What type of person would do this?

[MamaMia]

Go to ones place of business; in this case a quaint little dental clinic, and shovel up, root ball and all, your landscaping? They stole trees, scrubs, flowers, sweet potato vines, crepe myrtles, nandinas...etc. They took everything that didn't have thorns and would transplant. WTF kind of person would do that?

[olevetonahill]

I'd be lookin at those dayum messicans

[MamaMia]

I'd be lookin at those dayum messicansHave you ever seen a mexican with a nandina?

[badger]

Go to ones place of business; in this case a quaint little dental clinic, and shovel up, root ball and all, your landscaping? They stole trees, scrubs, flowers, sweet potato vines, crepe myrtles, nandinas...etc. They took everything that didn't have thorns and would transplant. WTF kind of person would do that?

I must say that this is a new one for me. Theft in general lately (as well as vigilante justice of people running down on foot, tracking the license plates, you name it, to bring the thieves to justice among the general public) has been up. The most common reports I've seen are of items on public display that have resale value (lawn statues, ornaments, unlocked/unsecured vehicle enhancements) or copper wiring (either already in air conditioners, or from maintenance facilities in balls that haven't been installed yet).

The kind of person is different from the copper/resale item thieves, as they are not doing this to make a profit, IMHO. In this scenario, you're dealing with the kind of person that would walk by a register without paying for penny candy, or pocket smaller retail store items that don't have security devices, etc. They're the kind of person that thinks that if they can get something for free somewhere, legal or illegal, they'd rather not pay for it.

Advice: Don't let the freeloading thief get to you. Some people will do sh!tty things. You can't control the sh!tty person, but you can control how you, yourself, respond to their sh!tty acts.

[cleller]

I'd be lookin at those dayum messicans

Who does the most landscaping in these parts. Heard of several cases of this over the last few years. I bet you also failed to record the serial numbers of the plants.

[MamaMia]

I'm setting up a Moultrie camera where it will be hard to see. Atwood's has some of them for less than 100 bucks. They run on D batteries. Then I am going to plant the same exact plants, only this time they will be marked in some inconspicuous places with fingernail polish. Then I'm going to catch the scumbag.

[badger]

Who does the most landscaping in these parts. Heard of several cases of this over the last few years. I bet you also failed to record the serial numbers of the plants.

After you mentioned this I googled to see if plant theft was a big issues anywhere. As it turns out, middle class people on decreased incomes like to maintain their current lifestyles at lower income levels... which means, like I said earlier, getting stuff for free rather than paying for it.

Examples:


I did a landscape job on an industrial building that got picked of its higher priced plants. The next year the developer had me landscape the entrance to a new subdivision. He asked me to wrap the plants in barbed wire and tie them together with it under the ground. I was quite young at the time and did not consider the liability, so I did it. A week later there was a lot of blood on the peastone. Two weeks later someone came by with wire cutters and picked out the most expensive plants. You just can't win! He had us replace them with less expensive plants.

[Turd_Ferguson]

I'd be lookin at those dayum messicansLMAO...that's the first thing I thought when reading the OP. The walmalart up in Edmond had the same thing happen more than once when they first built it. Turned out to be Hose A or Hose B that was doing it...

[diverdog]

I'm setting up a Moultrie camera where it will be hard to see. Atwood's has some of them for less than 100 bucks. They run on D batteries. Then I am going to plant the same exact plants, only this time they will be marked in some inconspicuous places with fingernail polish. Then I'm going to catch the scumbag.

Thanks for the heads up. I will be sure to wear a mask and check for nail polish on the trees.

[8timechamps]

I'm setting up a Moultrie camera where it will be hard to see. Atwood's has some of them for less than 100 bucks. They run on D batteries. Then I am going to plant the same exact plants, only this time they will be marked in some inconspicuous places with fingernail polish. Then I'm going to catch the scumbag.

A similar (much smaller scale) thing happened when I moved my office to it's current location. I didn't go the camera route, but I did put in motion sensitive lighting. Haven't had any issues since (4+ years).

[winout]

I'm setting up a Moultrie camera where it will be hard to see. Atwood's has some of them for less than 100 bucks. They run on D batteries. Then I am going to plant the same exact plants, only this time they will be marked in some inconspicuous places with fingernail polish. Then I'm going to catch the scumbag.

So, next time you lose your landscaping <i>and</i> a critter cam. Nice.

[MamaMia]

So, next time you lose your landscaping <i>and</i> a critter cam. Nice. Luckily we have an enclosed atrium with large glass panes.