Spiders

ctorti

Hi all,

I have 3 RLC-410W WiFi IP cameras and have connected 2 of them outside. They work reasonably well but my biggest complaint is that the bullet design makes it easy for spiders to create webs.

Firstly there's the overhang (probably intended to block sunlight). And the central portion of the front face has a circular ring that slightly protrudes from the face, providing surfaces for spiders to anchor a web to.

The height of at least one of the cameras is far too high for me to reach to clean it. I could re-mount it at a lower height but would need two cameras in place of the one to capture the full width of the area of interest. Besides, even with the camera at a more manageable height, it's an ongoing nuisance to clean and it does me no good to have a security camera that can be foiled by a web during a potentially critical moment when I'm not aware of its presence.

At the time that I purchased the cameras, bullet designs were the only WiFi IP models available. I see now that there is the Lumus, which looks like a potentially better design to avoid spider webs.

I've tried using a product called Spider-Ex but it's completely useless at deterring spiders.

I only see 3 options going forward:

1. Figure out how to prevent spiders from anchoring onto the front of the cameras.

2. Sell my RLC-410W cameras and try the Lumus.

3. Sell my RLC-410W cameras and try a dome-shaped (or Lumus-shape-like) camera from a different manufacturer.

Does anyone have any suggestions for either of those 3 options?

Best regards,
Cris

ctorti

I forgot to add:

Has anyone tried using the Lumus outdoors, and if so, can anyone confirm whether they had any spider webs and over what period of usage?

Cynthia

Hi, there. I haven't got this issue before. Since you mentioned that the camera is placed high, you can see if there is any long broom that can help you reach the lens of the camera and then clean the webs.

But I think maybe the shape of the Lumus may help stop the spiders to create webs. Lumus doesn't have the place for the spiders to create the web. You can order one to have a try to see if Lumus can help solve this issue.

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mikejasonmail

This post is deleted!

DAILY VICTORY

USE LAVENDER OIL AND SPIDERS WILL RUN AWAY

ALSO LEMON OIL WORKS

RESEARCH IT

LET ME KNOW

Downsie

What worries me about this thread is that no-one, including Keymaster, is aware of products such as SpiderX.

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Tazzy

I suffer from spider intrusions regularly and have tried all the potions available on the market to help repel them, but within days (sometimes minutes and hours) they are back practising their acrobatics and tight rope walking creating massive white blobs on my monitor!

Having tried various potions, I tried a couple of things that seemed to eradicate spiders by 95% for 2-4 weeks.....

Good old WD-40 (blue can)
WD-40 Silicon grease spray (silver/yellow can)

I spray it on the top of the camera housing and back mount. My cameras are wall mounted and slightly pitched down. For obvious reasons, spiders avoid it. Like most things, after time and weathering, it wears off and the good old bright white blob walking back and forth on the screen reminds me to go and spray again! (just a liberal coating, not dripping!).

I probably won't win any environmental awards....but it works!

Tip of the day.... When applying, hold a bit of scrunched up kitchen roll over the front (lens area) to avoid any wandering spray getting on it, otherwise a 30 second operation becomes 10 minutes trying to remove the smears!

Cutty

Obviously, most will NOT desire to disable the IR... ... it's the 'tiny' spider family that "bugs" me most. However, the IR at night is an attraction for such critters and their prey. There is also a small amount of heat generated. Logic is simple... if bugs don't come, spiders won't build. This WON'T eliminate the spider issue, but has helped on my outdoor weathercams... I generally only use the IR if precipitation is expected, and have far fewer 'tiny spider' issues. It doesn't seem to matter about the bigger 'orb' spiders... they'll build anywhere that bugs fly into and they can get anchors.... heh... using supplemental IR away from the camera several feet may help, but I'm not necessarily going to experiment with my money on that. but for security installations, might be something to think about.

bitteroldmann

Solved the spider problem by turning off camera IR illumination and installing separate IR illuminators a few feet away from cameras
Prefer the 940nm invisible IR over visible 850nm LED lights.. be advised 940nm IR illuminators have 50% less range than 850nm illuminators..
Separate IR lighting cuts down on movement false alarms from bugs, dust, snow, or rain reflecting camera IR illumination too..

mariah9xx

If possible, try to adjust the placement of your cameras so that they are not directly facing areas where spiders tend to build webs. This might mean positioning them differently or installing them at a slightly different angle.

wordle