Seeking self-contained outdoor cameras to catch contractor dumping on my property

[strangways]

Hi, I inherited a wooded property in the north east and Ive started doing some work there but its still vacant. Noticed some junk had been dumped along a strip near the road, but which is not really visible from the house. I put up 'No Dumping' signs but I see today that a whole bunch more stuff has been dumped there, looks like a contractor demoed a porch of fence or something. Im thinking about putting up some kind of cameras, but this is quite far from the house so they would have to be self-contained, a wildlife camera of something similar. Any suggestions? Thanks

[invalid unparseable]

Not familiar with these game cameras but might caution on a conversation I had with a PA park warden.

He was telling me that they had a dumping problem and I suggested they put up a camera. He said they did and it was stolen.

[Clare Snyder]

Trail camera or game camera

[slate_leeper]

I went on a similar mission a while back. I looked at motion-triggered game cameras. Unfortunately, they all seem to light up a bright red LED when triggered. Too easy for intruders to notice (and probably steal or destroy).

So I wrote to various game camera manufacturers and asked if they had a model that did NOT show any visible light when triggered. One answered affirmatively, so I ordered it from Amazon. Tried it out and there it was - big red glowing LED. In addition, the picture quality was terrible. Amazon provided me a full refund after I sent them a copy of the manufacturer's false claim.

Point of this story: If you ever find something actually useful, please let me know!

-dan z-

[Dan Espen]

Why wouldn't duct tape deal with the red LED?

[croy]

The red LED is the illumination for the photographs (or video).

[invalid unparseable]

I see they are available in US at same amount in dollars. Reading reviews I noticed that battery life depends on activity and if there is a lot it is probably about 3 weeks as with many other cameras.

Also some systems come with fees either for storage on the cloud or use with cell phone system.

[rbowman]

Disclaimer: I don't own this one. What you're looking for will be advertised as 'no glow', 'black flash', or 'blackout'.

They're more expensive than the more common IR trail cameras. Trail cameras, while the can be general purpose, are aimed at deer hunters. A deer's ultraviolet vision is better than a humans which is why you don't wash your hunting gear with fabric brighteners. Conversely red/infrared range is worse, which is why every deer in a mile doesn't run away when you were a fluorescent orange vest. So the low end cameras use IR as good enough for deer, but not so great for humans with their more sensitive eyes (in that portion of the spectrum)

[Frank]

Good to know when considering brand to buy.

[Dan Espen]

Did not know that. So, did some reading. Sounds like the OP needs an infrared trail camera. A game camera doesn't care about alerting the animal.

[gfretwell]

I have a couple of cameras that have LEDs far enough down into IR that they are not visible. Others glow red. My game camera also has a red LED indicator that blinks when the picture is taken. I am guessing that is what the other poster is talking about.

[gfretwell]

I am still looking for a WiFi camera that talks to my DVR and not cloud connected. I am guessing most would but the one I ordered required the phone and cloud account to get it on my network. There did not seem to be a way to get the net password in any other way. I sent it back.

[Clare Snyder]

Buy the best game camera you can find and a roll of black gorilkla tape - a small peice civers the erf LED and more ties it securely to the post and "cameraflauges" it

[Clare Snyder]

Good ones use infra red which is NOT visible light.

[Hawk]

Internet trail cams will allow remote access and alert you when motion sense. The video feed is fantastic with a good cam. You can view on your phone. As Frank indicated, there's the potential for theft if spotted. Thus, if you can hide it high in a tree or elsewhere, it'll be a valuable asset.

[croy]

Yup.

[croy]

It may be that the dumper has dumped all he needs to, and your efforts will be an excersize in frustration

And... you never know if the thief is watching as you "hide" the camera.

One strategy is to put up two cameras--one to watch your stuff for you, and the other to watch the first camera.

Or... just hide yourself, and keep paper, pencil, and camera handy. If you catch him/her/it in the act, you can offer him/her/it choices of your own making.

[invalid unparseable]

Gave me a thought that op could just put up a fake camera in an obvious place. I see these are pretty cheap. You want the miscreants to see it, think they have been recorded and abandon dumping there hoping they will not be arrested.

I see these are battery operated and cheap for a set of two:

[invalid unparseable]

That park I was hunting straddles PA and DE and I hunted both sides. Wardens in DE told me they have cameras up but would not tell me where. DE side consumed more tax dollars with more wardens and park workers although they have a user fee which PA did not.

[Tekkie]

In PA they only tax us for the rangers but never see them.