What To Do About STOPPING DING DONG DITCH
By: Terry Barga | 13. Jan 2009
Do you have a problem with pesky neighborhood kids ringing your doorbell then running, ding dong ditch. First of all, we here at what to do about.com know all about ding dong ditch and can give you all the help you need to stop this problem. Second thing is, you should try it before you knock it, it’s quite exciting.
Ok, it’s evening and you are sitting on the couch watching 24 and you hear somebody at the door, but wait, they are at the front door and nobody usually comes to the front door. It must be those damn neighbor kids! You are not sure so you get up and check it out and much to your dismay you are right. It’s those stupid kids again and that’s the third time this week. So what do you do? Well, let’s run down the list.
1) If you keep a baseball bat behind the door like I do, then you can take care of this problem real quick. Just wait for the next ding dong ditcher and jump out of your seat and let the foot race ensue. Of course you will need to be able to outrun them, but one thing is for sure, they will not expect it. Chase them down the street and then when you get one, pin him to the ground and pretend like you are going to beat them with the bat. Message received, you should never see those kids again.
2) If you have a door bell then what you want to do is take off the button and grind down the plastic coating so the bare metal is showing. Then grab an extension cord, strip it down to the green and black wires, place the green wire on the bottom contact and the black to the top contact making sure they do not touch. Plug it in and wait for the shock of a lifetime. It will not kill them, but the sparks will probably make them mess their pants. Message received.
3) Lastly you can change your doorbell to a grizzly bear growl or a big dog barking then amplify the sound by running it through your surround sound receiver. Hide a sub woofer outside then crank it up. They will come to the door, hit the doorbell, and hear what sounds like a 10ft. tall bear or a really mean pitbull lying on the porch. Message received!
If you have any stories or tips for stopping ding dong ditch, please share! Hope this helps you fend of those evil kids. Good luck and make sure you lace up the running shoes before you head out to beat some sense into the kids.
I wish I had pesky neighborhood kids just so I could try this sound advice. Unfortunately I live in an apartment complex filled with mostly old people and single mothers with young children.
I have never been ding dong ditched. Nobody ever ding dong ditched my parents house either, which is surprising because I grew up in the middle of nowhere. There was shit else to do.
I guess I'll just have to wait till I move again to beat some sense into some kids. *sigh*
haha… sigh
Terry, I like your second suggestion the best. I would totally hook up a live wire and electrocute the little buggers!
Ah, yes it reminds me of my time spent in prison in guam. Only the it wasn't a kid getting shocked and the wires were not hooked to a door bell….
4)you could also do the classic “manniquin”,put fake people outside at dark,turn all lights off and act like nobody is home,and note:im a kid my self thats does this and to tell you the truth:we run to the side of the house.or somewhere we can see you come out the door.trust me it works and freaks kids out almost pissed my pants when it happened to me!GOODLUCK.
That's a pretty good idea actually.
I won't risk electrocuting some punk. Do what I did. Buy a surveillance camera and DVR, available in Security camera stores. Catch them in the act and turn evidence over to police and file criminal complaint. Then watch the parents pee all over themselves. You can get the money spent back from the parents. And you will never hear from the human excrement again.
It is really simple to disable the doorbell, well, if it is within reach. Sometimes my own kids did the 3ds' because they thought it was funny, especially if they had friends, cousins over visiting. Since it is a low voltage device, I would detach the wire or simply stick a small piece of cardboard where the hammer meets the cylinder, you know, to make it go ding dong.
If you chose to go the electric shock therapy route, you may want to post a warning!!
Dang…..that's all I have.
Disable the doorbell? Electrocution is much more fun!
Post a warning? That would ruin the fun of getting back at the ditchers
Disable the doorbell? Electrocution is much more fun!
Post a warning? That would ruin the fun of getting back at the ditchers
the one thing that stopped kids from coming and doing that to us was this simple trick: take a piece of sturdy string (like twine) and measure it across your porch. when it gets just after dark, go outside and tie it tightly across the porch beams, so that it makes a noise when you flick it (that tight). after you've tied the twine, then you can put rocks or other hard objects (no knives or tools unless you want to get your butt sued off by parents) where they would most likely fall. not only will they get a big surprise, but some sores and bruises to go along with it!
great idea…where do you live?
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