Preventing theft, vacant property.

[have_blue]

My remote tractor shed kept getting broken into, so I put up a big steel pipe gate. I put up posted signs, and a "Warning! Camera Surveillance" sign on the gate. I put a fake camera on my shed, and a $29 solar powered HF motion light. That was the end of it. No more visitors for the past year.

 

[tommu56]

what about investing in a game cam or 2 hidden to take pictuers of whos there?

tommu56

 

[jimmyj]

Bah! Don't you just hate crooks. Ditto to the advice and I'd emphasize the neighbor thing. If you make a point of dropping by one of the friendly folks every time you come and go so they know when you are not around they will know what is suspicious and what is not. That assumes you are not there a ton though.

Good luck.

 

[randydupree]

I think booby traps should be made legal.

booby traps are legal in Fl.
but,you have to post a sign saying the area may be booby trapped.
i learned this when a police officer stepped on a nail in my booby trapped feild.
i had about a zillion nails nailed through strips of plywood burried under the dirt.
it worked good on tires too.
and,somehow the windows got broken out of a truck with 4 flat tires,when it was stuck in my pond.
now,how did that happen?

 

[Highbeam]

I have a piece of rural land and when I bought I had looters coming out and stealing gates, lumber from buildings, dumping trash etc. I cleaned up the visible trash, posted no trespassing signes, talked to neighbors, and got the vegetation looking well kept. This kept out the casual drive by guy.

Then I had a 20 long shipping container delivered to store my junk in. They broke in to the regular locks so I built a fancy lock box and used those rotary locks which has thwarted at least one break in effort.

Now I get no visitors. Lots of activity seems to keep the looters away. They prey on the empty and vacant parcel thinking it is free pickings but once they figure out that you are there then they should cut way back.

 

[gemini5362]

booby traps are legal in Fl.
but,you have to post a sign saying the area may be booby trapped.
i learned this when a police officer stepped on a nail in my booby trapped feild.
i had about a zillion nails nailed through strips of plywood burried under the dirt.
it worked good on tires too.
and,somehow the windows got broken out of a truck with 4 flat tires,when it was stuck in my pond.
now,how did that happen?

Hmm I wonder what is going to happen when the owner of that truck with the accidentally broken out windows come back to your place when no one is around. That is the problem with booby traps if someone gets hurt or you damage their property they seem to feel they need to repay your kindness

 

[MarkV]

If you get some power going so you can have some lights on timers add a security system sign at the gate and house. Our cabin was broken into and the guys that did it were caught, 3 years ago and it still hasn’t made it to court. They told the officers they waited until a storm had knocked out power because we had a security system sign on the gate. Who knows how often that sign has discouraged other scum.

MarkV

 

[Renze]

In preventing theft, bluf is a very important factor

Over here they sell a dog bark device, that will bark as soon as somebody rings your bell (to see if you are at home, when you're not answering to the bell, they break in)
So when they hear the "dog" from behind the door, they will find another place... At least thats the theory, and it just makes many older ladies feel safe

The electrical timer, to put on various lights randomly, also seems to work well.
And motion sensors off course, this helps to alarm the neighbors when somebody is there. Just make sure that the motion sensor, can handle the electrical current required for the flashlights and military airstrike warning siren

 

[rhett]

Then I had a 20 long shipping container delivered to store my junk in. They broke in to the regular locks so I built a fancy lock box and used those rotary locks which has thwarted at least one break in effort.

Highbeam, excellent suggestion, an enhanced security lockable shipping container. all steel walls and roof.

now what makes me mad , thieves broke in to my ordinary shed and stole many tools (generator, welder, hand and power tools), the worst loss in my opinion was my Oxy/Acetylene rig, master of master keys now in a thieves possession.

I plan on getting TWO 40' shipping containers and making them as secure as possible. Having them placed 30' to 40' apart, they will become the 2 walls / secure areas for the planned shop / pole barn. a 30'x40' or 40'x40' bay area should be big enough, while still having the secure storage / shop space on each side.

As for video surveillance, i got decently powered computers (3gig), video capture cards (4, 8, 12 camera available) and wired cameras. Now my place is covered 360 and each camera is covered by another, no blind spots. After the loss of all my tools, the surveillance expense was inexpensive. Also wireless net cams are available for more remote locations.
(Special Note: Surveillance Software can upload motion activity to an OFF SITE FTP SERVER, email notify, and be viewed as a web page while away.)

Of course as everyone has mentioned, lights, grooming, fences,.. etc.

Rhett

 

[atgreene]

When I was building my house I got in the habit of sitting around with my truck hidden a few nights until late in the evening. If they are casing the place and see you working with no sign of a vehicle they will move on, as they can't predict when you are there.

A few nights I parked the truck out of site and just watched traffic patterns (no cars for over an hour one night ). Anyway, sure enough a car pulled in one evening. They drove up toward the house and I snapped my lights on and the chase was on. They took out of there and I stayed on their tail, calling the sheriffs via my FD radio. My father came from the other direction and the car turned down a dead-end road. I sat and waited for the sheriff, who grabbed the car at the end of that road. He found 3 20 year-olds in it with records of B & E/ theft and other criminal activity. Sheriff told them that they were lucky, normally Mr. Greene just shoots people who come on his property. After the sheriff explained to them that they had just had a 12 gauge Mossberg pointed at them when they pulled in my driveway they were very appologetic and said they must have had the wrong directions to a friends house.

Never had anymore cars pull in after that.