Well, the remark about putting a bullet in their rear was made by the pond owners wife, not me...although she implied by pointing that I'd be the one doing it. :') I don't mind the remark at all. Make'em think twice.
I'm fairly sure there are several trespassers, based on the neighbors seeing various vehicles at different times..none of which matched the car we had pull up on us Sunday. Again, I believe these are local folks who know the property and pond are not owned by the nearby farmhouse.
I don't agree with warning people and letting them walk away. If the word is that you simply kick them out then it won't solve the problem.
I have several homemade trail cameras I built which work great. One is built in a heavy steel box that would take a fire ax to remove from the tree. I've also installed a timer in it to activate only during day hours and have the flash turned off. I use this one in areas of potential theft and hang it roughly 16 feet up in a tree pointing down at an angle. This keeps it out of site, with no flash to draw attention, and would require a ladder and tools to reach and remove.
I've thought about using it over the access road in the hopes of getting a plate number. However, this opens up new problems. Every time the pond owner or I visited we'd have to turn the external switch off to avoid pictures of us, our cars, or the tractor while cutting grass. Being high in a tree where I'd put it, the switch would be hard to reach. Then again, maybe I could keep a long pole nearby to throw the toggle switch with. I'll consider it. Still, having it on only during the day to avoid flash use limits the potential of catching the night time activity.
Tonight is stakeout night. I'm hoping the holiday weekend brings out the rats. Would enjoy hearing more stories along the lines of trespassers.
