Purple Paint on Fence Posts, Warning to Get Away Immediately: Facts

Story:

If You Walk up on a Post Painted Purple… You Should Get Away Immediately.

Other Versions

Local Police are Warning if You Spot Purple Fence Posts to Get Away as Soon as You Can.

Analysis:

According to a message that has been around for years, if you spot Purple Fence Posts you should get away from the area immediately. As detailed below, the warning as such is a mixture of hoax and facts.

Picture about Purple Paint on Fence Posts, Warning to Get Away Immediately — Purple Paint on Fence Posts, Warning to Get Away Immediately

Purple Painting Tree or Fence Post

Since late 1980s some state governments in United States of America have passed a law allowing land/property owners to paint trees and fences purple on the border of their property. The purple painting was an alternative to putting up a fence or ‘No Trespassing’ sign – to subtly remind visitors, most notably hunters, that they’re nearing a private area. States like Arkansas, Texas, Illinois, Kansas and Missouri have this purple paint law in use, some even specifying a particular manner of doing it. For example, in Texas the Purple Paint law described below is one way of notifying Criminal Trespass:

..notice can be in the form of readily visible purple paint marks of proper size and placement on trees or posts spaced no more than 100 feet apart on forest land or 1,000 feet apart on non-forest land.

Notably, other states also use other colors to indicate private property. So if you see the purple paint on trees or fence posts in states following the law, remember that you are not welcome and you can be booked for trespassing. However, as warned in the stories, the purple paint is not a sign of any danger in the area that you have to leave immediately.