apparent thefts out of our garage -- suggestions?

Costco has a closed circuit tv camera I think for about $239. I was going to get one for hubby to watch our driveway to the shop. Those alarm things that go off when separated would work too.

Keep in mind pat, that you go to pennyslvania often too, it could have happened then. Game cam is good, I;m not sure of the cost of one, but I don't think they are that unreasonable. Certainly worth it to prevent tires etc from being stolen.

For this though, I think I would call the police just to notify them, and maybe put in an insurance claim? Assuming your deductible isn't $700.
 
Pat, I am sure I did get it at Home Depot. It was not with the security stuff- it was with the door bell merchandise. It says "Bunker Hill" on it.
I recently invested in a cheap camera system, from Harbor Freight. Four cameras, and a DVR for 300 ish. Not a bad picture and it does work at night. That is a lot of money, for your situation- I am using it at a business...
Hopefully, this won't be a recurring problem.
 
I don't want to deal with the insurance company, this is less than our deductable (we have the highest deductable you can pick, whatever that is, I forget) and I really don't want to do anything to raise our premiums.

I suppose I could call the police and see if they think we should file a report, that is a good point; but I can't even tell you which *week* stuff went missing, so I dunno how much they'll care.

Assuming the fence charger was indeed stolen, it wasn't when we were out of the country, it was sometime in the last 5-6 weeks. (I took it out to the garage right after the first lamb was born, because the old charger was kind of iffy, but kind of got distracted before actually installing it). To me the simplest explanation is that someone came *once* and took the tires at the same time. Plus anything else I haven't noticed yet :P

Lesa -- doorbell stuff, gotcha; will look for it next time I'm in a store!

Still interested in hearing opinions on whether conspicuous security measures are good/neutral/bad idea in a rural environment?

Pat
 
patandchickens said:
Still interested in hearing opinions on whether conspicuous security measures are good/neutral/bad idea in a rural environment?

Pat
Pat, JIMHO, if someone wants something bad enough, they will find a way to take it. Our general area was hit by two separate dope-head pairs last summer (thankfully both have been caught). They were brazen enough to enter and steal from an attached garage during the day, no less.

Defense in depth. :) Good neighbors, a large dog or two are a good start.

I hate the "I've been violated" feeling that comes with having stuff stolen.
 
I hate thieves too. Here are a couple suggestions . . .

Driveway alarm $17.99 US We have one of these now to notify us of egg customers arriving. Works good.

When we had the big farm in Ohio I rigged a strobe light on a cattle fence along our driveway. I used an IR motion detector to trigger the lights. I also installed a sign out near the road indicating that video surveillance was in use. This worked very well but it requires 110 volt power to the strobe light. Luckily we had that.

As much as we want to smash the perp's head we must also remember that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

I sure hope you can stop the problem.
 
Oh, I hope you told your neighbors that stuff went missing- they might be down a few valuable items as well! (or might have just gotten an awesome deal on a fence charger). I'm a little paranoid, it's true, but I'd consider putting a light and a radio on a timer out in the garage in addition to a trail camera- it doesn't have to be on every nite forever and ever, but if you think to plug it in at the end of the day, maybe it'll discourage anyone cruising the place. Shoot, maybe even a motion activated toy that will talk on the other side of the window- just don't scare yourself with it.
Man, I'm disorganized so I'd have a hard time believing anything was ever actually stolen but a whole set of tires would be hard for even me to lose!
 
Pat, I think notices about electronic surveillance, audible alarms and other warnings would stop some would-be thieves, but not someone really needing a "fix" or needing to make quick cash for what ever reason. I definitely would put up the signs, check with the neighbors, etc, and let the police know. Who knows, your stolen items may have already been recovered and waiting for you to claim them. If the police don't know, they may sell them at auction.
 
Pat!! Why didn't you ask? I work at a pet store, could have gotten you the box in the cheap and shipping doesn't cost me a lot :p
 
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