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Thread: Persimmon rustlers

  1. #1
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    Persimmon rustlers

    We have an Asian persimmon tree in our front yard. The past two years, I have gone out to find the tree stripped bare. One day, loaded. The next day, nothing. It’s the principle of the thing that really bugs me.

    The tree is too far from the house for wifi and there’s no power there. thinking of using a trail camera.

    thoughts?

  2. #2
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    had same problem with grapefruit and an orange tree, i put an extender for distance on router (well daughter did, as i know squat about tech stuff) and found out who and when. Neighbors down street were surprised when i pounded on their door and gave them an invoice for my fruit. needless to say i would have given most away, but to just take it is just not right. if no web work, trail cam, and get'm
    rj in az

  3. #3
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    Take a video of you licking each fruit and then play it back on a TV secured to the trunk

  4. #4
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    They make trail cams that will notify you via cellular signal anytime it is activated. I don't know if it uses an app or not but you can see immediately who/what triggered it. Link attached is one of many via web search.

    https://worldbirds.com/best-cellular-trail-camera/

  5. #5
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    I thought I might put up two trail cams to catch them and get a license plate. I would like to avoid the cameras with cellular. I’m hoping that just pictures and videos would suffice.

    Should I drop by the police station to see if they would be willing to use video evidence and prosecute. If not, what about small claims court?

    I have a giant tree net coming. My thinking that the net plus a sign might make it just hard enough to deter the rustlers.

    these persimmons do have some value. They go for about 3$ each in the store or farmers market. I figure that they stole over a hundred fruits.

  6. #6
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    Its worth talking to the police ahead of time, so you know what they recommend, and they'll know you're not a nutcase. The value information would be helpful in whether they pursue it or not. Maybe those at the farmers' market are yours.
    < insert spurious quote here >

  7. #7
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    Do you have it posted? I think a lot of people think that fruit trees are free for the picking, and a sign is super cheap compared to your other options. A sign would at least keep the honest people honest by letting them know that you want the fruit.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew More View Post
    Do you have it posted? I think a lot of people think that fruit trees are free for the picking, and a sign is super cheap compared to your other options. A sign would at least keep the honest people honest by letting them know that you want the fruit.
    "Please inquire at house if you would like some fruit from this tree"

    At least they will know they are slime for steeling your fruit and can't write it off as nobody was going to use the fruit anyway.

    When I was growing up and people were steeling apples from our trees my mother mixed flour with water and sprayed all the fruit. It was benign but looked like some toxic pesticide.
    Last edited by Michael Schuch; 07-06-2022 at 2:19 PM.

  9. #9
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    I talked to a Falls Church police officer and he very carefully told me, “I can’t tell you that you can mount a trail camera on public property.” I take that to mean that they are ok with it but don’t advertise.

    so, this year, I will post signage and put a giant net over the tree. If that doesn’t work, I’ll deploy trail cameras next year.

  10. #10
    have you seen the you tube of the kid who put some apple tracker things in his stuff that kept getting stolen. Turned out a neighbour miles away, he took the cops there and got all his stuff back. He had cameras as well but think the tracker thing helped the most.

    I guess if you put an Apple tracker in an apple and someone swallows it they will hire the lawyer from Seinfeld. Its an odd world.

  11. #11
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    I don't understand the comment from LE to you about "public property". Unless the tree is in the municipal easement, wouldn't it be private property?

    At any rate, sign for sure...and I see zero harm in video monitoring, whether by a trail cam or by some other means.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  12. #12
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    Could deer get them?

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    At any rate, sign for sure...and I see zero harm in video monitoring, whether by a trail cam or by some other means.
    Honestly the biggest problem with cameras is the price. The trail cameras people are suggesting are almost the same price/value as the stolen fruit. I've thought about putting up cameras at home, but the worst thing that's happened here is some people taking like $1.27 in spare change from our unlocked cars. Doubt the police would do anything if we caught them right there.

    Worse I've seen the general results of people posting their security camera footage on facebook and the like. Could be a man (or a women) between 5' 2" and 6' 5", maybe with a beard, maybe not, with all their limbs, unless it's actually Bigfoot". The cameras most people use are those crappy wifi ones that just don't start with good resolution.

    To get good pics people really need to go with some cameras directly hooked up to ethernet directly, usually PPoE, at which point you start getting some decent results. Bonus some of the better cameras will also allow you to store the footage locally and not pay a monthly fee for cloud storage. I like TrendNet cameras for this, but I'm sure there are other good brands out there.

    Finally even when the camera footage is perfect, little happens. A local couple literally around the block from our place posted footage from a good camera a couple of feet away from these kids that came into their yard and stole a bike directly out of their driveway. You could clearly see all the kids and their faces, and.... nothing.

    So a cheap sign, vs a couple hundred in cameras seems like the best use of resources.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom M King View Post
    Could deer get them?
    We are in the city but do see deer from time to time. The tree is 20 feet tall so they would only get the lowest fruit. If that was the case, I’d let them have them. The tree has fruit one day and the next day all the fruit is gone. I would think that if any animals are the culprits there would be Alf finished debris. The ground was clean. That’s why I believe that it’s people stealing the fruit.

    my wife looked on next door and found other posters in our area reporting the same thing.

  15. #15
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    I'm with Jim, what an odd comment by LE if the tree is on your property. Do you have any deer hunting friends or acquaintances? Maybe borrow a couple. You want "infrared flash" that's not visible. Also a couple locations that have a clear view but not obvious.

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