There is no single perfect way to deal with trespassers....

So I've had trespassing issues ever since buying my land in 2016...and before that seemingly every year on either my parents or another spot at least one case occurs yearly. What I've learned over the years in dealing with them is one very clear and evident thing is true: there is no perfect way to handle it and NONE are fun.

There are a few ways many seem to agree are ways to handle the issue:

#1 Turn it over to the law 100%

PROs - Detaches you from the situation and makes any conversations which may occur be between the law and the
trespassers.

CONs - The law simply in my area at least won't investigate mere trespassing cases much, unless you give them a name
(which leads me to option #2) so this option become useless more often than not.

#2 Discover/Identify/Research and then turn it over to the law

PROs - You do much of the boots on the ground work that an officer simply cannot do. You know the local neighbors OR
can post images to social media much easier than a law enforcement department. This way almost always assures a
conversation between the trespassers and law occurs (possibly charges depending on your prosecutor and yourself of
course)

CONs - Far too often when dealing with this approach it becomes known to the trespassers or neighbors that you suspect
them. This can lead to extreme tension now between you and them...and perhaps just a mere face to face or phone call
would have be received better than an officer knocking on their door, especially if charges are not being pursued just
want it to stop.

#3 Blast social media...ascertain suspects and reach out to them yourself

PROs - You literally in this day and age can get names of folks from social media in my experience 100% of the time.
Post images to a local garage sale page on Facebook, request private messages of identifying and sit back and wait.
Typically this is the swiftest way to get in touch with the culprits...which can be a good thing.

CONs - So when you post about someone trespassing to social media, be ready for the onslaught of IDIOTS out there
turnning the comment section into a ****show and you a punching bag for being mad someone walked on your property.
Many have zero clue of how p***ed off or infringed it feels to have your private property rights crapped on....thick
skin is required and I've learned don't engage. Another con of this approach is getting identities and reaching out to
folks (OR them reaching out to you) can turn south quickly. Folks defense mechanism can make them dumb and I've been
threatened by more than a few...but I've also had this approach go very well. The con of this method is it truly is a
coin flip...you may gain a friend or a blood curdling enemy p***ED at you.


In the end...I've exhausted all of these and seem to go in cycles through each. I've also done #4 Nothing. They all suck in a way...and worse yet in the end often times I end up feeling like the bad guy or the only one that is impacted by the whole process.

I write all this as I presently am dealing with Option #3. I've even emailed the main gentleman that has been told my contact email by more than one person to contact me and hasn't........it sucks. You run every possible scenario of how he'll receive the information he was caught on cam trespassing...will he own it and apologize? Will he or has he already went to the property and messed with anything? Did he plant or put a meth lab on my place (yes told a few times this guy is like that)? Is this going to just make things worse? Should I have just given it to the law...despite in my county that rarely going anywhere without providing name to them (which would require doing everything I did on social media already).

In the end trespassers suck....but in many ways I think dealing with them SUCK 10 times more.