Preventing break-ins and squatters at addressed off grid cabin property

[Nosferatu]

In addition to a few motion activated exterior lights, an interior light or two and a radio on a timer would make it appear occupied.

 

[arakboss]

In addition to a few motion activated exterior lights, an interior light or two and a radio on a timer would make it appear occupied.

All good ideas. I am working on getting some music to play on a timer. I thought about using a cheap smart phone so the energy use is kept at a minimum. I could leave the phone plugged into a 12volt charger and maybe with an app I could set up music, audio books, etc to play at random times. I only have one 12volt battery powering my cabin so any electrical draw has to be kept at a very low level especially in the winter when the solar panel doesn't get as much sun.

 

[OldBroad44]

Thread revival. I was thinking about a custom sign to put up at my cabin in addition to the plethora of no trespassing signs I already have up.

Here is a rough draft.

If you were invited, welcome.

If you were not invited please leave immediately and do not return. Your image has been captured on numerous video cameras. If you remain on the property we will understand your intent is to cause great bodily harm or death to our family.

Problem. Most trespassers do not intend to cause great bodily harm or death to the owners. Stating you believe this does not make it a fact. It implies that you are going to kill people just for trespassing. It is not legal for you to kill people just for trespassing. Implying you intend to do so makes you sound like a psychopathic nut job both to trespassers AND to any LE that might be investigating you after you shoot or have any other conflict with trespassers or neighbors. It may or may not decrease trespassing. It WILL make it more difficult for you to defend yourself against the legal aftermath of any conflict. It also makes you sound like a psychopathic nut job to owners of neighboring property, the very people whose good willl can be most valuable in informing you of any problems.

Seems to me that the main result of the threats about video cameras might result in trespassers looking for and destroying your cameras.

Is this a cabin with no residents most of the time? Mostly alone or with extensive acreage? Remote or near places where attempted occupation by homeless is inevitable?

 

[arakboss]

Problem. Most trespassers do not intend to cause great bodily harm or death to the owners. Stating you believe this does not make it a fact. It implies that you are going to kill people just for trespassing. It is not legal for you to kill people just for trespassing. Implying you intend to do so makes you sound like a psychopathic nut job both to trespassers AND to any LE that might be investigating you after you shoot or have any other conflict with trespassers or neighbors. It may or may not decrease trespassing. It WILL make it more difficult for you to defend yourself against the legal aftermath of any conflict. It also makes you sound like a psychopathic nut job to owners of neighboring property, the very people whose good willl can be most valuable in informing you of any problems.

Seems to me that the main result of the threats about video cameras might result in trespassers looking for and destroying your cameras.

Is this a cabin with no residents most of the time? Mostly alone or with extensive acreage? Remote or near places where attempted occupation by homeless is inevitable?

It's in an area where you might expect to see signs like this:







I was trying to be more subtle and slightly less psycho.

 

[OldBroad44]

What are you trying to protect? Use of a cabin you only use occasionally? Ten square miles of unfenced wilderness? Do you know your neighbors?

 

[arakboss]

Problem. Most trespassers do not intend to cause great bodily harm or death to the owners. Stating you believe this does not make it a fact. It implies that you are going to kill people just for trespassing. It is not legal for you to kill people just for trespassing. Implying you intend to do so makes you sound like a psychopathic nut job both to trespassers AND to any LE that might be investigating you after you shoot or have any other conflict with trespassers or neighbors. It may or may not decrease trespassing. It WILL make it more difficult for you to defend yourself against the legal aftermath of any conflict. It also makes you sound like a psychopathic nut job to owners of neighboring property, the very people whose good willl can be most valuable in informing you of any problems.

Seems to me that the main result of the threats about video cameras might result in trespassers looking for and destroying your cameras.

Is this a cabin with no residents most of the time? Mostly alone or with extensive acreage? Remote or near places where attempted occupation by homeless is inevitable?

I see your point about notifying trespassers, squatters and home invaders that cameras are present but I think the deterence will outweigh the chances of them hunting down every hard to reach camera. As for their intentions, I am going to assume the worst and hope for the best.

 

[arakboss]

What are you trying to protect? Use of a cabin you only use occasionally? Ten square miles of unfenced wilderness? Do you know your neighbors?

2+ acres with 2 room cabin, misc outbuildings and junk. I have couple of neighbors now keeping an eye on the place but they are a half mile east and west. Only the western neighbor lives there full time and drives by on a regular basis. It borders a 2 million plus acre National Forest on one side of the property.

 

[OldBroad44]

Sounds great.
A trail cam aimed at access road that reports anybody and any vehicle tracks. Something you could check from your regular residence.

I'd put serious locked shutters on any glass windows.very serious locks on door. Motion sensor and video indoors that report any intruders to your phone. I think there's an app for that.

A locked gate across access road.

Maybe a sign on cabin door that says "Property of Mountain Maverick Motorcycle Club. Absolutely No Trespassing." There is no such thing. But they sound scary. And might show up at any moment. Maybe buy some junker motorcycle parts and leave in yard. Maybe buy a motorcycle and leave lotsa tracks on your access road. Make friends with some real bikers and invite them to meet and go on rides from there.

Oops. Your neighbor calls to report that there is now a Mountain Maverick Motorcycle Club, and it is squatting on your property.

 

[RobMa]

Choking/blinding smoke and a hail bullets will clear out squatters amazingly quick-smart!

Yea but then the crucifixion will begin, hurting those poor wayward souls would be blasphemy in the eyes of the anti's/bleeding hearts.

 

[The Heretic]

Please share any ideas you have that will make the place look lived in between my every few months visits.

In addition to a few motion activated exterior lights, an interior light or two and a radio on a timer would make it appear occupied.

I have solar powered motion activated flood lights on three of my trees at the inlet to my driveway (in total about 50 yards long), a motion activated AC powered light on my porch, and some Mr. Beam d-cell powered motion activated lights here and there.

I do not leave lights on outside except the solar powered marker lights for driveway entrance and porches.

Inside I have AC powered emergency lights in at least one outlet per room JIC the power goes out - not that visible from outside, but if all lights inside are out they are visible enough to be detected up close, and serve as nightlights for walking around with the lights off and your night vision is decent from sleeping.

If I were to use something on timers, I would combine it with detection of daylight, and I would prefer them to be somewhat random at least, and I would not turn them on for very long. Low powered LEDs do not consume much wattage - even the solar lights I have on the trees work fine, although they are noticeable dimmer during the winter. The Mr. Beams take 3 d cells and last for a year or two with infrequent activation.

 

[arakboss]

Some habits I may need to break up are.

1. I usually always put my flag out during the day on good weather visits. I may start being more random with putting out flag.

2. I usually leave driveway cable down during my stay and the car parked in the driveway. I may want to start putting cable back up after I pull in and park my car towards the back of my property?

 

[aflineman]

I picked up a motion activated solor area light from Harbor Freight about 5 years ago. Still going strong. It is one with a larger battery and a remote solor cell. I have it in a remote shop to light it when I walk in.

 

[OldBroad44]

Some habits I may need to break up are.

1. I usually always put my flag out during the day on good weather visits. I may start being more random with putting out flag.

2. I usually leave driveway cable down during my stay and the car parked in the driveway. I may want to start putting cable back up after I pull in and park my car towards the back of my property?

Anything that announces your presence or absence is counterproductive, especially stuff that announces your presence or absence from the road. I'd always keep the cable up and park the car out of sight. And I would also omit the flag except on national holidays.

 

[oremike]

Most vermin whether pack rats or crack heads don't want to be disturbed so my thought is the best deterrent is to use the cabin, making it looked lived in. Maybe alternate weekends with your son or let other close friends and family stay be sure the neighbour knows that you've got welcome guests.. Mow the grass, plant flowers, laundry drying in the breeze, that type of things. Be prepaired to run off pests that don't belong whether 2 or 4 legged. I don't see cameras as a deterrent, best you can do is see who was there after the fact IMHO that's no help.

 

[Cavedweller]

Someone did a survey of incarcerated burglars and asked them the various factors that entered into their decisions whether or not to attempt a break in. The #1 deterrent they listed was a car parked in the driveway. Could you buy an inexpensive clunker and leave it parked there? You could occassionally clean it and move it around. If you never drove it off the property, you wouldn't need to carry current registration or ins.

 

[Tony617]

https://www.amazon.com/bell-howell-solar-lights/s?k=bell+howell+solar+lights

 

[RustyNail]

Budget will keep me there. Speaking of taking law into your own hands. This story has theft, murder, self defense, mountain law all wrapped up in one. This happened not far from area my place is located.

Outlaw Country - The Atavist Magazine

Klamath County, Oregon, is the perfect place to go if you don't want to be found—and the worst place to be if someone threatens your life.

magazine.atavist.com

That area IS extremely dangerous. It's full of hillbilly degenerates and felons. I read that entire story, thanks for sharing….dude is sort of an idiot for calling the police on himself. Had he never called in the first place, he could have just "dealt with it" snd moved on with life…haha. Sounds like his neighbor had it coming anyway.

 

[arakboss]

That area IS extremely dangerous. It's full of hillbilly degenerates and felons. I read that entire story, thanks for sharing….dude is sort of an idiot for calling the police on himself. Had he never called in the first place, he could have just "dealt with it" snd moved on with life…haha. Sounds like his neighbor had it coming anyway.

Yeah hard to feel sorry for either party in that case.

The worst neighbor problem I have had to put up with recently is somebody permanently camping on their property near mine, that has been having early morning battles with another neighbors rooster. On Sunday morning I was outside at 4:30am and the rooster started crowing. The camper went nuts and started yelling which didn't stop the rooster. Then the guy started banging metal on metal which was extremely loud and that went on for at least a solid minute. Amazingly the rooster was quiet again until about 5:30am. I hate roosters by the way but this neighbor takes that hate to another level (like unhinged). Similar neighbor vs rooster battles have been occurring on my three or four most recent trips to cabin property.

If aliens were to come down and disappear somebody or something, I would vote for it to be that neighbor and the rooster.

 

[arakboss]

That area IS extremely dangerous. It's full of hillbilly degenerates and felons. I read that entire story, thanks for sharing….dude is sort of an idiot for calling the police on himself. Had he never called in the first place, he could have just "dealt with it" snd moved on with life…haha. Sounds like his neighbor had it coming anyway.

The funny thing about many of the mountain people down there is they are very dependant on the government for their income but at the same time they want government out of there lives. The people in town often have an unfavorable view of them. Ridge Rats is one term thrown around. Murder Mountain is another.

 

[JohnnyMac]

This thread got me to thinkin' (which generally leads to stuff I shouldn't be doing) but....

Say, as mentioned earlier, I go on a 2-3 month business trip, because you know, I'm pretty much a world traveler, and a group squats in my house. When I come home and walk in, I find these arse clowns in my living room, eating my food, watching my NetFlix, crapping in my chitter and not flushing the toilet, and sitting on my Barcalounger with their shoes on....As can be imagined, I am not a happy camper, especially since my flight was an all-nighter from Bankok (not for the same reason @Stomper goes to Bankok) so a scuffle ensues. There's four of them. All really big, mean, tough dudes with chains, brass knuckles and man-buns so it's pretty much a fair fight at that point. Then one pulls out num-chuks (now, I've watched a bunch of Bruce Lee movies and I know what's coming) so I draw my CC and shoot all of them (just in the legs cuz that's what they want us to do). Police show up.....

My question......Who get's hooked up and goes to jail? Did I just protect myself in my own home, or...since these guys have started getting mail there, did I just break/enter and shoot a bunch of dudes in their home?