Trees. That's a new one on me.

Landscaping plant on the other hand are frequently lifted. I was finishing up a new home some time ago and rolled up one morning and noticed that most of the landscaping that had been installed the prior day were gone. Nothing but holes and a new set of tire tracks.

The builder called the cops who asked around and took pictures of the carnage. A neighbor said that at around 3AM he heard a heavy vehicle. He looked out and saw a pick-up truck driving through the grass around the house being built. As the truck drove around a couple of guys on the ground were pulling up the plants and tossing them into the back of the truck. Inside of a minute they had completed the circuit around the house and everyone jumped in and the truck took off at a high rate of speed.

Landscaping plants go for around $20 a pop for even mid-sized ones. Small trees go for much more. Three guys working all of three minutes could score better than $1000 retail and turn around and sell them on the hot landscaping market of the time for half that. Netting the crew a quick $500.

For a time, when the economy was tight, wood dealers were paying top dollar for hickory. A crew would show up in the middle of the night. Chainsaw the hickory down, landing it in the back of a flatbed with the help of the hydraulic arm, and be gone before the homeowners were awake enough to react. A good sized hickory could net a rogue crew a quick $25,000.

When aluminum was high people would keep track of who had aluminum installed. Quite a few families came home from a vacation to find their house missing its aluminum cladding.

Things get tight, or people start jonesing for their drug of choice, and people start looking for angles and opportunities.