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Here in the States i have had my home robbed more times than i care to remember. I learned that a good thing to do is leave stuff out for the thief to take. Such as a broken but good looking 42 inch TV or a bulky but no good stereo any crap that looks to be worth money but in reality is junk. This will also give you a clue or two whom the thief is. Kids will take stuff a pro will leave behind. I learned to not call the cops. They never ever did a damn thing for me even when i caught a thief one time. Don’t call the cops and keep your mouth shut about it and don’t tell the neighbors or local workers. After two years or less someone will mention your theft and you will be onto a major clue as to who the thief is; should they be connected to you some how and not just a random theft. Worked for me.
Have any of you thought about a large safe bolted to the floor with BIG BOLTS or workmen type job boxes that can be locked up and bolted to the floor or a flashing light on the roof etc that lights up when the alarm goes off. Don’t use a old safe of the type that has the big brass dial on it. They stop a trained thief for only about 15 minutes. Been there done that, although an old safe like that with nothing in it will keep them busy for awhile if they are accomplished thief and create talk in the area if kids are the culprit(remember mums the word).
Another thing that can be done is rig up something as to where when they mess with it they get permanent dye on them.There is a permanent dye here in the States that cattlemen use. The bull wears the dye marker on his neck and when he mounts the cow it leaves a purple mark on the cow.I used this method once when a person kept opening a window and reaching over to unlock a door.He couldn’t see it but when he reached around for the door knob he grabbed hold of a dye soaked rag!After doing this and being robbed then you would want to ask around if anyone has seen a person with purple hands. When you want to get mean about it you can string a line with fishing hooks on it. Think outside the box etc.maravilla,
Sorry to hear about the criminal activity upon yourself and your home. We just bought property in Guancaste, my wife and I have been back-and-forth about the bars and metal sliders for eight of our sliding glass doors. Even though we live in a gated community with 24/7 armed guard, we decided to get the bars. Our next project will be a hard-wired home alarm system. We will be bringing our dog and plan on acquiring another once in CR, for companionship and security. Your idea for a sign, is really not such a bad idea, in my opinion, with the right verbage. For example, I had a couple of signs made for my townhouse here in Philadelphia, which read ” Welcome to the home of the Colt .45s and the combat crazed veteran homeowner.” I do not know if my sign worked or not, however, after twenty years of living in Philadelphia, our home has not been broken into. I am attempting to minamize the potential for a home invasion as much as possible, both here in the U.S. and in CR. Even paradise has its flaws!A buddy of mine posted thhis on his property and the law told him to take it down.
NO TRESPASSING!
SURVIVORS PERSUCUTED!i never put up the sign but we have told our tico neighbors, in confidence of course (wink, wink), that we are all armed. . . and crazy, so if anyone wants to risk dealing with us, oh well, they do so at their peril. my cattle dog is a great watchdog, because he is naturally suspicious and doesn’t like anyone coming too close to me. with a jaw grip the same as a pit bull, a ladrone would have to be out of his mind to mess with Blue who could bite an ankle in half!!! one of my neighbors had bars installed after my robbery, but no sooner were the bars in than someone had tried to saw through them, so the bars are only a deterrent; they won’t keep someone out, as i illustrated when my friend’s mother was robbed in Baja — they sawed through the bars, then pulled them off with a winch, et voila, bye bye lots of tv’s, computers, etc. my theory is that the more you secure a place, the more the thieves think you have something worth stealing.
one of my neighbors had bars installed after my robbery, but no sooner were the bars in than someone had tried to saw through them, so the bars are only a deterrent; they won’t keep someone out.
Kept those bad boys out that day didn’t they?
You will win more than you lose if you are proactive and don’t lay down for them.
“my theory is that the more you secure a place, the more the thieves think you have something worth stealing.”
You are a foreigner and will always be considered to be a target when a thief notices you.
I am truly very sorry that people here have had items stolen and hope that you are able to become comfortable again in your home.
My vacation home in Costa Rica is on a mountain about 90 minutes from San Jose… You can see it at [ https://www.welovecostarica.com/members/department70.cfm ]
We leave it alone, unguarded all week.
There are no bars on any of our windows.
We don’t even have a gate at the entrance of our driveway although I must admit we’re about to install one…
There is no guard dog.
Our nearest neighbour is about 1 kilometer away.
All week long there is a glass dining room table and two chairs on one end of the verandah with a couch and two chairs on the other end…
They have been sitting on the verandah since we finished the home in July and nobody has stolen anything.
I guess it just depends on the area.
[img]https://www.welovecostarica.com/members/images/CasaFull.jpg[/img]
I used to deal at a motorcycle dealership which had this sign prominently displayed:
“These premises are guarded four nights a week by a recently released mental patient carrying a shotgun with a hair trigger. You get to guess which nights.”
[quote=”Versatile”]
“my theory is that the more you secure a place, the more the thieves think you have something worth stealing.”[/quote]We live in a Tico neighborhood and consider our neighbors our friends. We have no porton, no fence, no window bars and no steel doors. We have not been robbed in the year and a half we have lived here.
I don’t live in CR yet but have friends that have been burglarized. Kind of a keystone cops story. Burglars hit 4 houses close together. Cut the wires to the alarm except for the last house. Had lots of stuff piled up in between the houses ready to move when the alarm went off. Caretaker down the hill called police then ran out and shot his friend’s father’s antique rifle into the air.Lucky it didn’t explode. Thieves took off.
Somehow cops got there in time to catch 2 of the thieves coming down the hill in their car. They arrested them and left the car sitting in the road full of “stuff”.
While they were taking them to jail more thieves apparently showed up and drove the car and goodies away. (Cops left the key in it).
Anyway when I have my house in CR I think I will have a dog. I love dogs. Years ago I lived in San Antonio, TX and we had a bunch of burglaries. Cops told us best defense was to have a dog. Little dog, big dog doesn’t matter. Just one that barks. Most burglars are afraid of dogs, don’t like the attention the barking brings and will pick another target.
Don’t know if it would work in CR but might help, doesn’t cost much and you get a buddy to boot.
Rich
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