Any ideas to deter kids knick knocking ?

[Buster3931]

Hi guys
Over the holidays we always have the odd kid knocking on our door and running away. No doubt having a giggle or two.

These holidays it seems to be getting on SWMBO's nerves abit.  Thinking about two options.

Put up a dummy camera and a small sign on the door to say " smile " .

Second option is to install a camera setup to capture their image and pass it out in neighbourhood .

Any other suggestions short of mantraps in the front yard.

Buster

[xcvator]

Hey, I used to do that when I was a kid ,  we even tied cotton to the door knocker so we would have a head start when we pulled the cotton from 30 yards away,  but our giggles useually got us caught and given a bit of a kick up the bum. But it was generally a pretty harmless prank, and nobody got really upset

[xcvator]

Hi guys
Over the holidays we always have the odd kid knocking on our door and running away. No doubt having a giggle or two.

These holidays it seems to be getting on SWMBO's nerves abit.  Thinking about two options.

Put up a dummy camera and a small sign on the door to say " smile " .

Second option is to install a camera setup to capture their image and pass it out in neighbourhood .

Any other suggestions short of mantraps in the front yard.

Buster

Lighten up a bit, that's a hell of a lot better than some of the kids are getting up to, and really is pretty harmless

[scarps]

Hook up the CT and leave town during the holidays, preferably to a state where they're back at school.
Or
Buy a dog with a fierce growl and loud bark.

On a serious note Buster, understand your pain if it gets on swmbo's nerves. The opposite of happy wife?
Maybe turn it into a game of hide and seek. Better to be known as kid friendly than the grumpy old bastards.

[Buster3931]

I know it's harmless but I need to be seen to be doing something as I work nightshift .

I did it as a kid and usually had a raffle book in my pocket in case of being caught.
It would be nice not to have to put up with it though.

Buster

[peter01]

security lights on a sensor, we did that in a previous life with great success

[Rumpig]

being it's bound to be young kids doing it, security sensor light and the smile sign should have kids thinking twice i'd reckon

[Buster3931]

security lights on a sensor, we did that in a previous life with great success

Yep sensor light was the first thing I installed when we moved in.

[edz]

Rig up a loudspeaker next to the door and hook up the doormat as a preasure pad to start a CD player, then do a custom Steven King Horror movie sound track .. make sure a camera is on to catch the fun to post up here . ..
Or one of these http://movingsoundtech.com/

[toeball]

Motion sensing sprinkler?

[Hefty]

Game camera.  They're designed to take pictures when they sense motion.

sent from the dark recesses of my mind.

[Hefty]

Now that I think about it,  I'm pretty sure you can get ones that can send the picture, or at least a msg to your phone in case it happens while you're on your night shift.

EDIT: damn you auto correct!!

sent from the dark recesses of my mind.

[berlitza]

You could always have a bit of fun with it, if it was me I would buy a ghillie suit  hide in the front garden with a water cannon and scare the crap out of them..Personally I wouldn't bother with a camera, to me that would just make it more of a challenge..

Bushman In Adelaide (Rundle Mall)

[Bunyip]

Movement sensor with a recording of a barking dog perhaps?

[Mik01]

Hi guys
Over the holidays we always have the odd kid knocking on our door and running away. No doubt having a giggle or two.

These holidays it seems to be getting on SWMBO's nerves abit.  Thinking about two options.

Put up a dummy camera and a small sign on the door to say " smile " .

Second option is to install a camera setup to capture their image and pass it out in neighbourhood .

Any other suggestions short of mantraps in the front yard.

Buster

dummy camera, 'smile, you're on camera' sign, and leave the front light on (or a sensor light) - all are cheap and easy to do and should move them on to the next house.

I assume this is happening at night - if so, for those of you suggesting he lightens up - he works nightshift and the mrs must be home alone - it would be unnerving for this to be happening from her perspective and if it was me, I would be worried (even if its 'just kids').  I travel a lot over night for work, and my mrs gets scared sometimes when she hears noises etc around the house/yard area.

if the above doesn't stop it and its becoming a concern - invest in a real camera.  they are really cheap nowadays, easy to install and record to a hard drive.  you can get an infrared one - most are not very good, but at short range they will grab a good image of the little turd for you to take further action if required.

[Mace]

we didnt have any neighbours doors to knock on, so me and the mates used to wrap a shoe box with brown paper and leave it by the side of the road and hide until some poor unsuspecting person pulled up to inspect it.  they usually saw the funny side of things when they realised nothin was in it, and they heard laughing from behind the big gum tree next to the road.

got the local hay baling contractor one morning, he then ran over our box on the return trip an hour or two later 

We got him back the next morning tho,, made a box up specially for him, coz we knew he would be back.  When we heard him coming up the road we replaced the expty one with something different!

The site of the red fergy bouncing over the three bricks we put in the parcel reduced us to tears for a good 10 minutes 

Who needs computer games to have fun!!

[Buster3931]

Thanks Mik01
That about sums it all up. I find it easy to ignore but the missus and kids don't see the funny side of it.

I've looked into the game camera so I could use it for other pursuits as well. Some nice IR ones on the market . I'm going to look into some of the ip wireless cameras too. They can stream straight to my iPad or PC while I'm at work.

I'll see this week but it is usually only school holidays anyway. If they really wanted trouble  they would be doing it at 10 am instead of after dark. ?

Buster

[fishfinder]

just leave the door opened

[Tim - Stratford]

"....Smithers, release the hounds..."   

[gordo350]

Hook up an electric fence energizer to the door knob:)

gordo350

[berlitza]

had a another idea,    spud gun    , there could be assault chargers with that idea though 

[Azz]

Build one of these, replace cats with children.

How to stop cats forever- The extreme party popper by Craig Turner

[Azz]

In a past life, the other half was a teacher, so we used to get stoning and door knockers quite a bit.
One night I had a gut full and rang the police, I knew the bloke that answered, told him who it was, he called them little Shits and then said
"You've got a gun, go and shoot the little F'ers, just don't kill them" 
I ended up giving chase, but wasn't fast enough, but my Police mate was just rolling along the street where they popped out, he was nice enough to give
them a ride back home in the Divy wagon 

[Variflex]

Id simply not answer the door for a few days, the kids will soon get bored and find another house to target

[oldmate]

12 gauge will fix the mongrels. Lol