My biggest and best driveway alarm
Every single day my local police department puts out a notice on what is happening in our local area, I have watched the reports of theft increase.
Now to be fair, its not like theft is not a somewhat normal event in our area and I am sure the same in yours? We have had a small propane tank theft in some of our small towns locally that has struck year after year..
we all try and figure that one out.. do they use the tanks? are you they stealing them to turn them in for the refund on them when you recycle them? Where do they sell them onward because its not local that they are going?
Sure those hit are unhappy at the loss but its one of those.. o again.. when its reported. We have really had a increase in vehicle thefts and they are very targetted and rarely recovered, they are believed to be targetted, chopped and shipped out of the montreal port at very rapid speed. (no idea if its true or not, just here it on the news and radio) this morning, they annouced 5 vehicle thefts of the same make/model in a very small local area..
Clearly someone wanted parts or those makes and has a plan.. no one steals 5 of the same make and model (but different colors) in one night without knowing what they are going to do with them at the end point.
We have very little theft in regards to truckers compared to the big city areas, where they will hit the whole truck and take everything out the back.. it can happen but its rare.. heck we have even had peaple come and steal truckloads of grain..
Of course we have the normal amounts of B&E’s it happens.. not to often but it does happen. We have a mother-daughter set that did local B&E’s for a couple years in a wide ring around our rural area.. they were finally caught and the whole area got real quiet that way.
Right now, the biggest issue is farm thefts, they are using small drones to check the farm out.. a) to check to see if they want to hit your farm b) to see if you are home
now that is taking new tec to a level that I am honestly surprised at.. I am not even sure our dogs really would react to a small drone zipping by.. do you think yours would?
They say the top items that are being stolen off the farms are, mobile generators, wood splitters, chain saws, tools, Jerry can’s, snow blowers, lawn mowers, ATV’s, Moterbikes, Saddles/horse tack,
In the past two years the other one we see is small stock theft, baby goats, baby sheep, the odd calf and chickens.. I mean really.. chickens.. and then there is garden produce theft..
Last year someone within 2 hours of my farm, had someone come in at “JUST” the right moment and cleared out 12,000 worth of garlic.. first to do that in one night did not happen with just one person and second.. who and how did they move 12,000 worth of raw garlic.. ??
I have heard of fruit trees picked clean in the night, I have heard of garden raids, I want to believe that they really needed that food.. but then I think about the time someone raided my own garden as it was to close to the road.. no one is ever going to make me think that a herd of raccoon came, cleanly picked all the ready zucchini on the same night.. as I was growing for canning and there was over 30 plants worth.. I still do not know who or how they needed and used that much of the green stuff lol
I am just glad they did not damage the plants and so it was a blip, but still.. it taught me to not plant quite so visable to the road that’s for sure.
So the stats clearly state that having dogs, really helps and that often the sound of a barking dog or in my case a pack of barking dogs will encourge them to look for easier pickings..
Yes, she put be behind this fence.. yes I could clear this fence in a heartbeat.. she is just trying to make you feel better but know I am watching you..
I swear my new lab boy would help them load stuff(maybe he will grow into a better watch/bark dog) but given Remmi would not let them out of the truck its a moot point.. and my little girls would be raising a rackit that would be loud enough to raise the dead..
Remmi will wake me up in the middle of the night if he thinks he hears something, one night someone parked on the road, I am not sure why but it was around 2ish in the morning and he heard them, woke me up, I went and let him out.. he pointed his nose to show me the issue and barked his fool head off while a line went up his back..
The two men shaped shadows on the road standing out, kind of leaning on their car, got back in and sat for a min or two and then started the vehicle and pull around and drove off.. while he has got me up a few times that I am not sure why.. he is very sure why and I do respect his work ethic.
Camera’s are a good idea if you can make it happen, Locked Gates will help to a point, Locked doors will also help, if you have lots of windows, spraying with the window paint that is that soft white can help, lets the light in but blocks just looking in, unless they scrape it off. Chaining things up can also help.. in some cases running a hot line in just the right place and way can give a nasty surprise.
None of those will really stop someone with good planning and skills but they will stop those that are just looking for a quick grab and go..
So best theft preventing tips? What is the most commen types of theft is being reported in your area? Have you had theft’s happen to you directly, if so what did they take? What do you do to help prevent issues? Do you think with things going the way they are in regards to job loss, that we are going to see a increase in theft?
Just another Day on the Farm 
Rural theft is a problem – here they drive the area for a week or so and get an idea who’s away at work every day, who’s home. We put driveway gates in years ago – and made them ‘no climb’ after I watched people I didn’t know think nothing of climbing them to come ask if this or that was for sale. 😡
We have dogs – much like yours – they let me know what’s going on. If I have someone parked on the road at night? I grab a big flashlight and spotlight the cab. They move along quick.
We don’t leave anything laying about ever. Our stock trailer, our tri-axel trailer – always the hitches are padlocked so you can’t just back up and connect and drive away (those are very popular theft items here). Our house? Hubby made a simple but clever mechanism to open the door – that simply defeats people, they can’t figure it out. It’s the only side of the house the dogs can’t access – my dogs don’t run loose, the female wolf cross is more wolf than cross and thinks most everything is dinner. Our community FB is the best way to know what’s going on in terms of theft – you can’t turn around in someone’s driveway without it being posted.
Of course all this makes me sound paranoid – but we had a theft years ago – we were only gone an hour. They watched us leave and Boom. Had the place to themselves. Couldn’t figure out how to get in the house – but they made off with some draft tack. Expensive stuff to replace. Got serious about security after that. Drones? I’m pretty good at skeet 😉
It is a problem, more so then most folks like to talk about.. some great tips in your post. can I get more info on your no climb gate please.. that really interests me.. the dogs yes of course and I also have a very powerful flashlight and that is a great idea for sure.. I tend to make it very clear that I have my phone and or my big camera and that I am taking photos of vehicles, that tends to move peaple along pretty fast well. Man I wish we had a facebook group that acted as a rural watch that would be great.. I am so glad hubby made it hard to get in the house and no not paranoid.. prepared, you sound like you have planned things out and are prepared..
Our gates are simply livestock gates – we attached 1x6x6 fence boards to them – one inch apart. Very effective BUT there is a trade off. They’re bloody heavy (we’ve attached wheels to them so we can open and close), once a year we have to ‘tighten’ them where they attach to the main posts (they start to sag), you can’t allow snow to accumulate at the base or you’ll never get them open. The winds we get in the winter are a problem – they act as a big sail and are a fight to open. It’s our intention to change the design when we have a better idea and some time.
The thing with gates – they have to be closed! One of my neighbors has gates – never closes them – let me know a few weeks ago she is missing some horse blankets. A friend a few miles further down the road always pointed out to us that if his gates were left open then it looks like someone is home. This past summer he came home to several thousand dollars damage to his barns – somebody had simply drove right on past the house and used their truck to crash into the barns and load up. Our gates are closed whether we’re home or not.
There are a lot of ‘loose cannons’ running around these days – and I don’t put anything past anybody.
Thank you for the ovewview and I hear you.. that’s a good point on the gates..
‘Loose Cannons’… Yes that’s a very polite way of putting it… ; )
“PULL!”
(*sigh* Not sure if this went in the proper place, or not? But re: Val B’s “I’m pretty good at sleet”
haha.. gotcha
haha
👍🏻
In rural BC, it’s probably a 70/30 split between drug related theft and theft-to-order. I do think theft will increase as people become more desperate but I think the opiod crisis will continue to fuel a large portion of the crime in my province. It’s crazy bad in some places.
I hear you on that Crafty, when hubby made the big move from the northern department to the health department, one of his first files was the opiod crisis and man.. that is some nasty stuff going on and so many overdoses.. lives ripped apart.. I can for sure see theft being used to fuel the flames of addiction.. anything that can be sold/bartered/traded for cash for the next hit.. yes crazy bad and with the border closed, they are cutting with more and more dangerous, add in extra cash flowing/combined with things shut down and in certain places the death by drugs has been higher then the death by covid..
Did my whole message just go away.. sigh, I hope not.. but yes.. crazy bad and for sure drug use increases theft issues
Goodness, it hadn’t occurred to me that they’d use drones to scout out a property – we do know they are used to check houses out here before they burgle them, so it was only a matter of time before they would use them to check farms as well.
As you know my sister’s farm was burgled last year, taking a huge amount of power tools etc. None of it was recovered and we know there are gangs travelling up and down the country looking for stuff like that, that they can ship out and sell quickly, stuff that can’t be traced. After that, they had locks with codes installed on the doors to the shed etc but the experience left both my sister and her husband very unsettled. Their dog is a bit daft but he redeems himself when he barks, even at cars pulling up in the driveway.
I’m glad you’ve got Remmi, it’s a great deterrent.
sad but true, yes I am sure it will happen at some point, and I am once again so sorry that happened to your sisters farm, but yes fast sell items are often what the typical (if there is such a thing as typical) theft is after. I would be unsettled as well.. I am also very glad I got Remmi, the timing on that was both excellent and very much wanted.
Our guard dog hates drones and absolutely reacts to them. I think it is because she is trained to watch for aerial predators to protect our chickens. We had a drone stalking us last year for awhile and she would alarm any time it came near the property.
That’s awesome that your guard dog hates drones but it totally sucks that you had a drone stalking your place.. Its a strange world we live in, the drones that track deer in our local forest really make me angry.. learn to be a better hunter, do not find them by drone and even worse.. no not drive them your way by drone..
In our area you can’t drive (on foot – “herding” them along) the elk or deer anywhere so that they are on a place where you can legally hunt them, nor can you use a drone to do it either. Is it illegal there and they are breaking the law? Or is it not illegal there?
very much illegal here as well but there are some that say.. o no, I was not doing that.. I was just enjoying the forest..
This whole thing sickens me
Sorry deb but we lost another 60, 000 plus jobs and our country is sitting at over 8 percent unemployed.. we are and will feel that impact in illegal issues.
Yes, it’s a problem that has no easy answers, that’s for sure. Still doesn’t make it any easier to watch what’s happening:/.
truth on that one.. you are right, it does not
I’ve never heard about this happening to anyone in our area. I’d feel so violated! I would have to assume it is all related to Meth addiction.
I am so glad you have not had this happen in your neck of the woods.. that’s speaks so well for your area 🙂
This will be happening more and more. A good dog is invaluable. Thanks for the post.
Hello Amber, o yes a good dog goes along way.. Sadly yes it will happen more.. but we can do little things to make it easier to move on down the road.