How to Keep From Getting Busted Growing

[idea]

i have a very basic idea that is almost too basic to mention but i saw it first hand recently at a hydro store somewhere on the east coast.

if you are getting into growing with two of your 20ish year old friends, do not go to a hydro store smelling like a pink floyd concert. seriously, don't smoke up and go shopping for growing stuff because it is obvious as hell what you are doing and i doubt you have the stones to not get rattled and tell a cop to talk to your attorney if he stops you outside the shop.

otoh, if you do stupid shit like that you just make it easier for people like me to operate in the shadows because you will be the low hanging fruit the pigs go after first. so it's not all bad.

so again, if let's say you and two of your obviously college friends visit an east coast shop in a silver and black mini-cooper s (for instance) with out of state plates on a rainy afternoon within the last month then reconsider your technique. and while i am at it do not spend a lot of time in the shop trying to figure out which nutes to buy because that just increases your exposure. do all the research at home before you go.

i almost left a note on your windshield to read icmag and other good sites for hints but it would have been unnecessary exposure. some of us try not to take stupid and unnecessary risks.

\/sorry

 

[lysol]

otoh, if you do stupid shit like that ...

if let's say you and two of your obviously college friends ..
i almost left a note on your windshield ....

i just reread the entire thread wondering who the hell is this otoh guy, then i realize you meant "on the other hand"

 

[lexxx]

i just reread the entire thread wondering who the hell is this otoh guy, then i realize you meant "on the other hand"

Haha! I thought it was some kind of haze or kush or maybe some eskimo bud.... lol

BTW, one of the things I have picked up from this thread is to use a web proxy. They're free and very discrete and I use them every time I do any thing on the net that I don't leave an easy trail to follow. Also, clear your history if you are worried about detection.

 

[FunkyFarmer]

Great thread!

What I learned when painting grafitti was to dress as low key as possible. Pigs tend to notice guys in baggy clothes with big rucksacks near train yards, just as if you look like 'Lebowsky the dude' consider putting on a blazer jacket and some leather shoes on everytime you come and go to your grow house.

Also, keep to yourself but don't neglect showing your neighbours that you're laso that 'normal' guy who mows the lawn, paints the fence etc.

Btw. what do you do to avoid having landlords come and inspect the house? And how do you avoid having that humongous electricity bill sent to the landlord instead of you?

If you keep a grow journal, spreadsheets and so on it can well turn into a 7inch nail in your coffin, so keep your notes anonomously online using google docs with a bogus gmail account you only ever log into through a proxy/VPN/Tor etc. Just as you would when visiting grow forums, online hydroshops etc.

 

[lysol]

Btw. what do you do to avoid having landlords come and inspect the house? And how do you avoid having that humongous electricity bill sent to the landlord instead of you?

Call utility company and transfer electric to your name. If landlord asks to schedule an appointment tell him to mind his own business or hes finding a new tenant (If hes gonna ask to come in and you say no you should consider tearing down regardless, even if he lets it slide he will get more suspicious and its not worth growing there... ) In large rental complexes I have had them continually ask me for a key and I would just say oh sure I'll bring it down next week ( just keep procrastinating and they just forgot ), it just depends on the situation, feel it out

 

[qbert]

i almost left a note on your windshield to read icmag and other good sites for hints but it would have been unnecessary exposure. some of us try not to take stupid and unnecessary risks.

\/sorry

lolz...

 

[flat5th]

Loving this thread. It's makin me paranoid. but that's probably good.

Anyways. How about some "worse comes to worse" scenarios.

What if someone needs to tear down quickly...what are some good techniques?

Is it safe to rent a storage locker and stash all your equipment (not plants) until a new safe location is found?

How do you get all your shit out in a hurry? neighbors are bound to see the hustle and bustle of moving strange equipment out of the house.

Trashing all the plants is key, i'm sure...but is there a safe way to save a mom or a few clones? I suppose a pack of seeds is the easiest backup plan...

Let's say you can never grow again. What do you do with the shed full of hydro gear? trash it? craigslist?

Let's say you gotta tear down. Is it enough to remove every bit of plant matter and just get caught with equipment? is a pile of dormant gear bad news?

I think i need to take a year off...i'm feeling stress and growing under stress is nooo gooooood.

thanks for the advice
Fifth.

 

[Lazyman]

Here's some ideas for you, I've used most of these at some point in the past:

If you need long-term hiding, rent a storage unit nearby, that is open late.
GO rent a Uhaul
Fill Uhaul with gear
Stuff storage unit with it
Return Uhaul

If just an overnight, just leave gear in Uhaul

If you need to hide it for a week, or often, buy an enclosed cargo trailer and hide it in there.

You can save moms and clones in boxes, throw in a cheap LED flashlight and they won't get their cycle fucked up.

If you have to ditch your gear entirely, yeah Craigslist, but best to sell it from the storage unit or meet them in a parking lot somewhere..

Yes, a bunch of clean grow gear is better than getting caught with ANY plant matter, pretty much anywhere.

A lot of this can be dealt with in the design phase.

For instance, all of my trays stack, and stack inside my reservoirs. Just have to remove the fittings.
Nothing is screwed tightly to the walls, so I can just lift most things off.
I put in a bunch of shelving units to hold boxes and such, anything small enough to go in a box does. ACs go on shelf. in the bed
Anything too large for a box (trays, CAN150s) goes in my truck, and covered with a tarp. Gear never leaves my garage.

Hide what you can, I have a bunch of big theater props in my garage that I can hide things in, behind, and under. Tell them they're for your haunted house.

Camouflage, my big E&F tables get covered with plywood and junk piled on top of them, look like they live that way.

Hope that helps!

 

[j6p]

This was archived on another site ...

1) Significant others - Got a girlfriend/friend/roommate/sibling/etc. living with you? Don't grow. Drama gets people busted all the time.

2) "Business" Partners - Sounds like a good idea at first, splitting costs, care taking, etc, it isn't. If your business partner goes down, so will you. You are effectively doubling your odds of getting caught.

3) Odor - Pot smells, and alot of pot smells.. alot. Deal with it, be prepared to pay dearly for it. One of the most expensive aspects of a proper grow room/area is neutralization and ventilation.

4) Intoxication - Don't get wasted at your grow spot, don't allow others to get wasted at your grow spot.

5) Appropriate grow spot - Don't grow in an apartment. Period. I know, I know, all kinds of people get away with. They won't get away with it forever, it's risky, don't do it. Don't grow near schools, churches, police stations, etc. If your carbon filters or vent system breaks down you'll want a good 200 foot buffer zone between your grow op and the homes/businesses of people who may or may not be sympathetic to the cause.

6) Appropriate power consumption - 1000 watts per bedroom in your house, anything more and you risk unwanted attention.

7) Drug sales - Don't do them from your grow op.

8)Faulty wiring - Don't cut corners, if your op catches fire you'll probably get busted. Buy a book, take a class, whatever it takes to learn how to keep your shit safe.

9) Follow the law to the letter - If you're growing copious amounts of ganja, the last thing you need is a cop banging on your door because of a bounced check, expired vehicle tags, unpaid tickets etc.

10) Light leaks - You should be able to completely close off your grow area and have no light shining through cracks, windows, etc.

11) Listen to your instincts - If you feel like you're being watched, or you get the slightest hint shit is about to go down, ditch your plants (install a disposal in your sink just for this purpose). It sounds pretty extreme, but look at it this way, if you're wrong you've lost a couple months of your time and effort. If you're right, you just saved yourself from years in prison, those are years that you can never get back. A couple of months of grow time pales in comparison to years of jail time.

12) Keep to yourself - Don't brag, don't show off, even after you've harvested, just play dumb about your source. It's in your best interest to keep it a secret.

13) Pay cash for supplies, don't get alot of them at one time, don't order them to be delivered to your grow op. Personally I avoid hydro stores, it's up to you if you trust the proprietors or not.

 

[greasehorse]

One person I used to know back in the day always had an imaginary person he was buying from but never let anyone meet. This "guy" only sold to him and didn't want to meet anyone ever. He would even call his "connection" to see if he had any to sell. sometimes the "guy" was out but might have some more in a day or two.

Oh yeah, if you are a nudist, keep the blinds closed when you are walking around naked in the house. And never go outside naked. Nothing says call the man quicker than a naked old man walking around in front of windows or in the yard. Although this is funny, I have known some people that do this. Even if it is legal, it is not a good idea. And don't do it in front of the kids either. The schools ask them stuff and try to get private info from them. They are encouraged to narc on their family. Best tell them to watch what they say to teachers and whatnot. Schools can = narcs...

 

[Nigel]

cut time

cut time

Awesome thread.....

I know it was mentioned a couple times briefly but I can not emphasize enough on the xtra odor from the harvest...

You can keep your odor under control throughout the entire grow, but when it's harvest time and your trimming giant branches on your lap in the basement and you go walking up stairs in the kitchen or outside for a smoke or whatever. You will stink up the rest of your house and whatever else you touch or even go near in a heart beat.

That shit is all over your hands and clothes.. having someone come by, or just catch a whiff during harvest time is how many get exposed.

 

[SpacedCWBY]

If you use your computer to log your grow, techniques, pics, etc. Set up an extra user and password protect it and use it exclusively for your grow. Also set it up to sleep in like 10 or 15 minutes and require a password on wake. I am fairly computer literate but maybe we can get a network guru to come give us some better guidance and security ideas.

Wouldn't be of much use to you, any computer forensic guy has the same disk that I've got and I can reset any windows password in about 60 seconds. Used to be in IT - I've read their books. Linux might be a bit more secure if you're looking to tie down your PC. It's free too!

 

[Dr.Dank]

don't keep all your eggs in one basket

 

[The WeedChucks]

don't keep all your eggs in one basket

Or your seeds in one pot....

 

[Shiherlis]

11) Listen to your instincts - If you feel like you're being watched, or you get the slightest hint shit is about to go down, ditch your plants

What if you grew a couple of legal plants with your weed, and when the cops knocked you quickly disposed of your weed, then let the cops in to look at your orchids of basil or whatever. If they didn't have dogs, and they gave you a minute before breaking down the door, then I don't see why you couldn't get away with this.

 

[Bodhi Roach]

If you just finished trimming and you let everything fall to the floor don't go walking thru your house. your tracking resin and smell everyware.

nice one,
I usually keep a seperate set of clothes with long sleeves, like a nike nylon zippered wind breaker track suit and shoes for the working area. Change before starting work, finish work, wash hands and facechange back to street clothes or house clothes.
if you just finished a chop, better to take a shower and wash the work clothes asap, seperate from everything else.
Oh, heres a big one that hasn’t been mentioned, but i havent finished the thread yet so forgive me if its a double.
If you can do the chop all on your own, JUST DO IT!!!
buy a portable dvd player or use a laptop and rent a shitload of dvd's
listen to some self improvement brainwashing cd's
make sure to keep negative air pressure by using your carbon filter. bag up all the trim and freeze it for your hash or get it bagged ready to be safely dumped after you have showered.
after you have showered, go outside around your house to make sure no strong smells have escaped though electrical sockets or cracks in the walls or floors.
having ppl over to your show, to help you trim is prolly one of the top 3 reasons nice ppl get busted or robbed. being a moron is obviously number 1. so plan to do it all yourself, bein safe has higher priority than convenience.
security/surveillance, someone mentioned already, dont have a adt/brinks alarm that calls the police or fire dept.
Ive got a setup that notifies me by text message/email if someone or something is in my yard, breaking in to my house, messing with my vehicle, fire in the house, too much co2 or monoxide, leak on the floor, im trying to get one that will tell me the temps if it goes over 90
be safe ppl, happy new years

 

[j6p]

What if you grew a couple of legal plants with your weed, and when the cops knocked you quickly disposed of your weed, then let the cops in to look at your orchids of basil or whatever. If they didn't have dogs, and they gave you a minute before breaking down the door, then I don't see why you couldn't get away with this.

My advice: If the cops knock, do not answer the door! If they have a warrant, they are coming in. If they don't have a warrant, and you open up for a "knock & talk", they will use every intimidation tactic to scare the hell out of you and wear you down until they gain entry.

If they find a few seeds and stems and lights, there's possession with intent to cultivate, depending on the state. Destruction of evidence. Whatever they can tack on. Then they can write any story they want on the arrest report.

Just don't answer the door. Dispose of the plants if you can. If they do come in with a warrant, by all means, exercise your right to remain silent.

 

[j6p]

Automatic Fire Suppression

Automatic Fire Suppression

fire in the house, too much co2 or monoxide, leak on the floor, im trying to get one that will tell me the temps if it goes over 90

The Aero-K aerosol devices look like a good investment. Installation is easy, and the devices are very compact. They will auto activate if surrounding temperatures reach high levels (preset options are 158F, 203F, and 254F) with no electrical power needed. They can also be wired into existing fire detection systems. Shelf life is 15 years. Some aerosol specs from the site are below.

Fire Extinguishing Concentration of Aerosol*
Includes 20% safety factor
Class A Surface Fires: 90g/m3
Class B Flammable Liquids: 50g/m3
Class C Electrical: 70g/m3

 

[quest]

#276. Do not post pictures of 1000 plants growing in your spot

#277 If busted growing thousands of plants, do not come back on here and leave bread crumbs leading to your "I grow and sell tons of weed" thread.

 

[Deaner]

nice one,
Ive got a setup that notifies me by text message/email if someone or something is in my yard, breaking in to my house, messing with my vehicle, fire in the house, too much co2 or monoxide, leak on the floor, im trying to get one that will tell me the temps if it goes over 90
be safe ppl, happy new years

What is this system called? Does it require a landline?