[veggienut]

Hi.
Our allotment has had plenty of stuff taken recently and us allotmenteers are fed up with it. Short of fitting cameras I can't see how we can control the problem. Has anyone else encountered this? It is soul destroying to see your lovely crops been ripped away. All the hard work, love etc. Any ideas?

[pink aubergine]

In the past we have had plenty of produce taken. There are a few things we do, we pick produce as soon as its ready and not leave crops such as onions and pumpkins/ squashes to ripen/ dry out on ground, they get taken into cool shed to finish drying. Its all too easy to pick up a row of previously lifted onions.

When away ask a fellow allotmenteer to pick produce and keep a presence on the plot.

Cover crops with fleece, insect netting or ordinary netting wellpegged down so it takes more effort for the veg snatchers to get the veg.

Get the police involved, it is stealing to take produce. Our local police cautioned those we knew were taking it, and threatened to prosecute them if they did it again. The police had a key to the allotment site and visited it on their rounds. We are surrounded by houses on all sides of our allotment and got residents whose gardens back onto the site to visit it in the evenings/early morning but also communicated with everyone so all knew what was going on.

The council took action to put in higher gates, more substantial fencing, and height restriction barriers.

We are careful not to make it easy pickings for the thieves and along with cooperation from plotholders and the council and the police, along with vigilence, the thieves have been stopped and /or prosecuted.

Don't let them beat you! Best of luck.

[veggienut]

Yep we got the police involved, barbed wire on fencing, anti climb paint on walls, most stuff is covered in netting: yet they still do it!! Picking stuff that is not quiet ripe to pick ourselves!! Each lottie locks the gate going in and coming out. It is patrolled on a regular basis. Lots of lotties been there for years so attend frequently.

[Elaine G]

We were encouraged to leave the brambles where the plot meets a back garden - so the 'neighbours' are not tempted to nip over the fence.

Elaine

[radiohead]

Set up a machine gun nest manned 24 hrs per day.

[shokkyy]

Get a couple of rottweilers (preferably non-digging rottweilers)

[sunshineband]

Practical suggestions, please
 

This is a sensitive subect for those who lose their hard grown veggies, and it leaves you feeling violated tbh, as well as furious 

[Sweet Pea 2]

this is terrible.  I am sorry I don't have any suggestions.  Our council has been very good with security.

[MOLUSC]

"Danger poisonous insecticides have recently been used on this plot" 

[Christo]

Makes me so mad. I can't imagine what I'd feel like of someome grabbed a row of my lifted onions. Good luck solving the problem.

[John]

One solution that does (sometimes) work, although it's hard work, is to involve the local community and especially the scallys and lads. If they feel some involvement and 'ownership' then they become protectors rather than vandals and thieves. Takes a better man than me to relate to some of them though.

Probably showing criminals how to run an allotment would be more productive community service than picking up litter or painting fences. After all, they would learn so many life skills to help them grow beyond petty theft and vandalism.

[radiohead]

Practical suggestions, please
 

This is a sensitive subect for those who lose their hard grown veggies, and it leaves you feeling violated tbh, as well as furious  

Yes,apologies.....I've not lost anything off my plot yet but others have, but I know how I would feel and I dread coming across some scumbag on my plot, as I may well do something I will regret.

[wannagrowveg]

I'm sorry to hear that veggienut its truely discusting must be heart breaking 

I haven't experienced this and I hope I wont.

Chin up.... Karma! what goes around comes around!

[radiohead]

A couple of possibilities, depending on how far you want to go you can buy very convincing dummy cctv cameras.A few of these up on poles around the site with appropriate warning signs might deter.Of course to be convincing it would need to be in a place where it would be possible to set up a real cctv system....Or you could just dot warning cctv signs around....the thicker scumbag may well believe them and go.
Another would be to organise regular patrols around the site at times when there will be no one around and pilfering is most likely.A rota could be drawn up with other willing plot holders.....again prominent signs placed around the site that state that the site is regularly patrolled out of hours might deter.....you could also ask the police if you could state on the signs that they also patrol the site......personally I feel you have to take matters on yourself....the council will not want to spend money and the police will be too busy harrassing motorists and attending diversity courses.

[Swing Swang]

Would a fake warning sign with a rat on it and "Danger contaminated land - Weils' disease" act as a visual deterrent? Then in smaller print put a load of jargon that mentions words such as danger/risk of death/special precautions (without mentioning the special precautions)/etc  Just a thought, and not sure if what I'm suggesting is legal either - you'd have to check it out for yourself.

SS