Trespassing Bastards

[GoOnThen]

I’m at work and my wife has rung me to inform me that my Catha edulis ( Khat) tree has to be cut down and removed this week end.

We have just had a couple of men try and get into our back yard they couldn’t open our gate so they went though our elderly neighbors gate to get to the tree from their side of the fence.

They were seen by my neighbors and sent on their way.

This is the fourth time we have had trespassing bastards on our property chasing this tree. We cut it down to ground level 3 years ago after the last wanker scared the shit out of my wife when she saw him in our back yard.

I was going to keep it as a hedge below fence level which I had neglected to do

I have been waiting for it to set seed then it was getting trimmed so now thanks to theis pricks there will be no seed and I will lose a plant that has a special place in my heart.

If any of you that are reading this have ever thought about entering or have entered someone’s property to take a cutting of a plant please think about the position it puts the resident of that property in. Just because it is a plant it is still stealing and worst of all you are leaving some one feeling vulnerable on their own property.

It is bad enough that people steal from our homes and yards but these people usually won’t come back again.

The pricks that strip the leaves and new shoots of khat don’t seem to give a shit they just come back again and again until the plant is removed.

There used to be large numbers of Catha edulis here on privet and public land but if things keep going the way they are soon there will be none.

RIP Catha

[santiago]

its a beauty that tree too, unfortunately thats why they are getting rarer round perth these days....to many unsavoury characters invading front yards and now backyards in your case.

what a shame......if your going to destump it let me know and we'll transplant it somewhere, have not had an invaders yet but i actuallly cut my 6 footer back to 3 foot as i know if it pokes its head over the fence, people will see it and eventually jump the fence...........which is a shame cos i have spent years shaping it into a tree, by that i mean it only has a singular stump with no offshoots.....much like a xmas tree.

is it illegal to transplant a tree into a national park? im sure it is. how cool would it be to have a khat tree in the middle of john forrest national park you just unleash to nature and check on every few years. im sure someone will wrap my knuckles for saying that....protecting natural biodiversity etc but hey if the government build roads smack bang thru the middle of national parks i dont see why planting an out of place tree would be a massive deal.

[bℓσωηG]

how cool would it be to have a khat tree in the middle of john forrest national park you just unleash to nature and check on every few years. im sure someone will wrap my knuckles for saying that....protecting natural biodiversity etc but hey if the government build roads smack bang thru the middle of national parks i dont see why planting an out of place tree would be a massive deal.

do it

[Fenris]

You need a fierce dog that will tear them a new one on your behalf.

Its a terrible feeling to know someone has walked onto your property with the intent to steal your stuff.

I had a plant stolen years ago and felt violated by the incursion.

Slightly off topic but a friend of mine has a khat tree and the property will be flattened to make way for a new house.

Is it worth trying to dig up the tree for transplant? Its been cut back many times and the base would be about as thick as me neck. It probably has a fair root system.

Will an attempted transplant kill it? How big should the rootball be for survival?

[GoOnThen]

It mite be worth trying to dig it out but santiago you saw how big the stump is.

I need to think of a plan of attack and see if we can save it.

At the moment Im just realy pissed that it has come to this.

That Catha is the reason I found this great forum. When the first pricks came and stripped branches of it I didnt know what it was so I searched the net and found this place and I havent stopped reading and learning ever since.

Cheers

Got

[santiago]

i tell you what is weird.........putting catha edulis topics into google search and finding your own previous posts 7th down the list. i clicked on it and goddam it was one of my sab posts....haha. no wonder i am coming up to a thousand profile views............some weird dude like me in some loungeroom somewhere typed catha edulis stuff into a search engine and came across some weirdo called santiago....oh well, for the advancement of humanity.

cant see why not the stump relocation transplantation wouldnt work, these plants are as tough as nails........and i certainly would be trying it before mulching it.

how to secure a khat tree, you could maybe cut it back and shadecloth over it.......hopefully the local pimps who jump will get bored and move onto carjacking or something.....so shadeclothing over it will stop newbs from ever id the plant, might need to get some pencil pines along the most visual areas so that the main priority is stopping vision of the tree first...................bam just nail a perimiter around your property with trees and thorny bushes.........im on a corner property and the whole road side is 10 metre high fully interwoven bouganvillia......i know this doesnt happen overnight but man no sucker..........and i mean nobody unless they have a hedgetrimmer or 10 minutes with a machete is gonna penetrate that thorny plant wall.

[Amazonian]

What a piss off. In this case ya feel like installing ,like a high voltage electric fence or something, but as the law goes, if the thief gets hurt on your property, they can sue you. I agree with getting a dog to protect the yard. It doesn't have to be super vicious, even noisy barking can bring unwanted attention to a would be thief . The plant may be gone but ,sorry to say, the thieves may be back to see what else you have.

[mr b.caapi]

I can give you a few cuttings of Khat to replace it GoT , if it means anything. sorry to hear that shit mate.

[holymountain]

That Catha is the reason I found this great forum. When the first pricks came and stripped branches of it I didnt know what it was so I searched the net and found this place and I havent stopped reading and learning ever since.

Pretty ironic that the same bastards that stole it may well have been the same bastards that got you interested in it in the first place. Still, thats a really sad, scary and angering story. 9 times out 10 people will happily give away seed or cuttings of their plants if you knock on the door and ask nicely. if you are shy or they are not home you can even write them a letter. hopefully the pricks have a 12 foot bridgesii fall on them next time they attempt a garden raid.

[poisonshroom]

Get a gun

But seriously what the fuck is wrong with people - thats sad. I like the suggestion with the boganvilias, they are nasty.

Its sad that people need to completely block the view of their nice yards because people cant just buy their own stuff. Anyway i think replanting it (maybe right near the house where you and you gun can see it), is a good idea. And maybe hide it amongst other more innocent looking things.

No one should have to do that though. Good luck keeping those mongrels off your property

Edit - nice looking tree btw. Wish mine were as big and healthy as that one

Edited October 13, 2010 by poisonshroom

[Bush Turkey]

time to get my backhoe out GoT

[bℓσωηG]

That Catha is the reason I found this great forum. When the first pricks came and stripped branches of it I didnt know what it was so I searched the net and found this place and I havent stopped reading and learning ever since.

 

Thats cool!

It is a shame this has happened again, you'd think if they would go to the trouble of jumping a fence on private property at night to strip branches off, that they would take the time to learn about it and source their own plants and how to grow them. A vendor selling them on this side of the country would help.

I was picked up by a taxi from the airport not so long ago . The driver was Somalian and our conversation turned to qat, he nearly stopped the car when I said I grew it , the gleam in his eye ,''where ,where, where?'' he said.

I wrote down some websites for him to look at and told him if he had someone over east that could redirect it for him he could buy a tree online. He had no idea of the name Catha edulis, was just qat to him.

You might have to save its genes by taking loads of cuttings and getting it out there , and find a nice secluded spot for one to get big in. Transplanting large stumps can be a task..

[naja naja]

Hands go up waving, please check ur pm's got!

[santiago]

hmmm trading a khat tree...........i wonder what you would start the bidding at GOT

maturity of tree + general size rarity + labour digging up + relocation

i reckon its a least a $400 tradable worth, as a whole stump dug tree, probably even more.

i know they sell this stuff in markets in the UK and other places too, bunches wrapped in banana leaves and they have a 24 hour window from picked to sellable, probably a big hassle in perth to do that though.

[Torsten]

Planting weeds in national parks is just stupid.

GoOnThen, were the thieves of ethnic somali [or other african] origin? An easy way to deal with them is to plant a narrow leaf strain instead. They won't touch them. Most others won't even recognise them.

A very dense ring of Trich peruvianus planted around the tree might also help ;) [but make sure to have good public liability insurance]

[Bread Filter]

Planting weeds in national parks is just stupid.

GoOnThen, were the thieves of ethnic somali [or other african] origin? An easy way to deal with them is to plant a narrow leaf strain instead. They won't touch them. Most others won't even recognise them.

A very dense ring of Trich peruvianus planted around the tree might also help ;) [but make sure to have good public liability insurance]

 

Why don't they go for the narrow leaf?

[santiago]

Planting weeds in national parks is just stupid.

 

yeh i was hoping to get some feedback on that.......firstly i have never done it, the logistics required to carry the dug up khat tree many kms into deep bushland is probably beyond most people, i suppose you could ute it in somehow but its alot alot of work.

i gather you call it a weed as its not natural to the habitat, i dont think khat in general is a weed.....im not 100% sure what the def of a weed is, something thats not meant to be there.

however what real impact could a lone khat tree in a national park really do, i understand protecting the unique flora species of that are, however in the context of whats already out there like rabbits and camels and feral cats, im not sure about rampant introduced plant species but whats the worst case scenario, im pretty sure half the population in the 70's didnt mind a bit of weed from the national parks

[bℓσωηG]

how about a state forest? would look like a eucalyptus to most.

[GoOnThen]

Hey all thanks for your thoughts and input.

I have settled down a bit now and I’m thinking a bit more rationally.

Digging the stump out is not an option it is right up against a fence but the biggest problem we have is you can never dig a hole where you won’t to on our property because of the amount of rock.

When I hack it back I will have I good look at the stump a see if I can remove some of it to propagate from.

I think that because it has been chopped back to ground level a number of times and all of the growth is suckers I might be in with half a chance

I have propigated cuttings from this Catha before and I will take cuttings when I chop it down so it will live on it just will be a lot smaller

I had thought of the narrow leaf strain as it is not as recognizable as the red.

The thieves where of African origan and they must drive around looking for these trees and red variety is easy to spot especially this time of the year with the new growth.

We have recently put up a new fence which has been planted with Bougainvilleas and by the time they have covered the fence my dog should be big enough to see them off. But then if the Catha has gone they have no reason to come back

Blowng funny you should mention taxi drivers. Yep both of the ones we have caught in our yard have been taxi drivers

I have to take the positives from this and just go and spend some time with my cactus collection because if it wasn’t for these thieving pricks I would never have found this place which sparked my interest in cacti.

Cheers

Got

[Torsten]

I don't know why the somalis don't like the narrow leaf. probably the same reason why I DO like it. to me it isn't just a straight stimulant, but rather a stimulant with an inebriant effect.

trust me, they will be back. And they will tell their mates. we've had nothing but trouble here with the khat trees so we just keep one small red plant and the rest narrow leaf. we've had them rocking up here regularly even though they have to leave empty handed. Once a group came at 5am on a saturday morning and when confronted they said "ahh we were just driving past and thought we'd check if you're open". At 5am!?! Daniel noted down the number plate and gave them 2 minutes to get off the property or he'll call the cops - that's the last we've seen of that group. Mind you he nearly pooped his pants at the sight of 4 huge somali guys while he was just in his undies.

Another somali group once asked me all these questions about our dogs, like whether they are locked up at night and whether my jack russells are the largest dogs we have. They weren't too impressed when I pointed at the 2 rather unfriendly looking maremmas and told them that we let them out at night [luckily the 2 friendly maremmas were AWOL at the time].

Besides the various groups of somalis we've had some south africans and some israelis here and they aren't fussy about which strain. Luckily they are far more polite and restrained and can actually take 'no' for an answer.

[planthelper]

unfortunately i have seen the somalis aswell killing narrowleaved plants.

they will always come back till the tree is killed, sorry to say it that harsh.

i have had very little contact with them, but they are crazy about this plant and will take every risk needed to steal some qat.

once they killed a plant they call it finished, and don't feel bad for having killed it by overharveresting.

your prunning, made the plant even more precious to them, so try to let it grow high again, the more mature growth, the less they are interressted.

if they managed one rip off, they will come back once the plant re shooted, because that is better quality qat.

i would install some motion detectors, maybe some with warning sounds.

people steal from my garden aswell, it makes me sad, i feel for you mate!

[WoodDragon]

I'm another one who likes the electric fence idea, and I think that if the fence is signed as such then it's the tresspasser's problem if they do themselves a mischief. The trouble is that fences can be circumvented, and dogs killed, if the thieves are sufficiently determined...

I had a friend who bred Australian native birds, and he had his aviaries raided. He set up alarms and lights to go off when anyone approached the enclosures, and a hidden wildlife camera to take shots day or night in response to motion. He also put up a sign advising tresspassers that they would be detected, recorded, and reported, and there was no problem after that.

And there's always the left-of-field tactic! I'm not sure if this is a feasible approach, but could you spray bitter apple or Ban-Suk onto most of the foliage, and even put up a sign warning that they have been treated with an indelible adultertant? It's nasty stuff and a little goes a long way, and I doubt that anyone tasting it would come back for seconds, unless they were to return to kill the tree out of spite!

Failing that, move to the bush and don't tell anyone that you have the plant!

[naja naja]

Signs can be very effective, even when such measures are not in place. Even buying mock camera's, etc. They act as a deterant.

[gerbil]

yeah i like the sign and camera idea, either operational or fake, besides that if repeat offenders, first time would be a friendly talk, offering to give them material and info to establish their own gardens for them and their friends and how to spread it round to their community + some how you are not happy about the initial trespass and theft...then second time on repeat offenders would not be so rational...

[incognito]

would also make u look like a dealer? no?

every big time dealer i knew had a camera, real or fake mounted around the place. not long after the instillation they usually got busted.