate until the man explained who he was and that they were just picnicking like he and his family had done on his lawn. The man went inside and didn't return. Hopefully a lesson learned. Sadly, I doubt you could show up on somebody's lawn with a gun and not have the police called! Good luck.
Sharon
Life is messy. Wear your apron! |
| MichelleTN |
Posted - May 27 2006 : 5:58:32 PM
What a shame....could you put some motion detection cameras around the property that will take pictures, maybe then publish them a np trespassing warning with pic in local paper...heee, that might get their attention. My siser's Fiance has been taking down deer stands on their 500 acres, tacks a note with phone number where to call to pick up their treestands, they usually call because those stands are expensive, so then he gives them a earful. They usually are not back. But its an ongoigng battle.
Good luck!!
Michelle
My Blog: http://tangledthreadsandknottedyarn.blogspot.com/ |
| frontierlady |
Posted - May 26 2006 : 07:46:01 AM
Electric Fence
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| SmallTownGirl |
Posted - May 25 2006 : 08:31:03 AM
I live in an area where there is a lot of seasonal people and they usually hire someone to keep an eye on their cabins and homes to make sure no one has been trespassing. Maybe you could hire someone to stop by every so often. |
| Amie C. |
Posted - May 25 2006 : 07:37:44 AM
What is it that gives people the impression they can trespass and hunt on posted land? I know old habits die hard, but if you've confronted people and made it clear that they are not supposed to be there, wouldn't you think that word would get around?
My husband's family has had a cabin out in the sticks for over thirty years, and this has been a continual problem for them. The land is posted and trespassing problems have been reported to both the local sheriff and the DEC several times, but it really makes no difference. The best thing you can do is just be there as much as possible.
The worst part, in our case, is the illegal dumping. We have a deep ravine with a creek at the bottom, and the road runs right along the edge of this ravine. Our good neighbors have been dumping their trash down this ravine for years now, and I have no idea how we will ever get all those old stoves, tractor tires, animal carcasses, etc out. It's a real shame because this is the most interesting and beautiful spot on the property - or would be! |
| Destiny~ |
Posted - May 25 2006 : 05:40:04 AM
You definitly need to post it, you'll have to find out what is considered the maximum amount of space between the signs. I'd also have a talk with your local law enforcement and let them know that your having a problem with trespassers and then call them when you do spot someone on your land-do not confront them yourself-I get in trouble for doing this myself and hubby gets really upset and he's law enforcement.
You do want to pursue this because if someone gets hurt on your land even if your not there-you're liable.
I can understand your feelings on this, my family has issues like this during hunting season.
Good luck.
"Let us, together, sow seeds for a better harvest-a harvest for hope."
Jane Goodall, Harvest for Hope |
| Mari-dahlia |
Posted - May 25 2006 : 04:22:30 AM
We have had our farm for 3 years and besides posting 100 acres every year, 100 ft. apart with the signs, you did exactly what we have had to do every year.
This year someone spread the rumor that our property had the biggest buck they had ever seen and I don't think I need to go into detail over what a stir that caused. We actually had hunters in trucks driving up and down the road with binoculars looking for it. We stopped the trucks on the public road and told them to leave the road alltogether.
I would hire someone during hunting season to ride your perimeter and deter hunters from trespassing. You don't really want to do more than that because you leave yourself vulnerable to repercussions from people while you are gone to your house or property. Staying in the good graces of the community and policing your property is a tough line to walk. Good Luck
Marianne |
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