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Firewood theft. This an ethical way to deal with it?

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Justified to boobytrap thieving neighbor?

  • Yes, the boobytrap was justified.

  • No, the boobytrap is unethical

  • depends, explain in post

Results are only viewable after voting.
You can buy boric acid in the form of pest control powder at your local pharmacy or copper sulphate in the pool supply section. You can even use twenty mule team borax. All will turn the flame green and generate a thicker green tinged smoke. Fyi, don't use laundry borax if you ever want something to grow where the wood's stacked.
 
NetWareHead said:
Meh, would only work in a fireplace. Someone who is stealing wood frequently most likely has a stove and is actually heating. Fireplaces are more for ambiance than for real heating. I know, generalizations...
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The point wasn't flooding the house. It was to give the pope signal that someone would see. Load up your logs with red dye, print off some fliers and stick them around the neighborhood.

"We got us a wood thief in the area. If you see red smoke from a chimney, snap a picture and the address and email to woodthiefssuck@gmail.com" Combine that with a trail cam capturing them in action and you should have them by the short and curlies.
 
I think it's a great idea...plus, you have the added benefit of sitting in jail for the next several years...just because you weren't smart enough to properly secure your stuff.

3 hots & a cot...unless you're in Maricopa county...then you get bologna sammiches twice a day.
 
surfsatwerk said:
I like how all the suggestions ruin the wood for your own use.
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Nah, just need to remember which log you did it to. :biggrin: I would just mark it with an X or something. Someone stealing it wont really know what the marking means and probably not think twice about it.

It's too bad the laws protect thieves though, so in reality you would not get away with this kind of trap.
 
Slew Foot said:
Move to someplace where heating technology has progressed past 1787.
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Really shouldn't expect any less, but I'll respond anyway.

I can get 10MB cable internet where I live. I also get natural gas. I go 500 yards away from me and natural gas is not an option. They are on LP gas. LP rates have tripled this year. Some people were facing $900 tabs to fill up a big LP tank for the year.

Instead of LP you can put in a small shed outside your home (we are on acre+ lots), drop a giant wood burner in there, burry the lines underground to keep them out of the elements and use that to heat your home. Or you use it in tandem with a geothermal setup to maintain your pre-heated tanks to take the burden off of the primary heat exchanger in the dead of winter. That's not archaic by any means, it's actually a pretty progressive way of reducing a demand from the utility company.

Woods not free by any means. Not all wood is good for burning, you still need to pay gas to cut it down, split it, and haul it. Plus you need access to decent amounts of it which may not always be easy.
 
Fuck no, it's not ethical. WTF is wrong with people?

Next time you're doing the speed limit and someone passes you, pull out your firearm and blast away. He's breaking the law, right?

I'm no bleeding heart liberal but I don't think the death penalty is an appropriate punishment for a few hundred bucks of thievery. If the guy in the OP knew for sure that the booby trap was non-lethal/non-injurious, then I don't have a moral problem with it. But if there's a chance there would be shrapnel flying out, the guy in the OP has worse ethics than the thief.
 
vi edit said:
Really shouldn't expect any less, but I'll respond anyway.

I can get 10MB cable internet where I live. I also get natural gas. I go 500 yards away from me and natural gas is not an option. They are on LP gas. LP rates have tripled this year. Some people were facing $900 tabs to fill up a big LP tank for the year.

Instead of LP you can put in a small shed outside your home (we are on acre+ lots), drop a giant wood burner in there, burry the lines underground to keep them out of the elements and use that to heat your home. Or you use it in tandem with a geothermal setup to maintain your pre-heated tanks to take the burden off of the primary heat exchanger in the dead of winter. That's not archaic by any means, it's actually a pretty progressive way of reducing a demand from the utility company.

Woods not free by any means. Not all wood is good for burning, you still need to pay gas to cut it down, split it, and haul it. Plus you need access to decent amounts of it which may not always be easy.
Click to expand...

My sister lives in a pretty rural area. Propane is her only heating option. Its an older house, so the insulation isn't the best. Her propane bills were stupid. No one could afford them.

So a few years ago she put in a wood burner. It works with the blower from her furnace. In the summer my bro in law and nephew chop up a couple trees and stack it for winter. She heats her house basically for free now.

I would trade my $100/month gas bill for a free wood bill any time. But I don't have 15 acres of trees at my disposal like she does. I'm very jealous of people that can heat by wood.
 
It's a petty thing to steal, but it's also a petty thing to get super upset about. With that said though, firewood is not expensive, and if you get to a point where you're stealing it, you:

a) Did not plan your winter out properly.
b) You're cheap, and you found it more convenient opportunity to steal your firewood than to buy it.

Very, very rarely is it:

c) You're desperate and freezing.

My parents store a lot of firewood for the winter, and honestly, the only way to really handle this is to cage it if it's actually a problem in your area. Most people don't cage their wood, so you'll probably be the only person in a 200 mile radius doing this, but it's a good way to deter thieves.

Do NOT build boobytraps. That is against the law and you'd get in way, way bigger trouble than the thieves if you got caught.
 
rudeguy said:
My sister lives in a pretty rural area. Propane is her only heating option. Its an older house, so the insulation isn't the best. Her propane bills were stupid. No one could afford them.

So a few years ago she put in a wood burner. It works with the blower from her furnace. In the summer my bro in law and nephew chop up a couple trees and stack it for winter. She heats her house basically for free now.

I would trade my $100/month gas bill for a free wood bill any time. But I don't have 15 acres of trees at my disposal like she does. I'm very jealous of people that can heat by wood.
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$100 isn't too bad, that just for heat? or hot water also?

We burn oil for heat and hot water, in the winter the bill is 200-300 per month. We fill up in October, January, and March. $700-800 per fill up.
 
vi edit said:
Really shouldn't expect any less, but I'll respond anyway.

I can get 10MB cable internet where I live. I also get natural gas. I go 500 yards away from me and natural gas is not an option. They are on LP gas. LP rates have tripled this year. Some people were facing $900 tabs to fill up a big LP tank for the year.

Instead of LP you can put in a small shed outside your home (we are on acre+ lots), drop a giant wood burner in there, burry the lines underground to keep them out of the elements and use that to heat your home. Or you use it in tandem with a geothermal setup to maintain your pre-heated tanks to take the burden off of the primary heat exchanger in the dead of winter. That's not archaic by any means, it's actually a pretty progressive way of reducing a demand from the utility company.

Woods not free by any means. Not all wood is good for burning, you still need to pay gas to cut it down, split it, and haul it. Plus you need access to decent amounts of it which may not always be easy.
Click to expand...

If I had a bigger property I'd totally want to do this. Wood is fairly cheap, and if you drive around looking for dead trees in summer you can cut them down and cut them up. I'm pretty sure it's legal to do that on crown land too, you just can't cut live ones. Though there are companies that also supply and deliver so that's probably the safest option.

I have actually been toying with the idea of putting in a wood stove in the basement though. It would be nice supplementary heat during the -40 days. Also great to have as backup if the power or natural gas service ever goes out. I don't think I've ever heard of natural gas going out mind you, but it never hurts to be prepared to heat off grid.
 
ch33zw1z said:
$100 isn't too bad, that just for heat? or hot water also?

We burn oil for heat and hot water, in the winter the bill is 200-300 per month. We fill up in October, January, and March. $700-800 per fill up.
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hot water and cooking are in there too

Its not bad at all, I'm just cheap. If I could burn wood, I would.
 
SearchMaster said:
Next time you're doing the speed limit and someone passes you, pull out your firearm and blast away. He's breaking the law, right?
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That reminds me of my favorite Halle Berry movie:

last-boy-scout-o.gif
 
Ventanni said:
It's a petty thing to steal, but it's also a petty thing to get super upset about. With that said though, firewood is not expensive, and if you get to a point where you're stealing it, you:
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I disagree. Do you have any idea how much work firewood actually is? I love the people who say firewood is free. You have to cut the trees down and then slice the trunks into firewood lenghts. Don't forget the large amount of twigs, leaves and branches too small to make into firewood to dispose of. Then you need to split it. And stack it. And then season it occupying space on your property for 1 or 2 years depending on what kind of wood in a shelter that keeps the rain off of it. From the time you cut it to the time you are actually burning it, you have also moved each piece of wood 2-5 times. That pickup truck and trailer, chainsaw and log splitter also need gasoline, engine oil, bar oil and regular maintenance too. And your own time is expensive too, to do all of this!

In short, considering the amount of work needed, I'd be pretty pissed off if someone were stealing firewood from me.
 
Last edited:
Cat piss is the answer. Leave a small teaser pile that is easier to get to but still clearly on private land where removal would be obvious theft. Get cats to piss all over it. You'll know the thieves by the smell when it burns.
 
Get some wood from a eucalyptus tree and mix in with the firewood. Just remember not to burn it in your own fireplace/woodstove.
 
NetWareHead said:
I disagree. Do you have any idea how much work firewood actually is? I love the people who say firewood is free. You have to cut the trees down and then slice the trunks into firewood lenghts. Don't forget the large amount of twigs, leaves and branches too small to make into firewood to dispose of. Then you need to split it. And stack it. And then season it occupying space on your property for 1 or 2 years depending on what kind of wood in a shelter that keeps the rain off of it. From the time you cut it to the time you are actually burning it, you have also moved each piece of wood 2-5 times. That pickup truck and trailer, chainsaw and log splitter also need gasoline, engine oil, bar oil and regular maintenance too. And your own time is expensive too, to do all of this!
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Yes, but think about all of the calories that you burn and muscles that you build in the process! Shit, the thieves should charge the guy...call it gym dues.😛
 
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