Somebody Keeps Stealing My Fruit Trees

sunnyc on 04/07/2017 - 14:16
Last edited 06/07/2017 - 19:17

I have caught somebody trying to steal my freshly planted fruit trees a couple times. I called the police but they are let go and does it again. Its the front lawn so my dogs can't be let out as they will just escape. Does anybody have a suggestion? I can only think of booby traps.

To be clear, they aren't stealing fruit. They are uprooting the tree and taking it.

UPDATE: I have CCTV footage, the police caught the person and let go because they just don't care. I also had my bike stolen 5 years with clear face image and I still don't have an update. When my car got nicked by another car and I reported it, they said if I wanted to go through with it, I might have to pay for damages. Clearly, police are doing their jobs protecting taxpaying citizens hence I come here looking for help.
UPDATE 2: I have a fence in my front lawn. It's not hard to open the gate and take the tree.
Update 3: My dog is a puppy husky and hates being chained ( It's inhumane) . Also, he is known to escape. Last week he escaped 3 times from my house. Twice ripped the fly screen and ran out. Once when I was taking out the rubbish and he followed me out and I had to chase him for 5 km. Luckily that time was 1 am in the middle of the night and only 3 cars were passing on parramatta road when he crossed.

Home & Garden

Comments

        • JetBombat on 06/07/2017 - 19:38

          Call police, rec it on video

        • armdrags on 06/07/2017 - 20:29

          It was already late at night so a video wouldn't capture a thing in total darkness. By the time you started the recording and called the police the thief would have been gone anyway.

        • chriise on 07/07/2017 - 12:30
          +2

          i would have just watched and done nothing but then spend the next few hours thinking about what i should have done.

  • Jamtarts on 04/07/2017 - 15:48
    +2

    Fence off your front yard and chuck some fake cameras up.

  • gomertose on 04/07/2017 - 15:57
    +8

    Instead of filling soil around the tree, maybe try cement?

    • Nonverbose on 06/07/2017 - 23:19
      +3

      Gunpowder.. then as the theif sneaks away leaving a thin trail behind them, light it. They'll disappear over the horizon and explode.

  • supnigs super skids on 04/07/2017 - 17:00
    +1

    It happens a lot in new areas because most people don't have a proper garden yet. Plants are expensive too. Should just camp outside and give them a beating

  • [Deactivated] on 04/07/2017 - 17:06
    +8

    I bet you could rig an awesome booby trap with a bunch of eneloops …

    • BartholemewH on 05/07/2017 - 18:12
      +4

      A couple of Note 4's perhaps. Body parts everywhere.

      • nobro25 on 06/07/2017 - 07:38
        +3

        That's the Note 7, Note 4's has a replaceable non explosive battery.

        • BartholemewH on 06/07/2017 - 09:47
          +2

          My bad, the one that maims people would be preferred.

    • [Deactivated] on 05/07/2017 - 22:15
      +7

      I have a great booby trap involving eneloops.

      First I make sure nobody sees that I have the eneloops. I put them in a cloth bag. Then when the thieves come, I grab the theives and whack them with my bag of eneloops.

      Trap successful.

      • [Deactivated] on 05/07/2017 - 22:22
        +1

        Could also cut the eneloops open, drain the acid <use imagination here> …

        • [Deactivated] on 05/07/2017 - 22:46
          +2

          You could put the imagination into a cloth bag and…

        • [Deactivated] on 05/07/2017 - 23:45

          @tshow:

          Socks are much more versatile than cloth bags for this purpose…

      • inacoma on 07/07/2017 - 16:31
        +1

        Or fill the stumps with poo?

        Not that nice to sniff at but it might deter them?

  • Archi on 04/07/2017 - 17:36
    +2

    set a couple of these just below the ground and cover up with leaves

    https://www.google.com.au/search?q=bear+trap&source=lnms&tbm…

  • sunnyc on 04/07/2017 - 18:12
    +2

    Each of these trees cost $50 or so.

  • Ughhh on 04/07/2017 - 18:15

    I assume they're stealing it during the middle of the night. What if you put a punch of fake baby spiders or spider webs all over the tree. Im sure one thing everyone hates and fears is walking into spider webs or the feeling of a spider on your skin.

    • Ughhh on 05/07/2017 - 16:54
      +2

      rofl the thieves dont like the spiders idea

    • Zachary on 05/07/2017 - 17:44
      -1

      Not everyone hates that…..

      • Ughhh on 05/07/2017 - 17:51

        You wouldn't mind 1000s of tiny spiders falling down your top? Even if it's not poisonous, the surprise and feeling would be gross. Not everyone is scared of signs, lights, water, chains and CCTV footage of the back of their hoodie too.

    • Dave Id on 06/07/2017 - 10:28

      Another poster here has the real thing.
      Pretty sure FOC and C&C.

  • sunnyc on 04/07/2017 - 18:16
    +1

    Also I can't move to backyard because I don't have enough growing space in the back. My grandmother purchased these trees and puts in our front yard. There is no sunlight area in our backyard.

  • wei13 on 04/07/2017 - 18:54

    If fruit trees are indeed very important to you - which I could understand - then maybe save and invest in a cheapish picket fence at the front ? Might improve property value too. And maybe dogs get more space to run.

    • sunnyc on 04/07/2017 - 20:00
      +3

      I have one, they came in my home and stole it. I also have cctv but the video was bad quality. I caught them many times

      • tomsco on 04/07/2017 - 20:27

        So always the same person? Is it a neighbour?

        • sunnyc on 04/07/2017 - 20:28
          -1

          Same person

        • zuuutoootuuu on 05/07/2017 - 17:26

          @sunnyc:

          follow the dirt trail and take them back!

        • BartholemewH on 05/07/2017 - 18:13
          +1

          @sunnyc:
          Break their legs in the dark with a hoodie on? Fight fire with fire so to speak.

        • Eddie8 on 05/07/2017 - 18:38
          +5

          @sunnyc: If the same person is repeatedly trespassing and stealing on your property then the police need to be involved again and that person needs to be charged.

        • cameldownunder on 06/07/2017 - 12:14

          @sunnyc: Homer. is that you?

      • yessum on 05/07/2017 - 19:21
        +9

        Wait, someone stole your fence?? This seems to be a bigger issue than just a tree then

        • BartholemewH on 06/07/2017 - 09:49
          +4

          You should see how long it took 'em to pull the driveway up.

  • iand on 04/07/2017 - 19:59
    +1

    chain dog near fruit tree

    • ntt on 05/07/2017 - 21:40
      +2

      They will steal his dog and maybe eat it

  • endotherm on 04/07/2017 - 20:44
    +8

    GPS tracker. Movement sensors. If the tree is uprooted it will alert you, follow its location on GPS. Retrieve.

  • chumlee on 04/07/2017 - 20:48
    +1

    Either electrify the tree or just belt the crap out of the person when he's next on your property.

  • srhardy on 05/07/2017 - 07:24
    +3

    as a kid I stole fruit off front yard trees but never the whole tree.

    obviously Im not a genius criminal like this guy!

    I did have a mate that stole gnomes and sprinklers and then sold them used at the markets (often back to their owners but.. ;-)

  • furys12 on 05/07/2017 - 09:13

    if the police were called and by the sounds of it came by wouldn't they have taken names, doesn't sound like it would be very hard to get the police to at least go warn the morons, with any luck they'll have the thing replanted in view

  • Slippery Fish on 05/07/2017 - 09:19

    Go to his house and poisen all his trees? Simples.

    • John Kimble on 05/07/2017 - 13:34
      +1

      Wouldn't that poison your own trees or be a catalyst for them to steal more trees?

      • Slippery Fish on 05/07/2017 - 15:12

        The idea is they steal more trees and you will know they are coming… Street justice!

  • punter1 on 05/07/2017 - 12:07
    +9

    Sounds like a nasty neighborhood.
    Where do you live?

    • ItsMeAgro on 06/07/2017 - 11:08
      +2

      Probably some ghetto where the homes only cost half a mil! What a cheapskate, he should just move, right…

      • sunnyc on 06/07/2017 - 18:54
        +1

        My house costs 3mil. and the apartments are now over 1 mil off the plan. Mate Blacktown is a real ghetto. Maybe don't judge people for where they live.

        • ItsMeAgro on 06/07/2017 - 23:22
          +3

          LOL! Woooosh!

          (It was a joke mate - though I admit, it wasn't as funny a joke as current house prices are… As if most people stuck in rough areas have millions and don't move just because they're cheapskates!).

        • cannedhams on 07/07/2017 - 17:14
          +2

          A 3 million house and you dont even have a fence?

  • idonotknowwhy on 05/07/2017 - 12:08
    +2
    1. lol
    2. Put these around the tree: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urtica_dioica
    3. Bikies
  • [Deactivated] on 05/07/2017 - 12:52
    +2

    I would put a chain around the trunk
    Adjustable with a lock so it can grow and chained to something heavy or immovable, like concrete poured in a hole with a steel reo loop

    • ninetyNineCents on 05/07/2017 - 21:46
      +2

      Just a pile of rocks that maybe weigh altogether 50kg will stop a person.

  • phocus on 05/07/2017 - 13:01
    +4

    It concerns me that people stoop to this level and steal trees of all things

    • tomsco on 05/07/2017 - 13:31
      -5

      I call fake. The OP has been selective to what they respond to, and the fact they apparently know who it is that is doing it (that's pretty brazen to keep stealing from the same spot if you've been caught before).

      • idonotknowwhy on 05/07/2017 - 13:54

        I had 3 plants stolen out of my garden growing up. It happens.

        • tomsco on 05/07/2017 - 14:58
          -1

          I'm not debating that, but based on the other factors, OPs story is a bit of a stretch.

        • John Kimble on 05/07/2017 - 15:00

          @tomsco: and the goal of posting a fake story like this would be?

        • tomsco on 05/07/2017 - 15:12

          @John Kimble:

          Don't ask me, but it's not the first time this has happened. Maybe not so much on OzB, but definitely happens on Whirlpool.

      • tomsco on 06/07/2017 - 09:03
        -1

        Haha. To the people negging this, the OP has identified the person has been caught, and that it is the same person stealing the tree.

        Theft is a criminal offence, dealt with by the police. The fact that the same person is repeating shows a clear contempt of the law.

        The fact that police are not following up shows their is either more to the story or the story is fake.

        • [Deactivated] on 06/07/2017 - 14:34

          If it's kids the police sometimes only have the option of putting them in juvie which will harden them or let it slide and hope they straighten out. Kids get away with all kinds of things in Cairns, we need more measured responses when parenting isn't happening/effective.

      • sunnyc on 06/07/2017 - 18:56
        +3

        My life is devoted to replying to each and every single comment on this thread.

    • John Kimble on 05/07/2017 - 13:54

      People steal everything.

      Example: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/316008

  • bluesaber27 on 05/07/2017 - 13:47
    +2

    Wow, who the hell steals a tree?!

    • [Deactivated] on 05/07/2017 - 13:58

      Tree bandits
      Part of the fruit mafia

      Your gamy wants da plant on our street
      She needs da talk to us

    • Powershopz on 05/07/2017 - 14:20
      +1

      You would be surprised.

      I remember a news article from probably 5 years ago where the city of Melbourne were installing a whole bunch of trees and plants at a public park (Lincoln Square in Carlton). Some horticulturist thieves rocked up over night and stole like 25K worth of trees over nights.

    • geoffellis on 05/07/2017 - 14:31
      +8

      fruit ninjas

    • knasty on 05/07/2017 - 23:27
      +1

      I had 4 standard roses pulled out of the ground by my front fence during a night. Cost about $200 to replace. Never even thought it could happen until it did.

  • Shame on 05/07/2017 - 16:45
    +12

    Buy 10 ionising smoke detectors, extract the americium-241 and place it around the tree roots. Let the thief steal the tree and eat the fruit. Wait 20 years for them to get cancer.

  • Zachary on 05/07/2017 - 17:50

    Put an electric fence around your property and including the fence gate too. Problem solved. Oh wait no, they can just wear rubber gloves and jump the fence…..doh …nervermind then….

    • theya on 06/07/2017 - 11:38

      i think you'll find that 10,000 volts or so will not be stopped by rubber gloves

      • Zachary on 06/07/2017 - 20:07

        …including the heavy duty insulated rubber gloves?

        • theya on 08/07/2017 - 22:01

          Yup I live on a farm and have an electric fence. I get shocked through 1.5" rubber soled boots and gloves.
          A trick for testing the fence is to find a piece of grass that's about a foot long and use that to touch the fence with. Then it feels like a slight tingle

        • Zachary on 12/07/2017 - 17:36

          @theya: ok well in that case, my electric fence idea still stands - as long as the voltage is set to 10k or more! ☺

  • supervigilante on 05/07/2017 - 18:42
    +1

    Buy ghost peppers, use them in creative ways. Fill a bucket of water, put some chopped ghost chillies into the bucket, throw at tree thief. "Oops how did that ghost chillies get there?"

  • [Deactivated] on 05/07/2017 - 18:56
    +1

    I've got a better idea

  • therooftop on 05/07/2017 - 20:05

    Do they sell trees on gumtree?

    • JetBombat on 06/07/2017 - 19:40
      +4

      Only gumtrees

  • [Deactivated] on 05/07/2017 - 20:08
    +20

    Caught a kid stealing from my letter box once….. law couldnt do anything about it and parents didnt care.
    So I put the biggest mouse trap in my letter box that xould fit and needless to say it caught a rat.
    The parents gave an ass then but the parents needed to see how little timmy had soar fingers.

    OP dont bother with the law anymore it time to kick ass and make sure that ass dosent come back.

    • [Deactivated] on 05/07/2017 - 21:43
      +2

      Bravo!

    • sunnyc on 06/07/2017 - 19:13
      +1

      I wish I could put some bear traps down or hide a grenade in the roots tied to the pin but some things can't happen

      • [Deactivated] on 06/07/2017 - 19:19
        +2

        All you need is a box held up by a twig with the lemon tree under the box…. and a string and maybe a 6 pack of beer and let the game begin.

        Once the suspect is trapped tell him that the box is woven with carbon fibre and the only way out is to cut his foot off at the ankle with the provided hacksaw.

  • subywagon on 05/07/2017 - 20:33
    +4

    We can always take lessons from the Vietnamese…

  • jinny7 on 05/07/2017 - 21:00

    Upgrade your front fence and gate

    • Zachary on 05/07/2017 - 22:16

      Yeah, I say jump to armoured, skip stone and sheet metal. Also while you're at it, hide an auto-turret, flame turret or shotgun turret behind the armoured gate/fence somewhere….maybe inside a bush…?

  • maddy86 on 05/07/2017 - 21:31
    +14

    There is another guy on here with too many redbacks in his backyard, maybe you can rehome them in your fruit trees

  • ninetyNineCents on 05/07/2017 - 21:43
    +2

    I would suggest putting some real heavy rocks around the base of the tree. When i say heavy rocks i dont mean just 5 or 6 but a whole mountain of them so it would take them more then ten minutes to move them aside to get the "base" of the tree out.

  • love2buy on 05/07/2017 - 22:06
    +4

    just put some shit around the tree

  • Hirolol on 05/07/2017 - 22:09
    +2

    Just keep buying the same tree and then eventually they will stop.
    What is someone going to do with a thousand lemon trees?!?!?

    • [Deactivated] on 06/07/2017 - 06:01

      Lemon festivals coming soon?

      • Hirolol on 06/07/2017 - 07:45
        +3

        Lemon party?!

        • [Deactivated] on 06/07/2017 - 19:08
          +1

          I must be one of 2 people that know… and yeah bleeehhhh

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