Egg vandalism: Not so victimless

| Crime | Seaview | West Seattle news

Bernie posted this over the weekend as a new comment on an old report, so we’re reposting here:

This is a week after the events. Last Friday Feb 29 and Saturday March 1 our house was egged. After Saturday evening that makes the 5th time in just over 4 weeks of being egged. We live in the Seaview neighborhood. I have a cedar sided house and I can say at this point we are not able to undo the damage. Our back door is destroyed. Is there any easier way to remove it without taking the paint and the wood?

Most events have happened while there were 3 day weekends and an occasional 2 day weekend. We are not the occasional hit but rather this target of a bitter person or someone playing a ‘joke.’ I realize that having two boys 11 and 15 makes us even more of a target. We have had several ‘come to Jesus’ sessions about this and no clues as to who. What I find absolutely frustrating is that every kid in the ‘hood’ is accounted for at the time of the event.

I called the police to report the event. They are not much interested in reporting eggings but I think we’re beyond the one in a blue moon event. They suggest just leaving all the yard lights on. The other thing that has happened along with this is someone has opened our gate and walked through the yard at 3:00 – 4:00 a.m. The only clue I have to this is that the gate opens and then closes (We have wind chimes attached the yard gate and we can hear the latch) – then when jumping up from bed we find the yard motion lights all on.

I am happy to share any other info that I may have discounted with anyone who has other info or similar events happening to them.

miws March 9, 2008 (11:18 pm)

Well, if the police aren’t inerested in pursuing this, maybe the thing to do is omce these culprits are are found, present their mommy and daddy with a nice lawsuit.

Mike

JanS March 9, 2008 (11:19 pm)

wow…wonder if you could get someone to provide a camera for you somehow to record the goings-on of the gate at night. So sorry to hear this…it totally sucks…

hiss March 9, 2008 (11:40 pm)

I would suggest that you take a personal day from work next 3 day weekend and stand guard.

And… sorry, but maybe REALLY question the kids to who they may have not liking them? We were TP’ed when I was a kid (willow trees are not fun to un-tp, let me tell you) because my brother was, well, a smartass to some cruddy bullying kids at that same age.

I’m a homeowner who’s budget doesn’t allow right now for having to scrape and repaing siding, so I think a night’s survilience and a missed day of work is worth it.

mikev2 March 9, 2008 (11:43 pm)

Try some fake cameras? I doubt a real camera will do you much good. Maybe borrow someone’s dog.

Christopher Boffoli March 10, 2008 (12:59 am)

Bernie: Without seeing the damage I’d guess that since the eggs are protein-based you might try a diluted solution of a good laundry detergent and a soft-bristled brush. For persistent spots you might try (solid) stain remover sticks. Wet everything down pretty good with a hose first. And test it on an inconspicuous spot before you proceed. Good luck.

GenHillOne March 10, 2008 (6:00 am)

Sorry, Bernie. If you haven’t already, I would also give this information to your school/s. That way, if something comes up there, you’ll have it flagged for the administrators. A minor incident (nothing to call home about, but enough to spur some stupid behavior) may have already occurred and the school might be able to put two and two together and identify the culprit.

Ken March 10, 2008 (7:25 am)

Google for amazon and
TRENDnet TV-IP100W Wireless Internet Camera Server

(the url is too long)

If you already have a wireless network this is easy to set up and can be used through a window.

Mary Ellen March 10, 2008 (9:42 am)

Hey Birnie –
We’re going through the same thing in the Seaview n’hood. Our first egg encounter was back in Novemeber. We’ve been hit 3-4 more times over the past 2 months – cars and house. We started to think it was personal, too. But can come up w/ no reason why this would be (We don’t have any kids & can’t think of any vengeful enemies.) Our latest thinking is that our house/cars are easy targets as we are on a corner.

We have not had much luck w/ the stains. One car is permanently stained (we didn’t find the eggs soon enough and the sun came out). The house has darkened spots in the paint. Perhaps we’ll try the suggestions mentioned above.

We’ve been hoping that the culprits will get bored…but it doesn’t seem to be letting up. We can’t correlate all of the eggings to vacations & long weekends. There have been mid-week eggings as well.

It might help to get out and talk to more neighbors w/in a few blocks to see if they’re having similar problems.

flowerpetal March 10, 2008 (10:15 am)

Not sure if this will work but its inexpensive and worth a try. As Christopher smartly pointed out… eggs being protein; I have a way of breaking down “protein based” stains on fabric. Meat tenderizer. Make a paste of it with a little water and work it into the egged area,perhaps with a brush, rotating the brush in the stained area. Let it sit briefly and hose it off. This works with stains on fabric from eggs, blood… Ewwww, I think I’m grossing myself out. But still worth a try!

Gigi March 10, 2008 (12:03 pm)

When I had my problem with raccoons, I found a webcam that was motion sensitive. It requires a lot of light to get clear images, but I was pleased with the results. It even would make a clicking noise when activated, when alerted me to the motion as it unfolded.
I believe the webcam was a LabTech from QuidNunc for around $30.

yumpears March 10, 2008 (12:26 pm)

Where is the Seaview area?

JanS March 10, 2008 (12:33 pm)

yumpears…area around 47th/48th/Graham, etc…

Keith March 10, 2008 (1:01 pm)

5 times in 4 weeks! Perhaps a WANTED poster in your neighborhood dairy case is in order…

Bernicki March 10, 2008 (3:19 pm)

What about motion-sensitive sprinklers?

k March 10, 2008 (3:32 pm)

I like the sprinkler idea–
our neighbors had one to keep the herons out of their fish-stocked pond and my three year old wandered over to look at the fish and was hit–
it was a deterrent (sp?)– she didn’t go by the pond again (the couple got a kick out of it too).
Maybe you could attach it to vinegar???

Michael March 10, 2008 (3:35 pm)

Nobody gets attacked in a repeated manner for no reason whatsoever. Keep thinking, and I hope it comes to you. Let your kids know that (fun activity) is canceled because you need the money for cleaning. Think about what you may have done in your car, at the store, etc.

You may think it’s random, but it’s obviously not.

R March 10, 2008 (3:49 pm)

I remember seeing a kit at costco (video recording system). Might be worth it.

J March 10, 2008 (9:19 pm)

I too live in the Seaview neighborhood and was the target of a random egging last week. I’m positive that it was not some unknown enemy because it seems to be happening quite a bit in the neighborhood. Mine happened on a Wednesday night and I think my car was targeted because it is white (now with a yellow stain). It caught several eggs and looked like I ran over the easter bunny. I didnt notice anyone else on my block catching any eggs that night. So don’t get paranoid if this happens to you! It’s happnening to lots of people.

RS March 10, 2008 (9:22 pm)

Sorry this happened to you. But, just curious, what is a “come to jesus” session?

Indaknow March 10, 2008 (9:32 pm)

I don’t think it’s fair to assume that this family did anything to deserve this. Some people do mean things just because they feel they can get away with it. A pair of sisters terrorized the other students on my school bus when I was in middle school because the driver let them get away with it (they were very pretty, at least on the outside). They were the cruelest to the boys who had dared let people know that they thought the sisters were cute!

pointcounterpoint March 11, 2008 (11:53 am)

Do you have a neighborhood association? If so, do you have a list of your neighbors’ email addresses?

If not, it might be a good idea to start a “Neighborhood Watch”.

You could go door to door and introduce yourself, state the problem, and ask if folks would be interested in a system that would notify folks of any crime going on in the neighborhood.

We have had multiple break-ins in our neighborhood lately, and our list promptly notifies folks of what has happened, and allows them to look out for themselves and for each other. Any suspicious activity is reported to police. And often-occurring, seemingly random incidents come to light this way.

It takes a little work to set up, but it pays off.

Sorry, comment time is over.