Outdoor night vision cameras and rodents ASAP

I can’t change shutter speed on current camera. I’m still reading through all the recommendations for cameras people have sent. I’m still confused, dumb about the camera differences. I have to keep looking up definitions or varifocal, parfocal, etc...

I think others may no longer respond because I left the issue hanging for so long but never thought I’d have to drop the issues in my own home to care for someone else. In my mind I was thinking about how things were multiplying in my own home but couldn’t do anything about it.

I have to get back on the issue again because I realize that bats have babies in April or May then can’t kick them out until September. Last year they had babies in April and I was attacked and woke up to one on my face. There’s definitely a story about it.

It seems I might have a wildlife sanctuary going on here because between last Fall and this week I’ve trapped 12 grey squirrels. Problem with that is I have captured image of one grey squirrel, just 2 flying squirrels and saw bats...
 
I've been watching this thread, on and off, since you started it. I'm plagued with grey squirrels, too, but have a different, more permanent, solution. The problem is that they're like rabbits when it comes to multiplying and there's enough woods around us that they certainly can find space and time to multiply.

The general consensus is that the Dahua 5442 series, 4MP bullets and turrets, is the "go to" for night time use. I have one and it stays in full color at night with just ambient light from a street light about 200 feet away. It works very well in B&W mode, with IR, at night as well. The Dahua, and Hikvision, cameras all have the ability to adjust shutter speeds and just about everything else you need to tinker with to optimize under any circumstances. They are a little more expensive, 120-200USD, range but as with everything you get what you pay for. An alternative might be the 2231T-ZS, I think that's the model number. It's a 2MP with a varifocal so you can zoom the view to fit your needs and is priced around 130USD. It's night time performance is on a par with the 5442 series, just less pixels which can be an advantage at times.
 
I've been watching this thread, on and off, since you started it. I'm plagued with grey squirrels, too, but have a different, more permanent, solution. The problem is that they're like rabbits when it comes to multiplying and there's enough woods around us that they certainly can find space and time to multiply.

The general consensus is that the Dahua 5442 series, 4MP bullets and turrets, is the "go to" for night time use. I have one and it stays in full color at night with just ambient light from a street light about 200 feet away. It works very well in B&W mode, with IR, at night as well. The Dahua, and Hikvision, cameras all have the ability to adjust shutter speeds and just about everything else you need to tinker with to optimize under any circumstances. They are a little more expensive, 120-200USD, range but as with everything you get what you pay for. An alternative might be the 2231T-ZS, I think that's the model number. It's a 2MP with a varifocal so you can zoom the view to fit your needs and is priced around 130USD. It's night time performance is on a par with the 5442 series, just less pixels which can be an advantage at times.

Sebastian - thank you for your reply!! I will definitely look at these cameras today or at latest, tonight. I have to leave for a while and don’t have Internet/data on my phone.

Do your cameras show the squirrels going in and out of your house? Like I said, mine just show a blur with everything. dAre the squirrels going into your attic or somewhere else? I may be able to help you. I’ve been going through this for years so have learned so much about unwanted critters. My problem is that I don’t have an attic.

Someone from this site offered to to let me borrow an IR light but think it may be too much to ship back and forth or I wold have taken him up on his offer.

Thank you for responding, I really do appreciate it!
 
They don't come into the house at all, but my system does "see" them whether they are way in the back yard or up close to the house. Given squirrels are not nocturnal they appear more often in the day and, if close enough to the house, will trigger motion detection. Cats, raccoons, deer and anything else that's nocturnal trigger motion detection at night, too. I installed alarm systems for years so I know all about squirrels getting into houses and how to, at least, try to stop them but thanks for the offer!
 
The only way to get rid of the blur, at night, is to raise the shutter speed. When you raise the shutter speed you'll also have to add additional IR illumination to compensate for the light lost with higher shutter speed.


Hopefully it will catch them during the day too. AllI get is a blur that something was there.
 
They don't come into the house at all, but my system does "see" them whether they are way in the back yard or up close to the house. Given squirrels are not nocturnal they appear more often in the day and, if close enough to the house, will trigger motion detection. Cats, raccoons, deer and anything else that's nocturnal trigger motion detection at night, too. I installed alarm systems for years so I know all about squirrels getting into houses and how to, at least, try to stop them but thanks for the offer!

If the squirrels or any other rodent take up residence in your attic get a couple of flea bombs n set them off in the attic while the rodents are up there. Make sure the rodents are up there so you give them a bad experience so they run out n tell their friends. No one will want to come back but if they do, get more flea bombs. My cousin couldn’t get rid of flying squirrels until we did this. They’d come and eat back through the house time and again. We’d repair the house and shingles, tried all kinds of sprays n other for many years, the bombs wor
 
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They don't come into the house at all, but my system does "see" them whether they are way in the back yard or up close to the house. Given squirrels are not nocturnal they appear more often in the day and, if close enough to the house, will trigger motion detection. Cats, raccoons, deer and anything else that's nocturnal trigger motion detection at night, too. I installed alarm systems for years so I know all about squirrelst though so will continue to getting into houses and how to, at least, try to stop them but thanks for the offer!

Sebastian -

Thank you for your reply! I have been reading about each Dahua 5442 camera for a few hours now. I also found this website about setting up bat traps. I am done for the night though. I’ll let you know which Im going to buy tomorrow.

Thank you again!!
 
@Peek the 5442 cams are great as I mentioned before and in my review. They are very light sensitive (in a good way) but as mentioned, motion blue is a result of too low a shutter speed, you need to go manual and adjust. Depending on your light situation, you will gain some benefit from the good on cam IR BUT as we discussed before probably need the assistance of extra IR illumination offset and off cam to get what you ultimately want to capture. It starts however with a cam you can adjus.


Sebastian -

Thank you for your reply! I have been reading about each Dahua 5442 camera for a few hours now. I also found this website about setting up bat traps. I am done for the night though. I’ll let you know which Im going to buy tomorrow.

Thank you again!!
 
@Peek the 5442 cams are great as I mentioned before and in my review. They are very light sensitive (in a good way) but as mentioned, motion blue is a result of too low a shutter speed, you need to go manual and adjust. Depending on your light situation, you will gain some benefit from the good on cam IR BUT as we discussed before probably need the assistance of extra IR illumination offset and off cam to get what you ultimately want to capture. It starts however with a cam you can adjus.
Can anyone pick out a specific 5442 camera that will work? Look at the attached picture, it shows where either bats or flying squirrels are falling out from underneath trim boards under soffit on top left and right. I’ve gotten two pictures of flying squirrels but have never seen the exact spots they are coming from. I have seen many heat spots (white images) flying around in video but can’t tell which are bats n which are flying squirrels.

Thank you again!!
 
What is the distance to target ? That way we can advise on whether you need a standard B5442 bullet cam or Z4 variant. My thoughts based on what you mentioned originally is that Z4 would be better but distance is needed to understand further.


Can anyone pick out a specific 5442 camera that will work? Look at the attached picture, it shows where either bats or flying squirrels are falling out from underneath trim boards under soffit on top left and right. I’ve gotten two pictures of flying squirrels but have never seen the exact spots they are coming from. I have seen many heat spots (white images) flying around in video but can’t tell which are bats n which are flying squirrels.

Thank you again!!
 
What is the distance to target ? That way we can advise on whether you need a standard B5442 bullet cam or Z4 variant. My thoughts based on what you mentioned originally is that Z4 would be better but distance is needed to understand further.
I only have maybe 15’ - 20’ from my house to the street. I find with the cheap camera I am getting better pictures if I point the cameras on diagina view towards each side of soffit but then saw bats n squirrels but didn’t know exactly where they were coming out of. I had a couple of pics where bats were flying from my house to neighbors tree when I was originally playing around with the cams with you but haven’t been able to find them since camera died. I thought I saved them few pics somewhere but can’t find them.
 
Here is a pic with blur on upper left and right but the camera is sitting on the deck also under soffit. If I sit here and watch I can see some coming out the back of the facia boards for soffit where the roof guys moved the facia boards when they put shingles on sides of house. They would have noticed they screwed it up if they actually put drip edge underneath the shingles.

The camera goes off all day but don’t see them in the pics. I know they are going out at the time because I can hear them.
 

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What is the distance to target ? That way we can advise on whether you need a standard B5442 bullet cam or Z4 variant. My thoughts based on what you mentioned originally is that Z4 would be better but distance is needed to understand further.
I answered your questions below.

Thank you again!!