PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — As more people legally grow marijuana, thieves are coming along to steal the fruits of their labor.

Croptober, as it’s called, is the harvest season for pot. Thieves, known as rippers, are now targeting ready-to-harvest weed in different neighborhoods, like Brentwood-Darlington.

Grant Williams, a neighborhood watch captain in Brentwood-Darlington in Portland, September 20, 2018 (KOIN)

The rippers either pull the plants out by the roots or use a machete to hack off the stalks and steal the buds.

“If you have a machete and 2 minutes you can easily take out a ganja plant,” said Grant Williams, a neighborhood watch captain in Brentwood-Darlington

He said reports of Croptober thefts are on the rise in his neighborhood — one person already had 4 plants stolen — and he wants other growers to be aware of the issue.

“The people that steal are stealing maybe not to make money off it, like they used to back in the day, but to have really nice weed for themselves off of somebody’s working expense,” Williams said.

Rippers can also impact those who are commercially growing pot.

Joe Dunne, the owner of Zion Cannabis in Southwest Portland, March 3, 2017 (KOIN)

The manager of Zion Cannabis, Joe Dunne, said securing farm property in rural areas is difficult.

“It’s sparse and fairly easy to commit a quick crime and disappear into the ether,” Williams said.

Securing these spots involves cameras, motion censors, alarms and expense gear that can put smaller farmers at a disadvantage.

That makes Croptober thefts also an issue for the larger growers.

Williams said those that grow weed should always consider motion sensor lights.

“That tends to deter people from sneaking into, especially, backyard grows,” he said.

Plants should also be blocked from street view to prevent being targeted during Croptober.

“That’s really the most crucial thing you can do,” he said. “High fences, some type of a drop cloth or subterfuge.”

And, he said, report any theft of your pot to police.

First-hand experience

A Woodstock man that wanted to remain anonymous told KOIN 6 News he’s been the victim of two thefts over the past few years. He said he grew a large plant in the summer of 2014 that was stolen in September, before it had ripened. He said the thieves also left two ladders behind. Below are 2014 pictures of the plant before and after it was stolen.

A legal marijuana grow in Woodstock before and after a Croptober theft in 2014 (Courtesy to KOIN)

Over the next few years he grew smaller plants and installed motion sensor alarms. He said in 2017 the thieves were very active in trying to get his crop, but the alarms worked.

“I knew it was only going to be out there for another two weeks to finish ripening. My alarms literally went off every single night and I would run outside from being dead asleep, but I think my preventative measures made it so no one was able to get her.”

This week another plant was stolen.

“This spring I decided to go just a little bigger than last year, nowhere near the size of 2014, you couldn’t see my plant from over the fence this year like you could back then,” he said. “I watered my plant on Tuesday this week and thought to myself that I didn’t need to set up my alarms yet, because it was so early in the season that she was completely underipe, and I hadn’t even rebuilt her enclosure yet. October equals Croptober, not Croptember, so I was pretty shocked that on that very night after I’d watered her, someone snatched her. She was easily 3 to 4 weeks away from being ready to harvest!”