Don't get the Moultrie wildlife camera. We have one of those and not only does it flash at night, the shutter is delayed so that most of the time whatever triggered the camera is out of the frame by the time it takes the photo.

Even with a picture you need to then identify the person.

I looked into this extensively. Even joined a hunting web group where such questions could be posted. I learned a lot. It looked like a IR that doesn't flash I think they call it black flash) would be best, locked down with special cables or hidden in a transfomer look alike case. The batteries in the winter was an issue and they would custom bore it to allow for a power cord- but then if I didn't get a good pic I was stuck with a custom altered camera. The total figure for all that get up was a bit high, considering they said I wouldn't get license plate capture with that and would need another camera for reading a license plate.

So I called the police and they recommended a guy in the surveillance/electronics business and he came out and said " no you really want other security options, not a camera" He proposed stuff that wouldn't work out for us with teenagers, and when I said I wanted a camera he wouldn't specify which one but he wanted over 1K for it and $78/ hr to set it up. Yeah right.

I think I'll wait. Looks like new camera technology called 'Listro" ? in the news lately can perhaps get the focus on faces and license plates if I can wait a few years.

Sounds like you can't wait. From what I'm reading you need to be just a bit tougher to break into than the neighbors and that most break-ins are not by smart types but juvies and addicts.

If you google specific game camera you can find video and pics on the web of those camera ( usually wildlife pics) I found this info and a specific guys ratings of these camera to be very helpful. Can't remember the name tho.

Hope this helps.

Thank you for your help. We know that some teens in the area vandalized houses being built in the neighborhood a few years ago. There hasn't been any new construction for about 2 years and we hoped that we wouldn't have vandalism now that there are a few houses. We were wrong.

Sounds like some of the neighbors appear to be jealous or don't want "new"people. Is this a small town? lots of locals? What about local law enforcement--do they really care or will they drive thru just to check up on things. Just lock all tools up. If there are other houses being built could you hire an outside patrol company. To me sounds like what I first mentioned. You probably will find out it is adults involved also.

I have a moultrie on my driveway and have caught the vehicle and license plate of thieves caught in the act, which produced good quality photographs, & were used to arrest the perps!
True about the shutter lag of several seconds, but it wasn't enough time for them to get out of the frame. Cheap investment.

Thanks! It was teens that vandalized homes a few years ago. They live just outside our new subdivision. (I think they have too much time on their hands and look for trouble.)

We've been trying to talk to neighbors in the surrounding area to get as many "eyes" on the look out as possible. One afternoon as I was pulling in, there was a sheriff's car making rounds. He told me they do random drive by's. I'm hoping my builder will get a camera up ASAP. At least if we had photos - that's a start to identifying and catching someone.

Unfortunately we can't lock up yet. We don't have drywall or all the doors installed. We can't put up a light as we aren't connected to electricity- We have a plug at the street. Anyone could unplug the lights to hide their activity.

We bought some cheap ones from menards and they have really good pictures.. Put up several if you can..

A securty camera, or cameras, mounted in plain sight, is your best bet. A hunting camera with a strobe; the visible flashes are going to scare away ANY vandal of the Human species. You are not dealing with sophisticated criminals. These are just people with nothing to do on Friday night.

Woot has one system on Woot, and a cheaper system on Sellout today (the 27th). I don't know whether it's what you need or not, but for $200, it might be worth it even if it's not plugged into anything.

Great topic. I've been wondering about what measures we can take when we start building. During construction of our current home we had some tools and such stolen but at the location of our next house it's in the woods. We hunt that land and have deer cameras up.... well some feeders went missing, checked the cameras and saw some of the nearby neighbors (troublemakers) walking through our woods in the dead of night. Nothing has been stolen in awhile since we caught them, but we're worried that once construction begins they'll try to steal from there too.

Do they have insurance to cover vandilism and stealing during construction? We plan to put up a metal gate but they could always bust the lock. Deer cameras are ok but even the best ones usually aren't very clear. We'll probably spend the extra money for a nice security camera...it would be worth it IMHO to not have to sleep outside the house in a tent every night lol.

I wish we could use the "scare them away" technique unfortunately I think we'd be dealing with people who would plan and stake out the place before breaking in. Stealthy surveillance is probably our best bet.