I would have had the law involved.
And if you involve the law make sure you do it right...I own a lot of land, in two states, and deal with constant trespassers. Not so much so in Virginia, probably because they have some pretty stiff fines over that way and also because their is a lot more public land available.
Most states have the old law written back before many people could read where a certain color paint swatch on the trees meant no trespassing. In Maryland it's a blue strip, Virginia it's silver. If you have it on your trees it is the same as posting your land.
It's no problem for a game warden or police to arrest and ticket someone for trespassing...but when it gets to court if the moron knows anything at all he will say to the judge,"but your honor, I was looking for blue paint...I didn't see all those No Trespassing signs, Case dismissed. Bottom line, check you state, post your land both ways, signs and paint and put up trail cameras. The old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" was never more true than in court.
One other thing, the court wants your hands to be clean...don't get too stupid with a trespasser, they really could just be lost and mean you no harm or need help. I usually start out by asking, "so, you lost??? You need me to show you the way off my land or what????" This tells them three things, your not an idiot, you are the land owner, you are not here to play. This is usually followed by, "oh....you mean somebody owns these here woods??? Well I didn't know that!!!"
The idea that you are going to get a LEO there to make an arrest while they hang around is pretty slim. Take a picture of them right then and there because at this point it is their word against yours that they were even present at this location.
Edit: At some point, someone has taken it upon themselves to come up with the color purple as a universally recognized color for posting "No Trespassing" with paint. I have even seen "No trespassing" purple paint for sale in the hunting section at Wal-Mart. Again, if you are going to post with paint the only color that counts is what your state law says it should be. The idea of a universally recognized standard color is a great idea, but it is only good if your state has adopted it.
