I was never among people who double-checked their locked doors to make sure they were locked, but here I am, talking about trail cameras for home security.
When I had a burglary attack at my place in the AFTERNOON (you read that right), I promised myself to get my hands on home security as soon as possible, and one of my neighbors suggested trail cameras.
You may think those trail cameras are only for wildlife photography, I thought the same, but then I did my research and found out that trail security cameras are best to detect motion and deter burglars in no time.
Trail cameras go by different names like game cameras, scout cameras, or remote cameras, and they are usually used to record wildlife. Still, they are becoming a trend in home security to link to smart devices.
In my pursuit of home security and mental peace, I did all in my capacity to find the best trail home security camera for my home, and it turned out pretty well for me. So, I thought, why not share it with you and save your time?
Let’s get started with the best one that you can get.
Best Trail Camera for Home Security
Trail cameras were previously used only for wildlife video recording or photography. Some people also used it for hunting animals by detecting their presence through detectors used in trail cameras.
But now, the market for trail home security cameras is also expanding, and we have plenty of options depending on features and budget range.
I wanted good value for my money, so I was okay with the expensive or cheap ones as long as I got the security I needed.
And after all the search for the best, I shortlisted and bought a Foxelli trail camera. Here’s what made me go for it.
Foxelli Trail Camera for Home Security
Foxelli is a known name in the trail camera market. Its products have the best motion detectors with affordable packages and premium services.
One of the Foxelli trail cameras (14MP with a high definition of 1080p) installed in my front yard has among the top features compared to its counterparts.
The best features that impressed me are:
- Affordable price ($109 with free delivery if you order it online)
- Tripod holding features (easy repositioning and clearer pictures)
- Videos with sounds (up to 10 minutes)
- LCD color monitor (vibrant photos for day, clear black and white for night)
- 4 to 8AA battery (pretty decent at this price)
- Support of SD card (additional storage support)
These are the main features that you must look for in any trail camera you want to buy. As I mentioned, I chose this product after a good study of all the other products that I had as my options for outdoor security.
Apart from these features, I also got to enjoy additional features as perks to my 14MP, 1080p trail camera. Some of these are updated night vision with a timestamp, interval recording, temperature, timer, and more.
The Best Part
For first-timers, it can be highly confusing to make the right choice. It can turn out to be a total waste of time, money, and effort. But, with trail cameras, you’ll get what nobody else offers.
I mean… the company offers 2 months of warranty. Uh, wait. Not just a simple warranty, but a MONEY-BACK warranty. And I believe a couple of months is quite a time to judge a smart product.
I consider it the best part because it helped me be confident about the purchase. I didn’t doubt myself in the process because I knew the team would handle any potential problem. Thankfully, there were none.
Should I Buy a Foxelli Trail Camera for Home?
Yes, since I’ve been using the product myself for almost a year now, I’ll suggest you go for the Foxelli Train camera. You’ll have the flexibility to choose from 14MP to 20MP. Of course, the features differ a bit, but both variants come at a good price.
What you’ll get:
- Water or weatherproof device
- USB connectors
- 120 degrees wide-angle lens
And all the other perks that I mentioned in the initial part of the post.
Okay, so now you’ve made up your mind to purchase trail cameras for top-class services, but where do you place them? What if you don’t have a yard? Don’t stress. We’ll talk about it next.
How to Hide a Trail Cam for Home Security?
Do you find the ‘hide’ word odd? Let me explain.
When I was looking for home security cameras for my home, I didn’t want them to be visible to privacy invaders or burglars because they can damage them easily.
It can be one of the top reasons I was more convinced of trail cameras. They have exceptional motion detectors, and when you link them with your smart devices, you can get instant alerts and catch them red-handed.
But the question is: WHERE DO I HIDE THEM LIKE THAT?
There are some hacks or tips that can help you find your perfect spot. They helped me, and I am sharing them here with the same intention. These hacks are very practical so you won’t need tons of help.
1. Choose Smaller Ones
This tip or hack may not be pointing directly to your query, but it has a great contribution to make.
Most of us have misconceptions about going for bigger devices, but they can be a real challenge for you when you think of their placement. Especially trail cameras because the smaller it is, the easier it will camouflage your walls.
Trail cameras are best because they don’t point to the burglar’s face directly, so they come prepared. Instead, it records or pictures them subtly, so the chances for reimbursement are more likely.
2. Scan a High Spot
Okay, I accept that this is obvious, and you may be wondering why this is even on the list. Let me explain.
Positioning your trail camera somewhere up will have it hidden well, and it’s least probable that thieves or burglars will give an eyeball scan to your walls for no reason.
What’s here to make sure is that the recording part of the camera must face downwards for clear reasons. It’ll record better and be saved from attackers.
3. Spot Camera-Matching Surrounding
Have you ever noticed how a chameleon conceals itself best in the matching surroundings or colors? The trail camera needs to be hidden the same way.
When trail cameras are well hidden, they last long (you know why) and record efficiently. You can get a mounting box to hang or place it properly.
If you’re unable to find such a surrounding as trees or bushes or complimenting walls or bricks, then the only option you’re left with is camouflaging your trail camera.
Absolute tip: Conceal the camera well in the surroundings. If not done well, it can attract attention that you don’t need.
4. Prefer Green Concealing Areas
Plants or trees are normally ideal for concealing trail cameras if you have them around. If not, you can get the fake ones (not fake) and arrange them nicely.
Shrubs, bushes, or under bushes are also good ways to hide your trail camera without attracting much notice.
What else can you do? You can ensure that the lens of the camera has no covering of any sort. There have to be no leaves or branches blocking the lens otherwise, you become vulnerable to incidents.
5. Buy a Dummy Camera for Additional Security
Buying a dummy camera isn’t extravagance or any kind of ‘we don’t need a dummy when we have the actual excuse, but it’s just a smart measure that you can take to protect your family.
Dummy cameras will help you distract burglars. If they have a camera in front of their eyes, why would they look elsewhere?
Besides, even if they destroy or disfunction the dummy cam, they’ll still get recorded on the concealed trail camera.
It’ll not only capture their crime but also give you solid proof of the incident for the 911 report.
6. Pick No-Glow Over Low-Glow
Trail cameras come in two categories which you now know. The number one is no-glow with no flashes whatsoever. The other one is the low glow which has a slightly flashy feature to its lens.
Either is good for particular situations, but for home security, the no glow is your best option without a doubt.
Why? This takes us back to the efficient ‘concealing’ factor of the entire trail camera placement thing. Plus, a curious passerby, criminal, or animal can access your camera due to the flashlight and ruin it.
While if you go for a no glow camera, it won’t scream ‘PRESENT!!’ from anywhere and keep working 24/7.
7. Keep Trail Camera A Secret
I hope you’re not getting irritated with words like ‘secret, conceal, hide!’ because they’re all relatable and purposeful here.
When you have doubts about your home security, you have to keep the place where you’ve hidden the camera a secret so it can never be used without purpose.
There can be people who can use it against you at any point in time by taking some footage away or something similar.
You should keep everything to yourself. It will keep you at peace, and you” have stronger security.
And that’s pretty much it. If you want to buy a trail camera, foxelli is my recommendation, but you can go for any other name by checking if they have the qualities in the next section.
3 Major Checks When Buying a Trail Camera
When you need a trail camera for home security, you google it or maybe ask people about the best one. You don’t always go from shop to shop and compare devices, right?
But I believe when you know what to look for in a device, it’s easier for you to trace a genuine one. Instead of getting confused, recognize these signs before you invest in trail cameras.
- Accurate Detection Capabilities
How does your trail camera capture or record? When it detects motion. So the first piece of advice for you is to check this feature. I wanted to buy the most accurate camera for security, and I picked one with PIRs (a passive infrared sensor)
PIRs work on temperature, and it only changes when something moves. Now it’s not like leaves’ play with the breeze will be reported to you.
Your smart trail camera will only record or keep the clips that are meaningful to your security measures, so an accurate detector with smart touch is a must.
- Storage
Low storage capacity is probably the most annoying thing that can happen to your security cameras. You’ll have to clean out the storage every once a week, and that’s draining.
What’s a good alternative? Look for trail cameras with good storage and SD card support. If you run out of storage, you can turn to additional gigs through an SD card but make sure the camera supports the SD card GBs you need.
- Lens Quality
I won’t say your trail camera is ALL about the lenses, but I’d say that they are absolutely important. You don’t need a fixed angle or focal length lens because trail cameras won’t work at their best.
You need a wide-angle camera to record or capture good-quality footage. You can also ask the manufacturer to have a customized camera fit, but it shouldn’t compromise image size and quality.
Conclusion
Concluding the blog, I hope the content helped you somewhere in your struggle with security cameras, particularly trail ones.
You can always turn to online guides or professionals for advice or suggestions, but that can be overwhelming most times. And I think the most sensible thing is to ask someone who has been using or knows the ins and outs.
If you’re not comfortable with trail cameras for any reason, you can begin with wireless cameras for advanced monitoring but never compromise your and your family’s security.
Learn more about Home Security
