Woman Takes Petty Revenge To Teach Entitled Trespasser A Lesson When Nothing Else Works

Even if someone’s property is completely empty, it doesn’t mean that others are welcome to use it as they please—and that includes treating it like a road.

But this Redditor learned that entitled people don’t really care about shoulds and shouldn'ts. When she and her partner would spend time on a piece of land they own, they’d see tire marks all over it.

So eventually, they decided to get back at the annoying driver. Continue scrolling to read the story, and don’t miss the chat we had with the woman behind it!

Image source: House-Plant_

Some people feel that entering someone else’s property without permission is no big deal. “I’ll just walk here real quick,” they think to themselves, as they stomp over someone’s newly sown lawn; or “This way will be faster,” they say to their passenger as they tattoo the pattern of their 4x4 Jeep’s tires onto the ground.

Such situations might seem like no big deal to some, but when you’re the one who has to constantly fix the damage, no matter how big or small, it can get really annoying, really fast. Looking at statistics on property crime victimizations, it appears that many landowners have had to deal with such damage. For instance, back in 2019, there were close to 2.18 million burglary or trespassing cases, arguably leaving a similar—if not larger—number of property owners quite annoyed.

In a recent interview with Bored Panda, the OP shared that it’s the absolute lack of respect for their property that has frustrated the couple the most.

“There is no easement through our property,” she said. “The person responsible is saving themselves approximately 20 seconds of extra driving to not go through our property but instead they clearly have a level of entitlement that somehow makes them think they have the right to enter private property without permission.”

The redditor said she visits the property every couple of weeks and finds new tracks each time. She also mentioned having an idea of who might be the mystery driver leaving said tracks, but the couple hasn’t been able to prove it yet. “We have an idea of who it is that is driving through the property; well, more so have an idea of their specific street, but without actual proof, we have nothing to stand on, unfortunately.”

To deter people from wandering the territories they’re not supposed to, the act of criminal trespassing—entering someone else’s property and staying there without permission or a right to do so—often results in penalties or fines. Though most trespassing cases are categorized as misdemeanors, according to LawInfo, such transgressions can reportedly result in fines, jail time, community service, or probation.

Even though trespassing can put the wanderer in quite a pickle, some liability reportedly falls on the property owner as well. FindLaw noted that landowners can be liable for certain injuries the trespassers suffer if they willfully injure them or should have known about the presence of frequent trespassers and kept the unsafe condition.

That means that even if you’re on your own property, you might get in trouble, depending on how “welcoming” an environment you have created for the intruders. Just to give you an example, according to that source, if a homeowner sets up a booby trap with a tripwire and the trespasser actually trips it and suffers significant injuries, the landowner might end up being responsible for them.

For those seeking to avoid such situations and such liability, there are things they can do to try to deter people from setting foot on their property. First and foremost, there’s the good old ‘No Trespassing’ sign, which should be put up in such a visible place that it becomes impossible to prove that one simply “didn’t notice it.” Then there are cameras that can not only catch the perpetrator red-handed but also make them think twice about trespassing after they see the mounted cameras. (However, you might want to delve deeper into your country’s or city’s laws regarding videotaping and filming first, just in case.)

The OP shared that setting up video cameras, which a few redditors suggested doing, too, was in their action plan as well, so it looks like it’s just a matter of time now. “We’re planning on installing trail cameras while we go out there this weekend, plus reinforcing the fencing, again. And adding some extra signage to get the point across.”