 | ||
| We found signs like these with our name signed on a space at the bottom to be the most effective for us. |
 |
| Despite the fact that one would think these would be camouflaged, these work quite well also. They are available from:www.MyParkingSign.com |
 |
| This is also distinctive. |
We have now lived in a profoundly rural area for more than fourteen years, in two different farms. The area around our present farm, which we also own, is surrounded with thick forests, and is marked with "No Hunting or Trespassing" signs. I am not completely anti-hunting, but we don't want people on our land with guns that we don't know, and those who have had a six-pack too many, milling about. We don't want people casing the house or the outbuildings or barns for robbery. Although we don't hunt our own deer presently, we certainly reserve the right to do so ourselves should we either need to thin their herd, or obtain some food. In short, the people making the payments on this property would like to retain the right to hunt the deer, if this became necessary. You would be surprised at what a difficult concept this is, particularly for some urban dwellers.
We are quite a distance from any urban centers or even suburban ones. This is why it can be so interesting when people with guns trespass in an attempt to hunt and then when apprehended, say, "I didn't know anyone owned this". This happened sufficiently in the first years at our first farm that we enclosed all of it with "No Trespassing" signs. When this was apparently ineffective, because so many people have the same thing, we started prosecuting trespassers. In Virginia, those who trespass are subject to large fines or up to twelve months in prison or both. Those who are proven to be trespassing with some type of criminal intent, are likely to get both penalties in tandem with their conviction, even on the first offense. Yet people still do this ! One of the reasons this is such an issue to us is that when urban warriors come out to the country to hunt, and they hurt themselves, their families often sue the landowner. For this reason, our attorney has told us to lock the place down, and prosecute those who don't listen.
A bit more than six years ago, we built this particular farm and thought that it might be more defensible than the last. We started with the same type of "No Trespassing" signs we bought from our distant hardware chain, and they had about the same effect they always did. We decided to beef up the signage and see if it made any difference. You are certainly welcome to use anyone you would like. We don't receive any additional benefit or discounts for endorsing them, but www.buildasign.com has made our custom signs and we are very pleased. You can design your own custom signs online.
 |
| These are very similar to the original signs we used. We signed them all. |
People apparently notice and respond better to signs they do not see every day, and to signs that might be a bit more expensive.
There are a number of signs I would like to put up. However, one must be cautious about the type of signs you use. In the event you use a provocative sign, and then must shoot a trespasser who means to do someone harm, then your sign may be used against you by the prosecutor when the issue goes from a Coroner's Inquest to a Grand Jury. These are a few of the signs of which you might need to check with your jurisdiction as to how pleased they are to see these.
 |
| I am not certain what this says, but I get the idea. |
 |
| If you shoot someone and have this sign, you will be seeing it again at the Coroner's Inquest. |
I am happy to say that we now have some perfectly worded signs surrounding the property, and different ones marking the gate house and the gate on the way in. It's hard to tell whether the trespassers are in fact, responding to the clean and new signs or to the frequent target practice which can be heard within. If you can, always enlist the help of your local sheriff or law enforcement before formulating a strong anti-trespassing plan.
Our attention has now turned to preventing any future thefts from a garden of our daughter's place. I'll let you know how that goes.
