I use a cable that can be bought at walmart and such and run it through a part of the stand that cannot be taken apart.(like the flooring of the stand or something that cannot be unbolted) Then padlock it. Then for people to steal it they will need to bring some bolt cutters and cut the actual coiled metal cable that locks the stand to the tree. Usually, people will only steal soemthing if its an easy steal. Hope that helps.