See this is how that word premeditated gets tossed around LOL. Don't get me wrong; I totally understand AND I have Catfish to feed....
Do yourself a favor; Get trail cameras, a tent, and remember that your lawyer will thank you if you have a baseball glove and ball in the trunk of the car. Having just the bat is kinda asking for issues.
A booby trap might be illegal in some areas, however that's private property ? Make sure that shit is marked EVERY inch that is legally required, and if you are the owner of said property.... This is hard to wiggle with because I don't know if your state is legal or not..... Look how many problems would be solved if you people simply moved here! LOL.
For real though; I don't have "Booby traps" I have "poor construction skills" and "sometimes I tie up rope at throat level to hold some parts of a fence together" and "accidentally sharpened the fence area" and "put clubs in strategic places in the garden" in case.....Deer....Try eating my plants.... "Sorry bout your luck Bambi"... LOL.
We have night vision motion activated cameras in the garden that send alerts directly to a phone where we can connect to said cameras and even talk through them.
I'm not gonna lie I THOUGHT about using 100# test Mono and 9/0 Octopus Hooks to setup little "grabbers" but I haven't had to Thank God. People DO steal plants out here, and it doesn't always work out for them (The area I live in, like, EVERYONE is armed....sometimes they walk out with assault rifles and start popping shots off when they hear people outside at night). If you live in a legal state and that is your property, there may be wiggle room for defending it. Just don't use a gun! In fact don't EVER keep a gun near any of it if you want it legal.
Besides, a Machete and a Club don't make a loud noise OR a flash telling everyone exactly where you're currently located. If you're not in a legal state this is a lot harder to justify so again....
en.wikipedia.org