I almost had me a wood thief?..

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
There's something so infuriating to me about the idea of someone stealing my firewood. Maybe it's the labor that goes into it. I know I work for the other things I buy, but something about having sweat and occasionally bled to stockpile my firewood. And in the past if someone is desperate and asks for help, I'd be glad to offer some or work something out on price. But I have to wonder if more often someone who chooses to steal is just lazy rather than in a hard place.
Marc, Very good! Feel the same. Something very personal about your firewood. I've got a bad back and I actually give some wood away to some people who really need it. But steal my wood! You better be able to run or have very good hospitalization insurance!
 
Like tripwire to mousetrap deal?

Those are unreliable and can go off by accident, mine employ direct foot pressure and use the nail for a firing pin, for actual projectiles I like to stuff two paint balls in the place of the shot, wrap it in cellophane for weather resistance and wait for the fun. Last year we placed several off the trails and had an orange deer running around for awhile, seems they changed where they walked during the rut and one got painted
 
What Breed you have?

Mostly mutts, rescue dogs. have 7 right now, close to a dozen cats.

The two that would def chomp someone are both females, one is a dalmation/ozzie shep mix, the other looks mostly black lab, pretty big. That's the one picked up on the sneak thief. She ain't as big as big male lab, but hits around 90. big enough. Black with big white teefs....

The dalmation/shep mix is NUTS and fast. I mean bonafide crazze don't give a crap nuts. That's the only one I have that I got as a new puppy. She's like my personal protector, self appointed.

She saved my bacon once bigtime. We got invaded by a wild pitbull pack. Maximum suckage. First they charged my Gf right by the house, up outside the greenhouse, that dog held them back, she's screaming I come running up, they ran off. So, I go get her to get me some heavier stuff while I watch them run, see where they head, took that dog, tied the others, stuck the little ones in the house, and went hunting. Found them up in the upper pastures, five of them come charging out at us, that dang dog just leaped in the middle of them and was kikin righteous booty like I never seen any dog do in my whole life. She was slash biting out one lb chunks of pitbull, spitting them out, getting another bite, faster than your eyeballs could work, like a machine. I couldn't get a clean shot, dog melee. So, I wade right in (I'm sorta nuts too and adrenalin kicked in big), I am gonna just slap the rifle barrel on individual dogs and blast, plus some fancy kicking. I get to the first one, it wiggles away, I don't shoot, so wicked kick hard, that one got hurt. The others by now are having enough of this devil dalmation and split- this surprised heck outta me, but that's what happened. Call it a draw for the night, sun going down.

Next day I go out by myself and rifle, go downwind where I think they are hiding, sit and wait. Eventually I see them coming out, wait for the largest one, pack leader, nail that one clean. The others start running, I take my best shotgun styled lead swing effort on the next one and tumbled it, but it got up kept running. Never saw the rest of that pack.

I NEVER even heard of a single dog live through tangling with five pits. She didn't hardly take much of anything for wounds either, just too darn fast. Plus, she was just supreme aggravated I guess. And she ain't that big, only about 75lbs.

I think that first night if she hadn't distracted them I woulda got chomped pretty fair. I owe her bigtime.
 
Mostly mutts, rescue dogs. have 7 right now, close to a dozen cats.

The two that would def chomp someone are both females, one is a dalmation/ozzie shep mix, the other looks mostly black lab, pretty big. That's the one picked up on the sneak thief. She ain't as big as big male lab, but hits around 90. big enough. Black with big white teefs....

The dalmation/shep mix is NUTS and fast. I mean bonafide crazze don't give a crap nuts. That's the only one I have that I got as a new puppy. She's like my personal protector, self appointed.

She saved my bacon once bigtime. We got invaded by a wild pitbull pack. Maximum suckage. First they charged my Gf right by the house, up outside the greenhouse, that dog held them back, she's screaming I come running up, they ran off. So, I go get her to get me some heavier stuff while I watch them run, see where they head, took that dog, tied the others, stuck the little ones in the house, and went hunting. Found them up in the upper pastures, five of them come charging out at us, that dang dog just leaped in the middle of them and was kikin righteous booty like I never seen any dog do in my whole life. She was slash biting out one lb chunks of pitbull, spitting them out, getting another bite, faster than your eyeballs could work, like a machine. I couldn't get a clean shot, dog melee. So, I wade right in (I'm sorta nuts too and adrenalin kicked in big), I am gonna just slap the rifle barrel on individual dogs and blast, plus some fancy kicking. I get to the first one, it wiggles away, I don't shoot, so wicked kick hard, that one got hurt. The others by now are having enough of this devil dalmation and split- this surprised heck outta me, but that's what happened. Call it a draw for the night, sun going down.

Next day I go out by myself and rifle, go downwind where I think they are hiding, sit and wait. Eventually I see them coming out, wait for the largest one, pack leader, nail that one clean. The others start running, I take my best shotgun styled lead swing effort on the next one and tumbled it, but it got up kept running. Never saw the rest of that pack.

I NEVER even heard of a single dog live through tangling with five pits. She didn't hardly take much of anything for wounds either, just too darn fast. Plus, she was just supreme aggravated I guess. And she ain't that big, only about 75lbs.

I think that first night if she hadn't distracted them I woulda got chomped pretty fair. I owe her bigtime.

Thats a good dog you got there take care of her.
 
--
I personally don't have thousands of dollars for some elaborate security system and booby traps and ten more dogs and remote robotic gun sentries and all that noise. This is the best I got. Worked for me so far. There's a donkey with the cows to deal with coyotes when I ain't around. The dnr guys have hidden trail cams set up to catch poachers and weed growers in the more remote areas of the farm. I stay completely away from those areas. I don't even accidentally want to walk up on some big operation or surprise one of the armed poachers. Most of them boys are two time losers and face life on the third bust here, so they are trigger happy and it ain't worth the risk to me to go play junior rambow over some stupid reason like that, and I am always with my dogs anyway and I don't want any of my dogs hurt either, either shot or hurt in some lame booby trap.

You guys worry me, my driveway runs right past my neighbors, they are great at telling me who has been up or not. Am thinking of a gate since we have a bridge over the creek, one way in/out. I love my dogs, don't mess with my dogs.

Zogger, how many acres you got on the 'farm'? When you are afraid to visit a portion of your property then maybe you should turn that portion into the impact area. Sporadic fire at any time of day is a great deterrent. North Georgia, not a huge problem with pot here, meth trailers here in rural McDowell county ae where its at. My bil has those issues, they are bad.

Shea
 
Its not just fierwood anymore. I run my own property mangment/lawn care co, and most of my clients are weekenders form NY city. I have had several clients homes stripped of there copper pipes and any wireing that was visable in the basement. Its a huge problem in our area. Clients that have security systems have been hit also, but the scumbags were scared off. One client has 6 zones of radient heating, and they took maybe $300 dollars of copper/curculators. Cost the homeowner $12,000 in repairs. They repaired with pex, and 2 months later the scum came back for more. They cut the pex in little pieces just to be pricks because there wasnt any copper to steal. Customer now has a alarm system.

One client had there phone line cut. Thieves prob thought the alarm system wouldnt call out, what they didnt count on was a cellular back up. They got away with the copper before the cops got there, but it also took the cops 1.5 hrs to respond...Why not sure, but there answer to why was it was shift change...I hate theives...I have 8 trail cams hidden on 6 different clients propertys to hopefully get a incriminating pic or two...
 
224343d1329445210-dsc00552-jpg
224344d1329445431-gunner1-jpg
View attachment 224343View attachment 224344

This is all I have for security. Gunner is more my ears as I am 30% deaf. He watches over the Wife and Baby when I am out. He bit a guy that my SIL was dating. Gunner took him down and bit his face before my Wife called him off. The guy got out of the car and aproached the steps and Gunner was having nothing of him getting near his People. We found out later that this guy was beating my SIL. Smart Dog. If someone comes in the house that he doesn't know he is between the Wife and Baby and whoever he doesn't know.

Never trained him to do any of this. He loves us and watches out for us.
 
Last edited:
You guys worry me, my driveway runs right past my neighbors, they are great at telling me who has been up or not. Am thinking of a gate since we have a bridge over the creek, one way in/out. I love my dogs, don't mess with my dogs.

Zogger, how many acres you got on the 'farm'? When you are afraid to visit a portion of your property then maybe you should turn that portion into the impact area. Sporadic fire at any time of day is a great deterrent. North Georgia, not a huge problem with pot here, meth trailers here in rural McDowell county ae where its at. My bil has those issues, they are bad.

Shea

I don't know exactly, some hundreds of acres. One section is leased out to a church for camping, so I don't go there, that's their turf and they deal with whatever, and the real wild area is the other side of the swamp I started cutting in this year. the cops/rangers got one poacher and one big field out of there so far this past year. Helicopters, whole nine yards. The poachers and growers come in on ATVs down the powerlines.

So, I have so much space and things to do, I don't go over to that area at all. Got enough on my plate right here. Dudes with the salary and inclination and badges, that's their gig and they are welcome to it. Plus..everyone is guilty, that's SOP with them gov boys. Supposed it had been me, just accidentally walk into a big plantation, get caught on a trail cam, now I got 'splaining to do, even though it ain't mine. Or hit a booby trap, I heard they do that to some of those fields. Think about it, who needs to drop a year's pay on a lawyer to get out of an innocent bust like that, or take a crossbow bolt or step on something, etc,. I've been told they are working that area, basically warned, so I stay out, end of story.

I'm not chicken, I am *prudent*. And I am just not gonna high power rifle willy nilly blast into the woods.
 
My deterrents:
peanut_lulu_biting.jpg


If they are determined enough to make it past the dogs, owner has a hurt locker ready for 'em that would have piss running down Hannibal Lecter's leg.
 
Wow - either I live in a pretty darn good area, or I better wake up and smell the coffee. Sure, thieves have taken one of the kids bikes from time to time (most were recovered), and once someone walked off with my pressure washer (darn thing was brand new!), but nothing beyond that.

Still, I'm a bit more worried now that my new shop is 1/2 block away. I lock it up at night (didn't bother when it was in my back yard), and have some motion lights around it.
 
Hey 'Stache, I'm looking for a good pressure washer. :hmm3grin2orange:

Damn after hearing these tales of woe, and low-lifes in the suburbs, it's good to live rural, far off the pavement, surrounded by firewoods, and armed neighbors. Remember The Pee Rule.:rock:

Yes, it's coming. Besides Msr. Glock, I put up " Game Camera in Use" signs on the mile dirt. Who knows, I'm not getting into any firefight with druggies.
 
I have ten Chinese and Embden geese besides 12 cameras, the geese are a roving pack of grass eating nastiness, besides trimming grass they roam the cleared part of my property and will attack everything from humans to rabbits, they are very territorial and noisy when someone is around, even when I let someone drive in they will surround the vehicle and start pecking at it till I call them off, as a bonus they keep the Canadian geese out of my ponds.
 
I have ten Chinese and Embden geese besides 12 cameras, the geese are a roving pack of grass eating nastiness, besides trimming grass they roam the cleared part of my property and will attack everything from humans to rabbits, they are very territorial and noisy when someone is around, even when I let someone drive in they will surround the vehicle and start pecking at it till I call them off, as a bonus they keep the Canadian geese out of my ponds.

That's a riot ! :hmm3grin2orange:
 
Just when you thought it was safe to be at work….

I've recently installed security cameras for the home/property and I was going through some alarm footage only to find a would have been wood thief. It was just around noon when this guy pulls into my driveway, walks the property for a minute then backs his pickup all the way in to property and upto my wood stash. I see him get out of the truck, put on work gloves, make one quick knock on the door. He then goes back near his truck, takes a look around to see if the coast is clear, then BAM, he looks one of the obvious cameras right in the eye and high tales it outta there.

In my opinion the investment was well worth it. The look on this guys face was PRICELESS!! It may as well been a 85lbs German Shepard running at him. F@%$ing guy had his truck in drive before he closed his door. LOL.

Let's just say he should be expecting to have a nice chat soon

JTP
To bad you cant post your camera video of the thief on here !(prolly invasion of privacy or something)
 
Last winter I got ripped off from my lower driveway. Don't know how much they took or when, but I discovered it when I was leaving for work in the a.m. and found a piece of wood out by the curb, and a couple more leading to the wood pile. Two nights later my neighbor told me he came home around 2 a.m. and saw 2 people running off with an armfull each. This was before I was able to move it all behind my fence.

Pi$$ed me off to no end. My only solace was that it was freshly cut green oak so there's no way they were able to burn it.

My feeling was that, if they are struggling and can't get warm, just ask! I would've gladly given them a good sized pile. Even delivered it to them - all at no charge because I can only imagine what it would be like to be in that position. But DAMMIT, don't steal it from me!
 
I think it is funny that almost all my knowledge of explosives and improvised weapons comes from a neighbor that gave me my first job at age 12...stacking and splitting firewood. Mr Fox was his name, he was a serious wood burner and had two wood stoves going almost year round, He and his buddy, both disabled veterans used to sit and drink coffee and load bullets while I split and stacked wheelbarrows of wood after school every day, they both were seriously into guns and weapons, sometimes they would come outside and test different loads by shooting logs, I took a great interest in their hobby and they must have figured that I might get hurt by trying some of the things they were doing so, they started showing me some of the proper ways of doing things, gradually I spent more time talking guns and explosives and less time splitting and stacking and ended up getting quite an education in weapons. Both of them were in Vietnam but never told any specific stories of it, I gathered over the years that their speciality must have been demolition, based on their skill sets. It is funny how I'll be working on some hair brained idea and I'll think to myself "boy, John would have liked this"
 
Attack geese!

I have ten Chinese and Embden geese besides 12 cameras, the geese are a roving pack of grass eating nastiness, besides trimming grass they roam the cleared part of my property and will attack everything from humans to rabbits, they are very territorial and noisy when someone is around, even when I let someone drive in they will surround the vehicle and start pecking at it till I call them off, as a bonus they keep the Canadian geese out of my ponds.

Bwa, swans are similar. I was once driving down a country road and there was this huge swan on one side of a fence. I guess it had clipped wings or something as it wouldn't or couldn't fly. It kept trying to get back over this fence where its buddies were. So, I am going to grab the guy and boost him over. Man..that sucked. Mr. Swan about wore me out. I eventually got him and put up with the pecking action and got him back over. Ingrate....they can put the serious beak to ya...
 
Back
Top