My neighbor has their camera aimed right into our living room window, and it goes off anytime we move around inside. This wasn’t always the case. It started after their dog (a boxer) ran into our yard and attacked our leashed dog. To protect my dog, I kicked their dog and it ran off. This neighbor has let their dog attack others before—over five years, six different dogs were attacked, one left bloody. After this incident, I called the police, and they were given a citation. Now their camera is set to trigger whenever we step outside or even move around inside, and it shouts, ‘HI! YOU ARE BEING RECORDED!’ all the time. It’s clearly retaliation, and now it’s hard to enjoy being outside with this constant noise. Is there a way to stop this legally? Or a way to prove they’re doing it to harass us? It feels so wrong. Their dog attacked ours, and now they’re punishing us because we stood up for ourselves. Unbelievable.
I’d suggest getting something like a moving decoration to keep triggering the camera. Maybe they’ll get rid of the audio eventually.
The problems I see here are:
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The neighbor doesn’t seem like someone who takes responsibility, so they’ll likely escalate things.
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Legal issues depend on authorities enforcing them, which isn’t guaranteed.
@GuardGuru You hit the nail on the head with that first point. Even the police told us, ‘Some dog owners just refuse to believe their dog could do anything wrong.’
@Stephen Try using a spotlight aimed at the camera, or maybe an infrared light to flood it. Haven’t tried it myself, but it might work in your case.
@Charlieronny Lasers could work too… infrared lasers…
@David Start with infrared. It’s invisible to people, so if it’s hidden inside your window but directed at the camera, it could mess with a cheap camera. Also, some wind-powered yard decorations could help trigger it constantly.
@Charlotte_Turner Agree with the IR idea. Also, if their camera runs on a battery, the constant motion will drain it quickly.
@ShieldedDwellings Depending on how their camera is set up (cloud storage or local), constant uploads could max out their storage or wear out their SD card. And if they’re paying for limited cloud storage, you’ll eat into their limit. A flag or bird feeder might help trigger it often.
@HomeGaurd101 Cloud storage is cheap these days, so that might not work. And many cameras are plugged into power, so the battery thing won’t apply here. I’d go with lasers or go big with your own cameras to make them uncomfortable.
@Mary Actually, flooding their storage with useless recordings can make it hard for them to find anything useful. A moving decoration in the camera’s line of sight can be very effective.
I’d get a high-powered light and aim it at the camera. Even a simple motion-activated one could do the job.
If it’s really bothering you, consider getting a lawyer to see if this can be classified as harassment. It sounds like you’re being targeted after the dog attack.
Go on Amazon and get a big inflatable tube man. It’ll move all day and trigger their camera constantly. Plus, it’s a funny way to deal with this nonsense.