# wood thieves!



## Iatrapper (May 17, 2014)

Anyone ever have someone steal off your wood pile? I noticed some split oak and some elm rounds missing sunday morning, extremely upset to say the least! Was going to work Wednesday morning and saw a few of my elm rounds sitting in my neighbors yard 3 houses down, dam young kids in there early 20's. Boy they got a ear full from me. I usually dont that wound up but all that hard wok they stole from me. Demanded they replace what they burned, friday night there were 3 bundles of that junk wood they sell at the gas station for $10 a bundle. Better than nothin i gues.


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## BrotherBart (May 17, 2014)

Ten years ago after coming home from a business trip I went for a walk in the woods. Coming back I noticed that maybe a dozen large oak splits were missing from the back of stacks. My wife said there had been a noisy all night party on the place next to us while I was gone so figuring out what happened was pretty easy. I just went just across the property line and whacked two small oaks that wouldn't require splitting and refilled the stack. And just waited to hear about it.

Never have.


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## Woody Stover (May 17, 2014)

Iatrapper said:


> 3 bundles of that junk wood they sell at the gas station for $10 a bundle. Better than nothin i gues.


Around here, the gas station wood is all kiln-dried Oak...


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## Iatrapper (May 17, 2014)

Around here its over priced small split pine, the crap city people buy to burn in there fire ring once a year


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## Iatrapper (May 17, 2014)

My buddy knows a guy that spray paints a solid red stripe down the top of the length of his wood pile, if a piece is missing the stripes broke. Thought that was a pretty good idea if you've got a lot to look after


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## Ashful (May 17, 2014)

I like that spray paint idea.  My stacks are in the back yard, which is backed by 7 acres of private woods, so usually no concern.  However, they've been building a house behind me, and it's a revolving door of construction workers and dump trucks in and out of there, the past 8 months.  All in relatively plain view of my stacks totaling 18 cords CSS'd.

I was splitting out there two weeks ago, and thought I saw one of the new stacks looking shorter at one end than I had remembered it, but wasn't sure enough about my memory to do anything about it.


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## Applesister (May 18, 2014)

Yeah, at our summer home the local kids used to clean out any wood stacked outside over the winters when all of us summer people were gone for the season. My father eventually got the grand idea to stack leftover wood inside the detached garage. It wasn't any big deal to anyone really, just an inconvenience.


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## osagebow (May 18, 2014)

Hmmm.... This could work,trapper!

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## Iatrapper (May 18, 2014)

that big newhouse would do the trick, until i have a couple drinks and forget where i set it. ive got some mb750's if ive gota go that route


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## yooperdave (May 19, 2014)

Sorry to hear about your neighbors, Trapper.  The good thing is that you approached them and gave them the opportunity to "make things right".  Given their track record, you don't think they stole the wood from the gas station and now it's sitting at your house???  Hmm


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## Iatrapper (May 19, 2014)

I wouldnt b shocked if what they gave me was stolen but at least the closest place u can buy it is 20 miles away from me, i dont think anyones gona hire matlock to track the wood to my house.


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## Gareth96 (May 19, 2014)

Guy down the street from me has a security camera pointed at his woodpile.. nowhere else, just his woodpile...


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## CenterTree (May 19, 2014)

Iatrapper said:


> My buddy knows a guy that spray paints a solid red stripe down the top of the length of his wood pile,* if a piece is missing the stripes broke*. Thought that was a pretty good idea if you've got a lot to look after


Not a bad idea, but, still it is NOT gonna *stop *someone from taking any wood if they want it.  It just let's the owner know that some one did.   Too late then.

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Never had any wood stolen yet.   Last weekend some mischievous vandals knocked over a long row of splits I had recently stacked in the lower lot. ( bout 200 feet from house).  

The row is about 40 feet from the main road. I figure a few teens stopped their car and quickly ran over and managed to get the row to fall.   Heavy and the row was stacked very well.

Found shoe print in the dirt and the neighbor says he remembers hearing voices and laughter around midnight, and a loud noise.

Punks!


?     20lb test fishing line tied knee high from tree to tree???


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## Gareth96 (May 19, 2014)

CenterTree said:


> Last weekend some mischievous vandals knocked over a long row of splits I had recently stacked in the lower lot.


 
Wood pile tipping, the new cow tipping..


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## HybridFyre (May 19, 2014)

[QUOTE/] 20lb test fishing line tied knee high from tree to tree???[/quote]

This. Definitely this.


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## Clarkbug (May 19, 2014)

HybridFyre said:


> [QUOTE/] 20lb test fishing line tied knee high from tree to tree???



This. Definitely this.[/quote]


For added awesome, walk your dog in this area.  Landing in a few piles then having to get into you buddy's car will make them think twice in the future.

I mean, its hard enough  to clean off your shoes...  I can only imagine what it would do to auto upholstery...


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## johnpma (May 19, 2014)

A guy here just got busted selling other homeowner's wood on craigslist. He would watch homes and see when people were gone to work, he advertised the wood on CL and had specific pickup times. A guy bought a cord of very seasoned wood for $100 pickup only and when he showed up there were four guys to help him load it. They seemed in a rush to get it loaded and get out of there so he contacted the PD and sure enough they had done this over a series of towns


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## yooperdave (May 19, 2014)

johnpma said:


> A guy here just got busted selling other homeowner's wood on craigslist. He would watch homes and see when people were gone to work, he advertised the wood on CL and had specific pickup times. A guy bought a cord of very seasoned wood for $100 pickup only and when he showed up there were four guys to help him load it. They seemed in a rush to get it loaded and get out of there so he contacted the PD and sure enough they had done this over a series of towns




Gotta love craigslist...and opportunists!


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## yooperdave (May 19, 2014)

BrotherBart said:


> Ten years ago after coming home from a business trip I went for a walk in the woods. Coming back I noticed that maybe a dozen large oak splits were missing from the back of stacks. My wife said there had been a noisy all night party on the place next to us while I was gone so figuring out what happened was pretty easy. I just went just across the property line and whacked two small oaks that wouldn't require splitting and refilled the stack. And just waited to hear about it.
> 
> Never have.




I can honestly say I would enjoy having you for a neighbor!


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## Hills Hoard (May 21, 2014)

Yep, i had a wood pile a few years back out in my driveway and noticed a few times it looked like someone had taken a bit off the top row. First time I thought i was paranoid, the second time i was 100% sure.   i had my suspicions on the thief, so casually brought up in conversation that  someone had been taking wood and that I had set up a camera to catch them....never happened again....


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## blades (May 21, 2014)

A couple years back had a problem with some lite fingered wood fairies,  So I set out some junk wood stacks with cams on them as bait. Trick is to set cams up to get them and plates of the vehicle. Most of the day/night cams ain't worth a hoot unless you buy a unit that has a very low light  requirement as the infrared emitters make the plates bloom and ya can't get the numbers. Cam I used works with natural light down to something like .1 lumen.  Cost the wood fairy $750 green backs in fines, I didn't get anything out of it except satisfaction. Things have been very quiet since then except for the dxxx scrappers. Cought  a pair of them a few weeks back, scared them living bejeezes out of them, been quiet again now for a while.


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## jdp1152 (May 22, 2014)

Gareth96 said:


> Guy down the street from me has a security camera pointed at his woodpile.. nowhere else, just his woodpile...



I have an IR trail cam on mine.  Not that I'm worried about thieves, but some interesting critters like to use them as a wall since they border a field.


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## BCC_Burner (May 22, 2014)

Going to need to set up some monitoring and/or deterrence systems this summer, as I already have 5 cords CSS in my yard for next winter.  My neighborhood is quiet and full of mellow, snow loving wood burners in the winter, but unfortunately there is a lot more traffic during the summer months.  

Summer only folks have a bad reputation for sticky fingers and general lack of respect for the full time residents' property.  Oh well, only 5 months until winter.


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## Iatrapper (May 23, 2014)

Kinda wana put one of my deer cams up for the weekend,  lota partys and camp fires going on this weekend. Pretty sad when u gota put surveillance on your own property in your own yard.


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## D8Chumley (May 25, 2014)

Post a few of these, might do the trick


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## Armaton (May 25, 2014)

Couple years back I bucked  and stacked some 18-20' red oak rounds in the field behind my polebarn, only 40 yds from the road about 4-5 "Face cords" worth. Came out the next day and the stack was short. Figured whoever took it needed it more than me, and at least I hadn't split it yet. Split it all a  couple days later and left it in a pile to stack the next day. Next morning stack was low and could see tire tracks in the snow, just pulled up to pile and then drove back out of the field. I left the wood in a pile, and same thing happened a couple days later. Walked out to the pile to check it and would you believe it, someone had put an 8 foot 5/4" board with 30 penny ringshanks halfway through it in the drive that the perpetrators happened to go over with their offside tires. Went to the houses in my neigborhood that burned wood, and started asking if any of them had any wood stolen lately. None of them had  it seemed. However,one place about a mile and a half away with an outdoor stove and a small stack of wood under a tarp did have a 4x4 truck with the 2 riders side tires off! After stacking the wood I figure whomever got about 2 face cords. of wood.


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## My Oslo heats my home (May 25, 2014)

Iatrapper said:


> Anyone ever have someone steal off your wood pile? I noticed some split oak and some elm rounds missing sunday morning, extremely upset to say the least! Was going to work Wednesday morning and saw a few of my elm rounds sitting in my neighbors yard 3 houses down, dam young kids in there early 20's. Boy they got a ear full from me. I usually dont that wound up but all that hard wok they stole from me. Demanded they replace what they burned, friday night there were 3 bundles of that junk wood they sell at the gas station for $10 a bundle. Better than nothin i gues.


I'm sorry to hear that happened to you. My first thought after reading your thread was, if they are stealing wood now, whats the potential for something else to go missing next? I hate people with sticky fingers. Good luck with that


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## Iatrapper (May 25, 2014)

Well turns 





My Oslo heats my home said:


> I'm sorry to hear that happened to you. My first thought after reading your thread was, if they are stealing wood now, whats the potential for something else to go missing next? I hate people with sticky fingers. Good luck with that


turns out my elderly neighbor had a couple things missing from his garage, he followed there footprints right to there car and called the cops. Ive ben watching my stuff pretty close lately and nothins missin. Im prettys sure i scared the crap outa that kid, me being 3 times his size probably had a lot to with it.


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## Paulywalnut (May 25, 2014)

I like that fishing line idea. I'd do one at ankle height and then ten feet further surprise, knee high.


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## Iatrapper (May 25, 2014)

Im all for booby traps around my wood pile but its right in the yard,  me my old ladie 2 kids and 2 dogs r around it daily. dont need them getting in to my bungy pits and claymores


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