New neighbor aims trail camera at Grandfather's house, homeowner wants to avoid discussion with neighbor

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Mar 16, 2026 11:00 AM EDT

The peace and tranquility of this family home has been interrupted by a trail camera pointed right towards the property. 

As you can imagine, the homeowner isn't thrilled about this, but what can they do to get the camera removed from their neighbor's property line?

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    Neighbor smiles while capturing photo of neighbor's property.
    via Getty Images

    Neighbor smiles while capturing photo of neighbor's property. 

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • While living out in nature, you want to soak it all in. You're surrounded by plant life. It's quiet. Calmness sets in. Depending on where you are, you might be far, far away from other people. And that's exactly the way that a lot of folks like it. They want to enjoy nature on their own terms

    But this person realized that their next door neighbor has begun putting up trail cameras. They're like Ring cameras, but for deer. You've probably seen trail camera footage before — it's the type of footage where you watch a deer wander by, or you see a raccoon hunker down to eat it's nightly meal. Some of this footage is undeniably cool, and you would literally never see these moments if it weren't for the camera. 

    I think it's cool that the neighbor has a trail camera. And perhaps they aren't intending to surveil the person next door… but that person is also peeved that there's now a random camera pointed in their direction 24/7. 

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    Trail cam facing my backyard (house)?! What should I do? Am I wrong for doing this?

    Cheezburger Image 10614941184
    via MeasurementFirst1676
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    Here's the closeup... Yeah that camera can probably see a lot of what goes on next door

    Cheezburger Image 10614940928
    via MeasurementFirst1676
  • 04
    A new (property owner) neighbor who doesn't live near the property put a trail camera on a tree facing my backyard and house (deck/seating area).
    via MeasurementFirst1676
  • 05
    My grandfather's house since the early 80's and handed down through the family generations.
    via MeasurementFirst1676
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    Always have taken care of the property and the property in question here. It's supposed to be peaceful living I'd assume, it's not the suburbs or the city. The
    via MeasurementFirst1676
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    dogs have always explored the backyard woods as so have I since I could walk.
    via MeasurementFirst1676
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    Since the passing of the previous property owner, a new person that purchased the property has put up an obnoxious amount of posted signs (like one every 7' there's prob. about 8 signs in total), but I'll deal with
    via MeasurementFirst1676
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    those eventually. My infuriating situation is a trail cam facing my property. I don't know how to deal with this as I don't think there's going to be any compromising here. Is it
    via MeasurementFirst1676
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    wrong for me to purposely try and activate the trail camera w/ this flying ribbon? I don't want to start a neighborly war or battle (I'm going to end up losing, because nobody lives on the property. It's
    via MeasurementFirst1676
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    just land) It's already bad with the signs, but what do I do?
    via MeasurementFirst1676
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    People had some really thoughtful advice for this person, most of which didn't involve a standoff with said neighbor

    Astramancer_ In the US it's generally legal to put cameras on your own property and it's generally legal to record things that are in "plain view" from a place you're legally authorized to be. Basically, if your neighbor could legally stand there and look, they can put a camera to look.
    via Astramancer_
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    There's a couple things you can also do legally. The ribbons work, if they constantly trigger the camera it's going to run out of power and space real fast. But funnier? Get an infrared spotlight and point it at the camera. That camera won't see sh...
    via Astramancer_
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    Do NOT damage the camera, and especially do not trespass to damage or move the camera. That turns 'mildly infuriating' into 'potential criminal record.' This includes getting a laser and shining it on the lens, which can damage the sensor. Just get the IR spotlight and render the camera useless perfectly legally.
    via Astramancer_

  • Let's hope this person has an exploratory conversation with the neighbor first! They'll need to ask a bunch of questions about why the neighbor is choosing to use this camera. They should let the neighbor do most of the talking, and then state their case. 

    Although this person is used to the tranquility of their family's property, this new neighbor might not be. As they settle in, they might be making adjustments (hence the signs, for reasons that people elaborated on down below). I think it's totally plausible that the neighbor picked a tree, glanced around, and thought, “Yeah sure, that's a fine spot for the trail camera." They might not be totally wedded to the idea of having the trail camera in that particular spot forever.

    As some people pointed out, this person could be after deer or other local wildlife, and wants to track their habits or migratory paths. They might be security minded, and think that that's the best choice for their property. And, as some folks noted, the trail camera can't actually see that far into the distance, so it might not really be that big of a problem. But I still understand why you wouldn't want to be on camera at your house in the middle of the wilderness. Even if the camera can't see them, a lot of people just do not want any tech in their woods, feeling that it defeats the purpose of being in the great outdors. 

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    Tree-covered wilderness with a house and mountains visible.
    via Vasily Ledovsky

    Tree-covered wilderness with a house and mountains visible.

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    pixeltackle Fences make the best neighbors; when you don't. have that luxury the second best option is to work with them and build a cordial relationship even if they're not "your type" of person.
    via pixeltackle
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    Even a difficult person is much easier to work with if you have a relationship with them. I wouldn't start the relatiionship with ANY complaints, either - to be clear. Actually try to get to know them, find out what their deal is over time, and then ask for small changes that you would really be happy with.
    via pixeltackle
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    The cost down the line of having a bad relationship with your adjoining property owner in these situations can be insanely huge. You never know how vindictive they may be, or if you ever need help in the future it will be way less likely to be available. Goodluck
    via pixeltackle
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    Yankee_Air_Polack First step: "Hey man I noticed you put up a trail camera on the back edge of your property. Could I bother you to face it in a different direction? I don't mind you tracking deer and stuff on your property but I'd rather not have it face my property taking pictures of my back yard."
    via Yankee_Air_Polack
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    Escalation 1: registered mail cease & desist on the grounds that you're being recorded on private property without consent (it's not illegal but a cease and desist doesn't have any real legal power anyway) Escalation 2: spotlight aimed directly at the camera Escalation 3: 8ft privacy fence
    via Yankee_Air_Polack
  • 21
    If the property is rural enough, the guy's probably just trying to avoid poachers coming onto his land and hunting deer or something.
    via Yankee_Air_Polack
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    This might all be solved with a simple conversation of "hey if I see anyone trying to hunt your land that's not you, I'll call the cops on them, but I'd rather not have a camera pointing at my property because we're very private people."
    via Yankee_Air_Polack
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    JJMANS242424 Most trail cameras have limited range. I would guess this one is getting 40-50 feet at best. Not sure your distance but I don't think it is taking as many pictures of your property as you think it is.
    via JJMANS242424
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    Wooden fence seperates 2 neighbor's properties.
    via Kristina Shvedenko

    Wooden fence seperates 2 neighbor's properties. 

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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