Ask Slashdot: Video Monitors For Areas That Are Off the Grid? 340
An anonymous reader writes "I have a cottage at the end of a long dirt road, no electricity nor internet, and recently some (insert expletive here) wads are using the area as a trash dump: countertops, sofas, metal scraps, tvs — all the stuff they don't want to pay to dump at the landfill. I can't block the road because it's a fire access. But I would really like to have a way to catch who is doing this. Are there any a) waterproof, b) self-contained, c) self-powered, and (ideally) d) inexpensive video-recording units out there? Are there any other creative ways to get the guys? I was thinking of something like a device that will cycle, so that the last week of video is recorded. It could take photos or video, and as long as it's small enough that I could camouflage it well, I suspect I'd be able to figure this out soon. And any idea of what my legal rights are to videotape or record?" Hunters have been doing this for years (with film, and now digital) to figure out prey patterns with cameras that are built for concealment; what else would you recommend?
Use a Drone (Score:5, Funny)
You know you could ask the Govt if their drones are for rent...they have night vision, missiles and everything.
Re:Use a Drone (Score:4, Interesting)
Why not get creative and just use old cell phones.
People are just tossing these things out. they have a good battery and some you can actually program. plus send data back to your base unit wirelessly.
Deer cams (Score:5, Informative)
Put up the IR deer cams. Hide them because they will steal them.
Re:Deer cams (Score:5, Informative)
What I was going to say. trailmasters.com Did webpage work for them back in '97.
Re:Deer cams (Score:5, Informative)
nope, well it depends on what you call "affordable" $5500.00 is affordable to some people.
But there is a self contained security camera called "silent witness" that lets you place them high up in a tree or on the roof of the cottage. just add a 12AH gel cell battery and a 20 watt solar panel and it will record to the internal SD card for over a month.
http://christy-ind.com/silent_witness/swc40r.php [christy-ind.com]
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$5000? come on, why give the trash dumpers something to steal?
200 bucks is affordable, and hide-able, and silent and uses Infra Red flash [cabelas.com].
You can strap it to a tree, and no one would notice.
I find it odd that the best solution is mentioned right in the question.
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http://www.amazon.com/Bolyguard-MG582-8M-Wireless-Outdoor-Scouting/dp/B007WNLPPW/ref=sr_1_9?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1349800816&sr=1-9&keywords=outdoor+GSM+camera [amazon.com]
That is the cheapest you can get if there is at least 3G or EDGE in the area. Dirt cheap at $350 each + $9.00 a month for the cellphone plan. they will then email you the photos if you hack it and change the lens from a wide angle to a more telephoto lens, it would probably be easier to hide.
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Re:Deer cams (Score:4, Informative)
Yes. Deer/wildlife cameras are what I would recommend. You can get them for $59 - $200. They take pretty good pictures and a set of batteries lasts a couple months.
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right. you could use something like this http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/887443-REG/Bushnell_119438_Nature_View_HD_Camera.html but you'll have to hide it well
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"Put up the IR deer cams. Hide them because they will steal them."
Deers steal cameras? Never would have thought.
Re:Deer cams (Score:5, Interesting)
Put up the IR deer cams. Hide them because they will steal them.
I've had tremendous success by putting them inside bird houses. No one steals birdhouses, or even thinks twice when they see one 15 feet up a tree.
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What happens when an actual bird moves in?
The birds will steal the cameras.
Re:Deer cams (Score:4, Funny)
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There is only one tiny problem that you might run into, and it should be ok if you stick a couple in trees... those deer cams usually have a red light on them, if people are looking they can be found. However, they'd have to look.
Also, something to check for, in my state it's illegal to record other people on your property 'without consent of at least one party involved in the recording'. Consent is however assumed if signage is posted. (I can record at my door without a sign, because I'm recording myself a
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Re:Deer cams (Score:5, Interesting)
In the US, a general piece of advice given to people who are arming themselves for self defense; When using lethal force (a gun), use it with intent to kill, not wound or disable. Not only is 'only wounding' hard, but it you are less likely to lose or even be hit with a wrongful death civil suite than a personal injury suite. One of my online buddies shotgunned three armed bad guys invading his home, killing two, the only criminal charges were misdemeanor possession of a loaded firearm (illegal, even in his own house, in his jurisdiction) which he got 3 months probation for after pleading no contest. One of the guy's families sued him for wrongful death, and it was dismissed with predjudice the first day. The surviving bad guy successfully sued him for various things (had two fingers amputated because the blast hit him in his gun hand as he was firing at my friend.), however it was overturned on appeal. But his defense has cost him roughly $100k. (and they are appealing the appeal). This is a person who is currently service a life sentence for 2 felony murders (he gets saddled with the guild of his two buddies deaths) and on trial for 6 more home invasions that had happened in the prior month.
Re:Deer cams (Score:4, Insightful)
It is sad to see the discussion take such a tangent about the way to most-successfully shoot and intruder.
Really, this is all that should be necessary: "They were in my house, uninvited, fucking my things. I shot them, and they stopped fucking with my things." Done.
If this is insufficient, then the world is broken.
Re:Deer cams (Score:4, Interesting)
Here's what I've never understood. If the thief is going to sue for injury, why not plead no contest in court, allow the judge to make the ruling for the thief, and then turn around and immediately sue him for trespassing, for the total amount the thief won, since his trespassing caused those actual damages? Even better would be to file for treble damages, since in trespassing, the thief was willfully negligent in his actions. The instant I owe any money for something you did while illegally on my property, I don't see how that doesn't immediately become actionable against you as damages for trespassing. IANAL, of course, so if any out there are, I'd love an explanation as to why this isn't possible. (At least, I am assuming it isn't, as I've never seen it done.)
Re:Deer cams (Score:5, Insightful)
More to the point. Why not just post the signs all over and skip the cameras.
If it works then you save money. If not then you can put in the cameras.
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If the sign acts as a deterrent, problem solved. And if it doesn't, you then have footage. What's the problem?
You could also post the sign AFTER you get the video, but before you report them to the cops. Let them prove the signs weren't there before they were filmed. ;)
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This. I'm on the board of a local recreation association, and we researched monitoring options for months for our recreation area, and in the end, we settled on the deer camera. Inexpensive, weather-resistant, long-lasting.
Re:Deer cams (Score:5, Insightful)
Or go the opposite route... buy a bunch of empty "surveillance camera" big white cases and install them prominently near a big "No Dumping" sign. Probably a lot cheaper.
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Oh yeah... And for weatherproof outdoor mounting, cut the top off a 2-litre soda bottle, slip it over the top of the camera, and find some way to attach it. You want to leave the bottom open, so that moisture inside will escape, and you don't get internal condensation.
For those without a source of power near by the distant WiFi repeater, or the WiFi cameras, a modest solar panel can easily power them. If size isn't an issue, you can get a (not very efficient) 45W solar panel + charge regulator for $150 f
Bushnell? (Score:5, Informative)
Bushnell Trail Sentry 5MP Digital Camera
Seems like it's packed with features.
http://www.opticsplanet.com/bushnell-trail-sentry-5mp-trail-night-vision-camera-119305.html [opticsplanet.com]
Hunters have the right gear (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Hunters have the right gear (Score:5, Funny)
Check around for concealed hunter camera gear.
How's he supposed to find that?!
Low-budget approach (Score:2)
"Camera trap" (Score:2)
Type "camera trap" into google and you'll find devices that do this (for photographing wildlife). The commercial ones are already camouflaged.
Do you have a sign? (Score:4, Insightful)
It's possible that the more recent dumpers don't even know they're not supposed to dump there; after seeing junk already piled up some may assume that it's a legitimate dumping ground.
A sign or two saying something like "PRIVATE PROPERTY NO DUMPING" might help, if you don't already have a sign like that which is being ignored.
Where Do You Live That That Is Considered Okay? (Score:3)
A sign or two saying something like "PRIVATE PROPERTY NO DUMPING" might help, if you don't already have a sign like that which is being ignored.
Where do you live that it's okay to do this:
I have a cottage at the end of a long dirt road, no electricity nor internet, and recently some (insert expletive here) wads are using the area as a trash dump: countertops, sofas, metal scraps, tvs — all the stuff they don't want to pay to dump at the landfill.
Even if it is a dirt road, it's not your property and if you don't have permission to be leaving shit all over the place then you don't do it. Where do you live that you can just legally drive around and say "this looks good, I don't see any signs" and dump shit to rust and rot and look terrible? Am I the only person that is appalled by that?
I've lived in two states. I'm pretty sure you'd be fined and/or sued to high heaven if you were caught doing that on
Re:Where Do You Live That That Is Considered Okay? (Score:5, Interesting)
Even if it is a dirt road, it's not your property and if you don't have permission to be leaving shit all over the place then you don't do it. Where do you live that you can just legally drive around and say "this looks good, I don't see any signs" and dump shit to rust and rot and look terrible? Am I the only person that is appalled by that?
Nope; I grew up on such a dirt road, and cheap-ass idiots dumping shit because they don't want to pay $10 at the landfill were always the bane of my existence.
Related anecdote: For about 8 months when I was a kid, my dad and I used to see the same damn people dumping bags of trash on our road every week (I assume city folk who refused to pay for trash service). One time, after they drove off, father proceeded to open one of the trash bags and rifle through it (eww, I know) until he found - drum roll please - a piece of mail with the name and address intact. Several mornings later, the people who dumped the trash awakened to find every last fucking piece of it we had collected over the months spread across their own front lawn. Needless to say, that particular group stopped dumping.
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I have no mod points so I'll just clap instead. Nice one!
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>> people dumping bags of trash on our road every week
So where in Alabama do you live?
I don't know if this is a problem in Alabama, but I know people in rural PA and NY who have had a problem with trash being dumped on their property. It's not just back roads on which this happens, either. Any road with a steep embankment and a good shoulder where people can pull over and throw their trash over the edge is susceptible to becoming a dumping ground. I know a local deputy in the sheriff's department, and he says that when they ticket people for disposing of the trash on other people's proper
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Needless to say, that particular group stopped dumping.
...on your street.
Maybe; an equally valid hypothesis would be that they were so scared shitless by some random person returning a ton or two of their own garbage to their doorstep that they cleaned up their act and started going to the landfill like everyone else.
As with how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie-Roll Pop, the world may never know.
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As with how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie-Roll Pop, the world may never know.
Three!
You only think that because owls can't count to four.
Re:Where Do You Live That That Is Considered Okay? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Where Do You Live That That Is Considered Okay? (Score:5, Funny)
Did you provide them with color glossy photos with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one?
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A sign or two saying something like "PRIVATE PROPERTY NO DUMPING" might help, if you don't already have a sign like that which is being ignored.
This is Slashdot... logic of the "common sense" variety is forbidden on these threads!
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A sign or two saying something like "PRIVATE PROPERTY NO DUMPING" might help, if you don't already have a sign like that which is being ignored.
This is Slashdot... logic of the "common sense" variety is forbidden on these threads!
Depending on the local laws and legal precedent, that may not be very logical or an example of common sense; for example, in certain particularly stupid areas of America, putting up a "No Trespassing" sign actually increases the property owner's liability, as they are acknowledging that people may trespass on their property and thus, take responsibility for said trespasser's safety (and yes, I am aware how boundlessly stupid that is).
Here's an article [ehow.com] that does a much better job explaining the legal impl
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Yes, they may be retarded or have some sort of brain injury.
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A sign or two saying something like "PRIVATE PROPERTY NO DUMPING" might help, if you don't already have a sign like that which is being ignored.
Great idea - Except I'd add "VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED" and "THIS AREA UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE"
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Have any of you people ever even been to the sticks? All the signs I've ever seen there say: "TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT; SURVIVORS WILL BE PROSECUTED"
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All the signs I've ever seen there say: "TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT; SURVIVORS WILL BE PROSECUTED"
And they're not kidding, either. Diddo with the "Danger - Landmines" signs...
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Great idea - Except I'd add "VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED" and "THIS AREA UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE"
Also, "DANGER: LANDMINES".
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would not work in, say, new jersey. they'd just steal them anyway.
Re:Do you have a sign? (Score:5, Funny)
Now it all started two Thanksgivings ago, was on - two years ago on Thanksgiving, when my friend and I went up to visit Alice at the restaurant, but Alice doesn't live in the restaurant, she lives in the church nearby the restaurant, in the bell-tower, with her husband Ray and Fasha the dog. And livin' in the bell tower like that, they got a lot of room downstairs where the pews used to be in. Havin' all that room, seein' as how they took out all the pews, they decided that they didn't have to take out their garbage for a long time.
We got up there, we found all the garbage in there, and we decided it'd be a friendly gesture for us to take the garbage down to the city dump. So we took the half a ton of garbage, put it in the back of a red VW microbus, took shovels and rakes and implements of destruction and headed on toward the city dump.
Well we got there and there was a big sign and a chain across across the dump saying, "Closed on Thanksgiving." And we had never heard of a dump closed on Thanksgiving before, and with tears in our eyes we drove off into the sunset looking for another place to put the garbage.
We didn't find one. Until we came to a side road, and off the side of the side road there was another fifteen foot cliff and at the bottom of the cliff there was another pile of garbage. And we decided that one big pile is better than two little piles, and rather than bring that one up we decided to throw our's down.
That's what we did, and drove back to the church, had a thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat, went to sleep and didn't get up until the next morning, when we got a phone call from officer Obie. He said, "Kid, we found your name on an envelope at the bottom of a half a ton of garbage, and just wanted to know if you had any information about it." And I said, "Yes, sir, Officer Obie, I cannot tell a lie, I put that envelope under that garbage."
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I'm not aware of any States require a fence (although i
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I agree, posting a no trespassing sign is key, but rationalizing that its a legitimate dumping ground?!?!? The legitimate dumping ground is called the landfill and at times it might cost a little to use it, but its there for public use. Dumping trash and rubbish elsewhere is just littering and ignorant.
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It's possible that the more recent dumpers don't even know they're not supposed to dump there; after seeing junk already piled up some may assume that it's a legitimate dumping ground.
Are you serious?
A "legitimate dumping ground" is a city / county / state facility, not down some dirt road near some guy's cabin.
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point being that you most likely will not need cameras for this to actually work
Why not buy a broken camera from your local junk store and very visibly install it?
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I'd do this but also install a real, camouflaged camera elsewhere. Let them think they destroyed the real one.
Re:Do you have a sign? (Score:4, Interesting)
Why not buy a broken camera from your local junk store and very visibly install it?
Came here to say this!
Years ago, I had a computer store, and wanted to cover my hindquarters - we had large, street-access store windows protecting lots of gorgeous, expensive hardware, but I couldn't afford a full-blown solution. So I found some mounting brackets at the hardware store and bought a large, gaudy 8 mm film camera at the local thrift store for $1. I bolted the camera to the mounting brackets, and stuffed a thick, black wire into the headphone jack and jammed it into a hole in the ceiling. It wasn't subtle; it was pointed right at you as you walked in the door.
Also, when I left for the night, I'd leave a computer running and run a tone generator to simulate the warning sound that an alarm makes for 30-60 seconds before it goes full derp.
For 4 years I ran that shop without a single incident. About 3 years in, I asked to get a quote from an actual security company, and the camera was good enough fool the consultant who came out to do the quote! Another time, I opened the store for a police officer in order to answer questions about some stolen hardware I'd identified, and he was also worried about the alarm going off. (from the tone generator) I showed him what I was doing and he laughed out loud.
Appearances can be deceiving and that's good enough in many (most?) cases. As a shining example of this: The TSA!
Re:Do you have a sign? (Score:4, Funny)
Why not buy a broken camera from your local junk store and very visibly install it?
Why buy one? I'm sure that these guys have already dumped one on his property.
Talk to the cops (Score:2)
Re:Talk to the cops (Score:4, Insightful)
The main point of the camera is to have firm information to give to the cops. They aren't going to waste resources doing an in-depth investigation over something like this. But if you can give them a license plate number and a picture of the guys, they are much more likely to deal with them. And if not you have everything you need to head to small claims court.
Trail/Game camera's. (Score:2)
They are ruggedized motion activated camera systems used by hunters and various conservationists to document wildlife in an area. Point on at the road and you will likely get a photo eventually.
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=trail+cameras&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=3841717161&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6759584441200341366&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_76nuhrt4i1_b
Shotgun. (Score:2)
Wait in a ground blind with a boomstick and give em a taste of frontier justice (where justice == birdshot)
Seriously though, the comment about trail cameras is right on. Motion activated camera that's self contained and battery powered. Designed for locating and tracking game movements, sounds like it would be perfect for your situation.
Double seriously, trying to wait out for them and firing some blanks and generally appearing to be a totally unhinged redneck might go a long way to scaring them off. Pl
Re:Shotgun. (Score:5, Funny)
Nah, you're not thinking. This is Slashdot - the home of the BSD toaster.
So, you get the aforementioned hunter cam, then you open the case, find the signal to that fires the camera, rig a opsoisolated switch to another relay circuit that fires off a couple of M80's and a small amount of thermite. Take the pics, wait a few seconds, fire off the M80's and the thermite. For extra fun, take a few more pics.
Bonus points for rigging explosions down the road on a tripwire or such so that you continue to 'fire' on the miscreants as the run screaming for their lives.
Use some imagination here, folks.
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I hate to say it, but this kind of escalation has some negative risk possibilities at the end of the encounter.
a. You might be shot and killed (unlikely, I suppose, if you bring big guns to the party and have a good position to fire from)
b. You might kill someone else. And just your luck, they might be someone important. You might spend the next 5 years of your life and every penny you have fighting for your life in court.
Versus just paying someone to clean up the trash and
Question (Score:2)
Why re-invent the wheel? You said it yourself, hunters have been doing this for years. Therefore, there are already products on the market which will stand up to the elements with a long battery life and the capabilities to do what you are looking to do. Sure, you could buy some camera, put them in a water-resistant sealed box, camoflauge them, and run a wire to your house. But why go through that much trouble when someone already makes a reliable product to do exactly that?
Appropriate Signage (Score:4, Insightful)
Place signs around the area (they do not have to be large) saying, "Video Surveillance in Use." Make sure you clean up any existing trash.
If dumping persists, use a game camera to take pictures, then tack up some large prints of the perps dumping.
Something like this: https://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=video+surveillance+signs&hl=en&prmd=imvns&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&biw=1173&bih=640&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=8862164393585909605&sa=X&ei=okp0UO2UPMWXiAKB-YHAAQ&ved=0CGsQ8gIwBg [google.com]
People really pay attention to little cues like this when they are doing something nefarious. Good luck.
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I thought about suggesting this; but it may just cause the person to wear a ski mask / mud up his license plate before doing the dumping. Plus, it doen't actually stop the dumper, it just tells him to go to the next house down the road.
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Re:Appropriate Signage (Score:4, Insightful)
Which brings us to your second point, which is very correct. I have no idea how to change a person's mindset so they don't dump in the first place. If you ever figure it out, please pretty please let us know!
There is no 100% method, but the best way is to make sure they get caught. Scaring them off your property just sends them to someone else's, having the police fine and/or jail them sends a message that this isn't socially acceptable behaviour. This is why the camera idea, while a lot more effort for the submitter, is a better option than simply signs implying cameras or guns. It is actually possibly less effective in the short run for the submitter (especially if dealing with multiple people dumping), and takes more time, effort, and money then the signs, but it helps all of society, not just himself.
I applaud the submitter for going this route.
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People really pay attention to little cues like this when they are doing something nefarious. Good luck.
Or they just pull a balaclava over their head, tape over the license plates, and keep doing it, since "video surveillance in use" signs almost invariably mean "not monitored in realtime" in remote areas. Not that I'd count on your average opportunistic criminal to think that far ahead, but... be honest with yourself: This is a deterrent, not a preventative action. As others have pointed out: Criminals are usually pretty stupid. Trash usually contains unpaid bills and receipts with their name or other person
Neighbors (Score:3, Insightful)
I grew up in a semi-rural area so I know what I'm talkin bout here:
Figure out why your neighbors hate you and convince them to like you. Lets be realistic, middle of nowhere, nobody's driving 500 miles just to dump on your land... You pissed someone off who lives VERY nearby and the folks who could bust him are better friends with him than you. Fix that.
Talk to your local politicans and get fees removed from the community landfill. That's insane. Not legally permissible where I live, I believe by state reg, because the DNR doesn't want to spend $20000 cleaning up dumped motor oil as a result of "profit" they'd make from charging $5 at the landfill, not to mention it provides a profit motive for turning touristy scenery into a 3rd world wasteland. Sometimes a double taxation argument works... Govt already made 5% sales tax when I bought my motor oil, presumably they don't need another 5% to dispose of it.
Another thing I don't understand is I cannot throw out steel or metal anything without the local meth heads stealing it and getting money for it at the junkyard. Other stuff you're reporting sounds bogus. Goodwill accepts anything electronic and sometimes makes a profit reselling it. There's a veterans group who collect furniture, drive up to your house with a pickup and they unload "for free" although since they're doing "good" I slip them some cash (knowing its probably paying for their lunch instead of going in their treasury, and I don't mind a bit). The only thing I can kinda understand is the countertop, but only kinda. Like where do those come from? If its wood, burn it. If its rock, bury it. If its steel the meth heads already stole it. So...
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Just because it does not make sense to you does not make it untrue. This is likely only one or two people deciding to dump there, and they may not have had the flash of insight of 'we can make a few bucks instead of just throwing out the shit we don't want'.
Frankly considering what they're tossing out it sounds like it may be someone renovating a home, in which case they're probably not going to care about what they could sell for scrap, just not wanting to be bothered to take it to the dump and deal with t
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Just because it does not make sense to you does not make it untrue
Its more of a suspension of disbelief thing. There's no meth heads anywhere nearby? Nobody who knows you get paid for scrap metal, not pay to dispose of it? Put up a post on craigslist, "free scrap steel and stuff".
in which case they're probably not going to care about what they could sell for scrap
Owner might not care but the contractors / subs will. I don't believe there is an electrician out there who will leave copper wire laying around a jobsite, at least not on purpose. Every carpenter has a woodburning stove in his workshop... So its gotta be a homeowner doing all his own work,
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Owner might not care but the contractors / subs will. I don't believe there is an electrician out there who will leave copper wire laying around a jobsite, at least not on purpose. Every carpenter has a woodburning stove in his workshop... So its gotta be a homeowner doing all his own work, and probably a pretty stupid one at that.
If I were to wager a guess, I'd go with "slumlord"
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Yep. In my small, rural town, everybody gets to dump 200 pounds of stuff every month for free. Further, once a year, you can dump all you can haul over in a one week time frame. We have free electronic junk recycling. We haul off cars for free (boats you have to pay a bit extra for unless they're aluminum).
People still go to the end of the road to dump off stuff that you can legally drop off for free. And they leave envelopes / pay stubs and all manner of incriminating evidence.
The amount of stupid in
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Vlm -
I know it is ridiculous, but a personal anecdote:
I was hiking in Virginia, somewhere along the Appalachian Trail. I was up on top of a ridgeline when I saw some junked tires near the trail but in the woods. It took me another 30 minutes of downhill walking to get to the next road crossing. Now it is possible that there was a closer road that I (a non-local) did not know about, but I would like to point out that it was still up-hill. Someone had hauled tires up hill just to throw them in the woods.
Re:Neighbors (Score:4, Interesting)
Depending on the age of the tires, you may have stumbled upon a historic dump! Tires hold up remarkably well over time.
The land that forms Shenandoah National Park was condemned in the 1930s. Most of them have passed on, but you might still find some folks who remember being evicted off their land and have an abiding hate for the Federal government which is part of a long tradition among mountain folk dating back to the Whiskey Rebellion, carried on by Prohibition, and nurtured by various other grievances to this very day. Their children are certainly still alive and brought up on the stories.
I haven't seen a dump site, but I have seen a marked site where a school and some other buildings formerly existed. Only the stone walls endured. Some of the smaller parks in Virginia have backstories like this too. Bull Run is fascinating--ruins and Civil War brestworks which are kind of like half-open trenches. There's another web site out there that explains how a "ditch in the woods" that I never thought twice about is actually the channel for a mill that once ground grain.
Anyway, you might have found an archaelogical site as opposed to a modern dump. When the trash was left, there was a poorly graded road which is now overgrown with trees. Finding 80 year old roads in the woods is an art; it's amazing how quicly nature reclaims things.
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Fuckin' boot lickers (Score:5, Funny)
On your own property? To catch trespassers dumping garbage?
Jeebus, is our country so in the shit we need to ask that now? Why should corporations and the government have a right to surveil and that right be denied to us? Why is every sentence in this post a question?
Go to Bass Pro (Score:2)
Go to Bass Pro and get some deer cams or just google "deer cam". You can get them as cheap as $100. They do exactly what you want. End of story.
Goats (Score:2)
A goat or two pastured in the area, if you're not averse to raising livestock. Goats are very protective of their territory. Might not be a viable solution if you're not around very often, but effective otherwise.
Look through what they're dumping (Score:2)
If there's any papers in it, there's a good chance you'll find names and addresses.
Imagine a phone call that starts like this:
"Kid, we found your name on an envelope at the bottom of a half a ton of garbage, and just wanted to know if you had any information about it."
This strategy is in addition to any cameras you might have set up.
You didn't tell us where you live. (Score:2)
You didn't tell us where you live. How are we supposed to help you, if we don't even know what country you live in? Because this is Slashdot, I guess we can just assume that you're talking about the USA (possibly Canada). But then we still don't know what state (or province) you live in! I mean, I support the One World Government as much as the next Illuminati member, but until we can bring about that glorious revolution, we'll just have to deal with all these fractured governments.
First of all, I'd try
Recycle for bucks (Score:2)
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I take my lawn tractor and cart to these places and load that stuff up, then take it to the metal recyclers. Makes a few bucks if you wait till you have a load big enough to counter your gas money for the trip. A little extra work to separate the copper from the iron pays off nicely too.
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Since I also heat with
Legally (Score:2)
spikes (Score:2)
Put lots of spikes in the ground that will keep them out (or in)
Re: (Score:2)
Of course put up a sign saying: "Danger - no dumping - spikes in ground!"
Then they have themselves to blame when they get a flat tyre or four
Re: (Score:2)
You're thinking of caltrops [wikipedia.org]. Always good to have a supply.
A better solution is to fake them out. (Score:2)
Post "YOU ARE ON CAMERA" signs and put up several decoy Video cameras around where they are visible. add some solar motion lights as well.
They will move on as they think you are watching them.
Just get a game camera (Score:2)
There are loads of "game cameras" sold to hunters to scout hunting locations. It's going to be hard to beat the performance and value of a game camera. Check the usual sources.
That said... I have a somewhat similar situation, a mountain property and private road that is a fire road. But we have a locked gate with 10 lock slots. Out where I am at, as long as PG&E has a lock slot so that their meter readers can get up the road (to read meters at radio towers on the mountain top), and as long as the ga
Re: (Score:2)
Here in Texas, we have "Knox boxes" which are sturdy steel lockboxes which are attached to fences or embedded in cement. They use a Medeco lock, and are keyed to what the local PD or fire recommends. In the box is a key to whatever is relevant.
If there is an issue, the response people just fish the keys out of the Knox Box, open the gate, and be on their way.
Personal information (Score:2)
Where I live, the dumpers are usually stupid enough to include some personal information with the trash. Envelopes with ardessess and so on. Take a look and bring the law upon them.
Re: (Score:2)
He said, "Kid,
we found your name on an envelope at the bottom of a half a ton of garbage, and just wanted to know if you had any information about it." And
I said, "Yes, sir, Officer Obie, I cannot tell a lie, I put that envelope under that garbage."
After speaking to Obie for about fourty-five minutes on the telephone we finally arrived at the truth of the matter and said that we had to go down
and pick up the garbage, and also had to go down and speak to him at the police officer's station. So we got in th
Try to get a shared lock for a gate (Score:2)
Dummy camera + real camera (Score:2)
PlantCam for $99 (Score:2)
Board with nails (Score:2)
Inform the local fire department that the road is booby trapped (with location and methods) and use a board with nails in it to puncture their tires. It'll make dumping on your land really expensive. With any luck you'll fix the problem before the fire trucks need to go down it.
A neighbor of mine had a similar problem in that the county road made a hairpin turn around what used to be an old barn and stream that had since been removed. One of the locals got the idea of just driving across his land rather tha
Throw a party. (Score:3)
And by party, I mean set off fireworks when they arrive. Use a trigger that I got from IED-using insurgents in Iraq. You can use two hacksaw blades in a hose that act as a switch when driven on. Have this trigger a rocket motor igniter that ignites a rocket motor that lights several fuses which then sends fireworks up in the air announcing their unexpected arrival. IIRC, you only need 3 volts.
That should be enough to scare them away. But you can also use it to trigger cameras too.
Just post a sign that says (Score:2)
About those Game Cameras... Response Time (Score:3)
The OP specifically wants to capture identifiable information such as a license plate. Beware that most game cameras have a very slow response time, that is, it could be 1 to 3 seconds after detecting "game" that they take a picture. This is OK for deer or other critters (I've captured shots of racoons and groundhogs) but may not be effective with moving vehicles. Please try before you buy.
An uncle of mine had the same problem (Score:4, Funny)
Cameras: A Waste of Money... (Score:3)
You could setup some nice wildlife cameras, but the police aren't going to do anything about dumpers. Even if you have clear photos of their vehicle, license plate, their faces, and them in the process of dumping. Best that you just put a gate up... or better yet, bury some 2x4s in the trail with screws sticking up out of them. If you have the time, and the dumping occurs frequently enough, maybe sit up one evening with your pump shotgun.