Here is a typical story. You install surveillance cameras outdoors and are pretty much satisfied with the results – the video quality is good, and you have peace of mind knowing that they pick up everything you want them to. But then nature steps in. And instead of a clear and focused image of your property, you see nothing but a spider weaving in and out. As the infrared light coming out from the camera is attractive to bugs, the spider finds the lens to be a perfect place for building a web, which blocks the visibility of the camera and creates false alerts for devices with motion sensors. So, you may wonder how to stop bugs from triggering motion cameras and ensure you make the most of your surveillance system its sight range. In this article, I will answer these questions, so read on.
Tips to keep bugs from setting off security cameras
As a quick remedy to the problem, you can dust the camera to get rid of the spider’s webbing. But the clean effect will not last forever, so you’ve got to learn how to do away with insects and spiders that tend to set off the camera. Here are a few effective things you can do.
Disable the light
It’s not the camera lens itself that insects find particularly attractive. Instead, it’s the light it emits. So, if you want to keep bugs and spiders at bay from your camera, turn off the lights (if your camera allows it).
Apply lubricants
Such silicon, Teflon, or Vaseline lubricants will be especially handy if you can’t disable the camera lights. They create a slippery barrier on the camera’s surface, becoming too slick for spiders to spin webs on it.
Important! Make sure you apply the lubricant exclusively on the camera surface, not the lens. When you apply the formula, cover the lens with a paper towel or anything else to prevent putting a layer of lubricant on the lens. When applied to it, this may disrupt the camera capabilities completely.
Spray bug or spider repellents
Apply a repellent layer on the camera’s surface and surrounding area to fight and kill pesky insects for immediate results.
Other crazy ideas
You have probably come across tons of crazy ideas, like using drying sheets, bags of conkers, and even pet flea collars. While these methods may bring good results, you may find them to be not appealing from an aesthetical or common sense perspective unless you do not want your house to look like a Christmas tree tastelessly decorated.
How to prevent spiders and bugs from interfering with your camera
Do regular cleaning
Sweep camera areas weekly. Use a soft brush to avoid damaging a gentle camera lens. This way, you will remove debris, webs, or insects that get stuck to the lens surface. If you suspect that your video’s quality has worsened, then in this article, you can read what exactly affects the quality of the image of security cameras.
Adjust the settings
To stop spiders from setting off my ring camera, just take some time to adjust the motion detection settings, particularly alert settings. For example, you can set the threshold of activity that triggers the alarm to deal with false detection alerts. This way, you won’t get notifications whenever an insect or spider crawls on your device.
