This Man Set Up A Camera To Catch His Backyard Thief, And He Couldn’t Get Over The Wild Footage

Hard-working gardener Jeff Permar was understandably miffed when he noticed his crops coming up short in 2019. It turns out that a cunning thief had been snaffling his tasty greens from under his nose, even after he beefed up security. So the agriculturist set up a hidden camera. And when Permar saw the culprit, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

Swiping the food supply

Permar lives on land in Middletown, Delaware, with his family of five. He grows greens to provide for them, so you can imagine how angry he became when his crops started vanishing. Someone or something was stealing them; the question is, what could he do about it?

He tried to stop it

At first Permar tried to deter the vegetable thief. But no matter what he did, the guilty party proved super-determined. It wasn’t just about the produce, though; as an enthusiastic horticulturist, the veggie patch was Permar’s personal project. He told The Dodo about his feelings on the issue in 2019.

Determined to catch it on camera

The father of three said, “At first, I was very upset. I have always been an avid gardener and dealt with tons of issues, but this was a first for us.” That’s when he decided that the best way to identify the crop criminal was to catch them in the act. And so he set up a camera to do just that. But would it work?

The growing gardening craze

Damaged plants are likely a growing problem in the modern world. That’s because the gardening market has experienced a huge boom since the pandemic kicked off in 2020. Apparently lockdown drove people to their gardens for something healthy to do. Plus fears over food shortages have encouraged some folks to grow their own produce.