Revenge of the mailbox

DrRod · May 29, 2016

Consider manure. If you don't live where its available go to the garden center and buy a bag of steer manure fertilizer. Spread it around you mail box leaving a not-so-obvious path for your use. About 10 or 20 feet is fine. Once they smell it they should turn away. If they don't, they will get it on their shoes. Then their car floor. Then their mothers kitchen floor. They will move on.

By the way, this also works great with neighbors who let their dogs poop on your yard. About the second time the dog comes home needing a bath, the owner tends to tighten control of the canine.

zzvyb6 · May 29, 2016

Try to keep in mind that a mailbox is also used by someone working for the postal service. If you inconvenience, hurt, abuse, smear or anny your mail delivery AND PICKUP provider, then you risk getting a note telling you to pick up your damned mail at the post office.

The goal of all solutions to a mailbox basher is to identify them, serve them notice, charge them with a crime and improve your mail delivery services. This helps not only YOU, but also neighbors on your route.

When you get the plate, call 911 to report a suspicious vehicle with license plate xxx-yyyy and a description. Listen in on the Broadcastify.com radio traffic in your state and county when the "Vehicle is registered to a Abbcdefg W. Qutying address is 3412 Blah road in the Township." dispatch is issued.

The rest is up to you.

DrRod · May 29, 2016

True enough. My manure-based intervention was based on the assumption that in a rural setting the mail carrier inserts the mail into the box without ever leaving the car/jeep. If the carrier is walking up to the mail box then fouling the area is not a good idea.

Creamer · May 29, 2016

oldpilgrim said:
the 'kids will be kids' attitudes of some parents really tick me off and is, in part, a reason our society sucks like it does.

A lawyer tried to use that in court against me one time when I was asking for a restraining order on a teenage boy who, for intents and purposes, did not have any parents and i found him outside my daughter's window at 1:30 AM one school night after I had already warned him once. The judge did not buy it. But the idea that his dad would hire him a lawyer to defend him in that situation says a lot.

Creamer · May 29, 2016

DrRod said:
True enough. My manure-based intervention was based on the assumption that in a rural setting the mail carrier inserts the mail into the box without ever leaving the car/jeep. If the carrier is walking up to the mail box then fouling the area is not a good idea.

Help me out here - in a rural setting and you are thinking the kids are getting out of their car????

2LaneCruzer · May 30, 2016

zzvyb6 said:
Try to keep in mind that a mailbox is also used by someone working for the postal service. If you inconvenience, hurt, abuse, smear or anny your mail delivery AND PICKUP provider, then you risk getting a note telling you to pick up your damned mail at the post office.

The goal of all solutions to a mailbox basher is to identify them, serve them notice, charge them with a crime and improve your mail delivery services. This helps not only YOU, but also neighbors on your route.

When you get the plate, call 911 to report a suspicious vehicle with license plate xxx-yyyy and a description. Listen in on the Broadcastify.com radio traffic in your state and county when the "Vehicle is registered to a Abbcdefg W. Qutying address is 3412 Blah road in the Township." dispatch is issued.

The rest is up to you.

Good observation. Keep in mind that your mailbox is probably in the public right-of-way, and that anything you do that causes a hazard or an obstruction could make you liable.

jmc · May 30, 2016

OP here. You guys are great.

Cameras seem to be best, this time. I should have one down there anyway for the other weird stuff. Hadn't considered a dashcam.

Thanks, all.

John

DrRod · May 30, 2016

Creamer said:
Help me out here - in a rural setting and you are thinking the kids are getting out of their car????

A fair point. I just assumed that they would have to walk up to it to swing a baseball bat. But I guess they could do it from the car/truck.

As an aside, we had an old heavy metal rural mailbox for years and one winter the snow plow knocked the latch off of it. My son took an old folk and bent the tines down a little and put a screw through them to hold them to the door. Then he made a sort of loop and curl out of the handle so it made a hook to pull the door open. It was really neat -- a piece of genuine folk art. Apparently someone else agreed and stole the mailbox. I suspect it was sold at a flea market as a piece of genuine folk art.

Creamer · May 30, 2016

DrRod said:
A fair point. I just assumed that they would have to walk up to it to swing a baseball bat. But I guess they could do it from the car/truck.

I guess that is the only way I have heard it being done. They even had an episode of CSI where it was done from the car. Somebody had filled it with concrete and it shattered his shoulder and caused them to wreck the car.