New Jersey Town Has Answer for Christmas Tree Nappers

One southern New Jersey town has figured out a foolproof way to stop potential Christmas tree thieves: Make them stink.

A few years ago Port Republic, a small town in northeastern Atlantic City, began spraying about two dozen evergreens that it planted as a wind break near tennis courts.

The chemical smells like rotten eggs if the tree is brought into a warm home.

Mayor Gary Giberson tells The Press of Atlantic City that none of the trees has been touched. He says in the past people would climb 30- or 40-foot blue spruce trees to cut off the tops.

The state used similar measures in the 1990s, but a Turnpike Authority tells the newspaper there hasn’t been a poaching problem for many years.