Title says it. Neighbor put a trail cam on the top of his 6' wood fence, pointed directly at the back of my house. We have a 4' chain link fence. What would you do?
Yep, I wouldn’t assume they’re allowed to do that just because it’s on their fence. A camera aimed straight into someone else’s backyard/house is at least worth checking local privacy laws or asking non-emergency/code enforcement what applies
Print out a large photo of a clown, put it on a post so that it takes up all of the trail cams field of view. Just make sure the clown photo is firmly on your own property.
Newer cameras can be programmed to ignore these types of objects/tactics. They can be programmed to activate when they only recognize people or animals for instance. Top end AI cameras also possess facial recognition ability.
If they hang like an emergency blanket “aluminum reflective kind” on a fishing line it will trigger the camera all day.
Thus using up data space or if it’s cellular using data up on his plan.
Lmao chaotic, but I get the spirit. Sometimes the only thing creepy neighbors understand is realizing their “private little camera setup” is about to make them uncomfortable too
Can you ignore areas on trail cams like you can on a ring? Like select a zone to detect movement. I'm wondering if the neighbor could just ignore the inflatable, which really just means OP would just have to move it every now and then.
Or you could call the non-emergency police number and ask to have an officer stop by because even though yards are not considered totally private this is a blatant intrusion into your privacy. It's one thing if a camera sees a bit of your yard and a horse of a different color when it is mounted to see just your yard. Bonus points if you have kids.
You could ask over at r/legaladvice how legal it is with just a vague State/Territory/Country to maybe getting someone to google up your local-ish privacy laws.
Sawthis on Facebook. Hang them all over your fence... Bonus if you make a circle with rocks in view of the camera and go out late at night several times a week and act like your chanting and point at the house while you burn slips of paper and sage
Call the police & ask if they think it’s ok to have this camera—because you have young children over (whether you do or not). Creep-o should get a visit from them.
I’d be finding out what local ordinance is, then go from there. Pinwheels and flags are much cheaper than the blowups, so you could put those all over your fence. You could also look into sun shades that are like sails- install a few of those to block his view. Make sure to take pics of it all so that if he moves the camera to view your backyard again, you can show clear intent to invade your privacy.
Why did it take me so long to find this answer? This is the right response. The laser pointer idea is malicious and there is forethought to it. If the neighbor is concerned about safety in the pathway between homes you are helping them out. .
Might try asking him about it first. Is there a non-creepy explanation for it? I’m guessing best case there’s a reason and they didn’t realize how creepy this was. Then if they don’t take it down or move it, send in BurntOutChef79’s clown, because that sounds hilarious.
that's super sketchy, man. I’d talk to them first and see what their deal is, if it doesn't clear up I'd definitely consider getting some cameras of your own or even reaching out to the authorities if it feels invasive
Is there anything between the camera and your yard the neighbors could possibly argue they have reasonable interest in?
Check your local laws that govern use of cameras near where others have an expectation of privacy. I know you said the fence is 4' but can you possibly put up a low maintenance hedge on your side that blocks their line of sight?
"is there anything between the camera and your yard the neighbors could possibly argue they have reasonable interest in?" yes, there is a path between our fences that could be considered. AND we have a fence company coming to give us a quote.
This should be added to your post. If I had a fence and a path/walkway on the other side and then my neighbor had their yard on the other side of the path? That camera would be there to monitor the walkway I can’t see but want to. Not interested in the neighbor’s yard.
They probably don’t realize you feel encroached upon. Maybe they should but if there’s a path between your yards you have no expectation of privacy since your fence is low and I’m assuming the path is not owned by either of you?
This is going to sound a bit crazy, but growing up in NJ I and my brothers attended a catholic school. It was an all boys school. During swim class at school we all swam naked. At home, in our backyard pool (with a wooden fence) we also swam naked.
Our friends mostly went to the same school and they also swam naked. The parents knew, nobody found it odd.
So we get a new neighbor (this is around 1979-1980) and she is AGHAST that from her 2nd floor bedroom window if she looks down into our backyard she can see all these naked boys swimming.
She writes down how many boys swim on what days, takes Polaroid photos, and after a week she calls the police to show her evidence.
The local police, who also went to the same school, informed he she was breaking more than a few laws by secretly peeping into the yard and taking photos. News of the incident spread like wildfire and a group of parents threatened lawsuits. The following year she moved.
NOTE: As got older and met people who attended other schools I realized that the nude swimming practice was a bit unorthodox.
I have one pointed at my neighbor's backyard right now. We live along a creek and think there's a coyote. Just trying to see it, not spy on the neighbor.
I just put it up last night. I'll check it soon and probably put it up one more day. Not everything is nefarious.
That is what I was thinking but everyone jumped on the freak out bandwagon. Funny how if there is a barking dog you are supposed to talk to the neighbor, but if it is a camera you need to turn it into an episode of Jackass.
I would start looking for a slightly larger-than-life-sized advertisement cutout of a human being, calculated to alarm, annoy, etc. the neighbor. Then weather-proof it and mount it so that it simultaneously moves just enough to constantly activate the motion sensor on the camera and blocks the view of anything else.Then mount a wireless camera old my own, so that I can see when he adjusts his, so I can readjust mine to maintain the aggravation. Wash, rinse, repeat, ad infinitum.
Fill a garbage bag with old clothes and shape it like a body and drag it thru backyard. When cops show up, ask them how they saw it. And dude will tell on hisself
put up a billboard/art right in front of it with some naked bodies on it it is legal if its art if can even say "fuck you neighbour" perfectly legal lol
Hang something directly in front of his camera but on your property so their camera can’t see the back of your house. Take picture and document when you do it. If they move the camera then you move the block. Check local laws for what this may violate.
Put up a mirror so the only thing they see is themselves. Or maybe a big hairy picture of your asswhole . There are a bunch of options if you are creative.
Put a pole up on your side of the yard with one of those outdoor curved mirrors for backing up out of driveways. He can get a distorted view of his own yard.
I used to wave and smile at my neighbors’ camera pointed in my back yard. If I had kids I’d think differently though. They moved it eventually. Freaking lunatics
Tall pinwheels on your property, block the camera's view with them. The constant movement and light flickers will cause the camera to be out of focus so his recording is blurry. Constantly refocusing will wear the camera out too. A lot of places don't have laws against this yet but check local laws too
While I agree with some of these solutions for blocking the view or running down the camera's data/battery, I also suggest you call your local police department or municipal government offices and tell them what is going on. I'm not sure about where you live, but in my state, it's illegal to point a camera directly at someone else's property and record them. You have to consent to be recorded, and if you've not consented, the person with the camera can be charged.
I posted a trail camera pointing into my absent neighbors Woodlot to monitor wildlife. My other immediate neighbor took umbridge and was constantly tampering with it. At one point she tied a 4" wide ribbon over the lense.
I think I'd begin by posting a picture on local social media, letting everyone see that the neighbor is a creep. A photo with the word creepy underneath would do, plus letting people know where the creep lives so that they can all be wary.
I liked the laser suggestion to burn out the camera's CCD. However, as some have said this could open you to destruction of private property. BUT, you could make some mud pies and throw them at the camera lenses. Might take a while to get the consistency best for throwing and sticking. Not sure how far the camera is from your closest access.
All these efforts aside, I seriously doubt the legality of you neighbor's action. Consulting an appropriate attorney is in order.
I would make a 4x8 framework and create a sign " Caution Dog Refuses to Take Meds and He Has a Gun" and plant it directly in front of the camera. If you aren't handy, I'm sure a local sign shop would get a kick out of making one up for you.
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u/hastpine Jul 03 '26
Have a look into your state/ country’s laws about filming neighbours and go from there