Can helicopters spot seedling plants?

M

mydogjustfarted

New Member
Hey guys, have a couple seedlings in tiny pots in my backyard that are a week or two old, and heard a loud plane/helicopter (not sure which, couldn’t see it, nor come out quick enough to see it) sounding like it flew right close to my house, but it only flew across once and didn’t keep coming back. Is it just me being paranoid? My question is: could they have been able to determine them if they are only 2-leaved plants a week or two old, or would they just look like a lot of other plants at that age?
 
Hashishh

Hashishh

Well-Known Member
If you're that paranoid already I'd move them. It's fire season out our way so we're getting a lot of air traffic at the moment.
 
Bigjim34

Bigjim34

Well-Known Member
I agree with hashishh you should move them. If they are a week or so old without the real leaves yet they can’t tell the difference
 
Roger A. Shrubber

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
plants have a heat signature. they don't really show up in flir until they get a couple of feet tall. guys flying by at a couple of hundred feet aren't going to see seedlings in pots, they might not even see the pots. if they're using flir, i'd say you're still safe till they get a good leaf canopy going.
 
Nugs1

Nugs1

Well-Known Member
Plants do not have a heat signature. Thats urban myths and has been debunked many times in the past.
I can tell you exactly how they spot plants from the sky. First off its practice and training. The plant gives of a emerald green look that is mostly different than other plants around. It also has a very distinct growing pattern.
The helicopters are out mostly looking for guerrilla growers, that means out in the woods normally near a source of water and recently cleared out patches like trees down etc etc.
They aren't normally looking at houses for weed growing but they will do passes. Also the Supreme Court (in the US) has upheld that its illegal to use FLIR to look into people property to see if they are committing a crime. Its a violation of your 4th amendment.

I get being paranoid so let me give you a piece of advice.... if they are going to stay outside the whole time then get some plastic. 6millimeter thick plastic is perfect but you can get 3 mil and fold it over you know what I'm saying.
String the plastic up over your area, make sure it can drain if it rains. Or you could buy a premade cheap greenhouse. You could prob get one for $100.
 
M

mydogjustfarted

New Member
Nugs1 said:
Plants do not have a heat signature. Thats urban myths and has been debunked many times in the past.
I can tell you exactly how they spot plants from the sky. First off its practice and training. The plant gives of a emerald green look that is mostly different than other plants around. It also has a very distinct growing pattern.
The helicopters are out mostly looking for guerrilla growers, that means out in the woods normally near a source of water and recently cleared out patches like trees down etc etc.
They aren't normally looking at houses for weed growing but they will do passes. Also the Supreme Court (in the US) has upheld that its illegal to use FLIR to look into people property to see if they are committing a crime. Its a violation of your 4th amendment.

I get being paranoid so let me give you a piece of advice.... if they are going to stay outside the whole time then get some plastic. 6millimeter thick plastic is perfect but you can get 3 mil and fold it over you know what I'm saying.
String the plastic up over your area, make sure it can drain if it rains. Or you could buy a premade cheap greenhouse. You could prob get one for $100.
Click to expand...
Sweet man. Never knew that, thanks for the knowledge!
 
F

Fubard

Well-Known Member
Hang on a minute, we're talking two or so plants and you think they could spot that from the air as they go past at speed? If you have other plants in your back yard they could hover above for an hour and not spot squat, otherwise there would have been a hell of a lot of people busted thanks to Google Earth.

The biggest risk would be a neighbour or passer by going "what's that funny smell" and calling in the filth once they're a bit more mature.

So don't worry yourself over a random aircraft flying by, for that's all it was.
 
Stinky_Jones

Stinky_Jones

Well-Known Member
Fubard said:
The biggest risk would be a neighbour or passer by going "what's that funny smell" and calling in the filth once they're a bit more mature.
Click to expand...
They’re not going to bother with a couple pot plants in your backyard. The time and money to deal with that is better invested on the big fish demographic.

It’s always the neighbor. Whether they call police, or a friend to take care of your flowers, I guess that depends on your neighborhood. I know what happens here.
 
Roger A. Shrubber

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
Nugs1 said:
Plants do not have a heat signature. Thats urban myths and has been debunked many times in the past.
I can tell you exactly how they spot plants from the sky. First off its practice and training. The plant gives of a emerald green look that is mostly different than other plants around. It also has a very distinct growing pattern.
The helicopters are out mostly looking for guerrilla growers, that means out in the woods normally near a source of water and recently cleared out patches like trees down etc etc.
They aren't normally looking at houses for weed growing but they will do passes. Also the Supreme Court (in the US) has upheld that its illegal to use FLIR to look into people property to see if they are committing a crime. Its a violation of your 4th amendment.

I get being paranoid so let me give you a piece of advice.... if they are going to stay outside the whole time then get some plastic. 6millimeter thick plastic is perfect but you can get 3 mil and fold it over you know what I'm saying.
String the plastic up over your area, make sure it can drain if it rains. Or you could buy a premade cheap greenhouse. You could prob get one for $100.
Click to expand...
apparently you are correct. i had always heard that plants give off distinct heat signatures, but after some reading, this is apparently not true.
they do fall within a certain "band" of heat, but many other plants do as well, it's more a function of size and density than species
 
Nugs1

Nugs1

Well-Known Member
mydogjustfarted said:
Sweet man. Never knew that, thanks for the knowledge!
Click to expand...
Also if you want some more peace from your anxiety then getting or borrowing a drone can really help. I often fly my drone over my grow and take pics from various heights. Per FAA regulations a helicopter or plane has to stay above 500' unless providing medical/emergency care or when serving a warrant. So, I'll fly up to 450' and take a few pics from different angles and then come down every 100' and take more pics... Later I'll inspect them on my comp to see how it looks and to make sure that nothing really stands out.
through most of the summer (depending on how early you got a start) they can't make out anything especially if you have other stuff planted around it, but once flowering kicks in mine really stand out as they are pretty large. Thats why I have a plastic tarp over them just like what I explained before.
 
BigDawg@1964

BigDawg@1964

Active Member
Nugs1 said:
Also if you want some more peace from your anxiety then getting or borrowing a drone can really help. I often fly my drone over my grow and take pics from various heights. Per FAA regulations a helicopter or plane has to stay above 500' unless providing medical/emergency care or when serving a warrant. So, I'll fly up to 450' and take a few pics from different angles and then come down every 100' and take more pics... Later I'll inspect them on my comp to see how it looks and to make sure that nothing really stands out.
through most of the summer (depending on how early you got a start) they can't make out anything especially if you have other stuff planted around it, but once flowering kicks in mine really stand out as they are pretty large. Thats why I have a plastic tarp over them just like what I explained before.
Click to expand...
 
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