Respect?!?

[skent]

We have entered into a dilemma. And we need some advice. We are caretakers of my family farm and own a house in the corner of the property. The total length of the farm driveway is 1800 feet. 700 feet of the driveway (between my property and the main road) is a county "Right of way" and borders a 2.6 Acre wooded lot that has just receintly been put up for sale. The right of way serves as access to two other houses (out by the main road) and the building lot, and finally us at the 'end of the line'. The drive ends at our tennants house (occupied by my Aunt).

Our problem is we are getting several cars a day, siteseeing, looking for the lot that's for sale and wanting to see whats at the end of the driveway. Many times people leave their parked car in the drive and walk thru the woods (to look for the property stakes) and leave myself or my wife having to wait for them to return. Then theres the ones who try to turn around and go across the grass or better yet the Alfalfa or corn. We once had a 'siteseer' leave 4" deep ruts in our side yard (after a heavry rain) while trying to turn around fast. By the time I got out there, they are on there way and can't get tag number. The police have said even if it's posted "No Tresspassing", I have to call the police and the tresspassers still have to be there when the police arrive.

I'm not anti-social but feel I deserve some privacy and respect for my property.

I wanted to post a VERY DESCRIPT sign, but my wife is worried that I might be going "too far". Last time our drive way was blocked, I wanted to get the Case DC w/fel and 'move the obstical' out of the way. It was gone by the time I got the Case fired up.

Any suggestions? Should I go with the VERY DESCRIPT sign? Post Chemical Hazzard signs? How about the one "Don't worry about the dog. . . . Beware of the Owner". What would (or have) you guys done?



Steve
"Amateurs built the Ark. . . . . . . .Professionals built the Titanic"

 

[Boondox]

Steve -- This is a problem that often irks those of us living in similar situations. My wife won't let me buy a backhoe because she's afraid I'll dig trenches around the cars of those inconsiderate few who block access to our home while they're off trespassing on our property. I have pushed enormous spruce logs into place in front of and behind their cars...then taken my sweet time getting around to moving them when they come to the house for help.

In the end I put up a couple of those little signs showing a car being towed, and added my little sign asking people not to block the road so the residents can come and go. The combination seems to have worked. Or maybe it's the incredibly bumpy mess my Aggies have made of the road..?

Pete

www.GatewayToVermont.com

 

[cowboydoc]

Steve,
I know exactly what you mean! Can you put a gate at the beginning of the road and then block off the sides of it? Around here if people are trespassing you can file a citizen's complaint and have them ticketed. The police don't have to be there. If you can't put a gate out I would put out a sign that says something about the place being monitored and all unauthorized cars and people will be prosecuted for trespassing and cars towed immediately. Do you have a sign that says private driveway only? I would get as nasty as you need to. There's no excuse for that kind of behavior.

 

[RobS]

Steve, I've had various situations like this and I use a slightly different approach. Signs and such mostly get ignored or piss people off. I've had better luck trying to accomodate the people. Unless they are vandals, they will usually respond well. When I had snowmobilers running over my newly planted trees, rather than put up signs and fences, I just put a wooden grade stake with a survey ribbon at each tree. The snowmobilers still rode by (which wasn't bothering me), but they no longer ran over my trees. One of them even complimented me on my approach. In your case, could you create a parking/turnaround spot for the visitors? Maybe the county would help (or at least allow it) since it's a county road. Most people (but unfortunately not all) will do the right thing if given the opportunity. Good luck /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[skent]

Richard,

Thanks for the ideas.

My wording (for a sign) would be:

PRIVATE DRIVE-PRIVATE PROPERTY
NO TRESSPASSING
NO HUNTING
NO TURN-AROUND
NO SITESEEING
VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED
NO WARNINGS

My wife thicks the wording is too harsh. As far as a motorized gate, that very do-able, but expensive.

Steve

 

[Harv]

Maybe you could invite them in with:

ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK

They wouldn't know what it means, exactly (nor would you, for that matter), but who would want to take the chance? /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[skent]

Rob,

I know VERY well about that!. On the far side of our farm is a field road to access our wood lot. It was fescue and very well covered, as I only used it when conditions would allow such use without damaging the turf. I'm real big on soil conservation. Over the past two years, the family (two farms over) bought their two teenage sons 4-wheelers. In less than one season, they have turned my field roads into dirt and ruts. The father denies they tresspass (even though I videotaped them/time clocked them at over 45 MPH) or ride dangerously. One time we saw the younger one take a spill, and have to be helped up and back to his 4-wheeler (limping badly). My daughter said he showed up in school two days later with a cast. Told his mom it was caused by jumping off a round bale.

I don't want to be mean and I know kids will be kids, and your only young twice (the second time is when you purchase your Bota/Deere/Boomer, heck, my kids have a 2 seat GO-CART they use for chores around the farm - but they must stick to the rules and not use it when it would damage the field roads, and NEVER, NEVER leave the property with it.)
When I was a kid (sigh) I had a trail bike and respected other peoples property, or my dad would take it away.



Steve

 

[skent]

Harv,

I like it. . . . I really like it. . . . your a genius!

Steve

 

[Jag]

Steve, it will always amaze me at the lengths people will go to help themselves to the use of other's people property.. I have been setting on the poarch and watched people come up the long driveway and turn and drive right down into the field like it was a state park and they have already paid their access fee. This year durning the first week of turkey season, I and about three of my neighbors caught two hunters tresspassing on the property. Yes the sheriff was called and they got ticketed.. I was parked at their car on the county road just off the edge of my property when they shot the first time. I was just into the edge of the field when my neighbor shows up, seems that he was working down on the other end of the road and had told them that morning that they had no business there. And it turns out his son had told them the day before the same thing... But what I can not believe, and why they really wanted to hunt that field is that they had baited it with 20 pounds of corn three days before. The property is very well posted. The sheriff told them before he left, "you can go before the judge and pleade not guilty, or pay your fine, If I was you it sure does not look good and, I would just pay the fine." It seems that these people have no land of their own and no clue or respect for those who do..... I would like to know what they would think if I pulled on their front lawn and just dumped my trash out, throw out all the old beer bottles in the back end or my pickup, or emptyed a few ash cans full of cigerette butts, or started a camp fire or started digging worms to go fishing... but it just never crosses their minds....

 

[bsauter]

A couple signs I always liked:

Trespassers will be shot, Survivors will be Prosecuted.

If you are found here tonight, you will be found here tomorrow. (With a picture of a gun)

Of course, you wouldn't really want to do this but it would sure make someone think twice!!

Brad, Kubota L3010HST, loader, R4 tires
Pictures at http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=179207&a=9183978