I think someone has been in my house... what should I do?

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Alarm systems give you peace of mind and imho are well worth the money.

Add it up.
Your house and all its crap are worth how much to you?

Also you get a break on your homeowners so it does help offset the cost of the alarm.
 
Someone may have been in your house, but we have stereo equipment that turns on by itself and does not indicate any break in. One separate piece of stereo equipment (ipod docking mini-stereo) turns on whenever the power goes off and then on again, with the volume set to maximum. It's quite surprising in the middle of the night.

Just make sure to lock down so there will be signs of forced entry if someone comes in, change the locks, and set up the cameras people are recommending.
 
sothoth said:
Someone may have been in your house, but we have stereo equipment that turns on by itself and does not indicate any break in. One separate piece of stereo equipment (ipod docking mini-stereo) turns on whenever the power goes off and then on again, with the volume set to maximum. It's quite surprising in the middle of the night.

Just make sure to lock down so there will be signs of forced entry if someone comes in, change the locks, and set up the cameras people are recommending.
Click to expand...
Yes... and no. Hide your DVR very well and connect via wireless. They're NOT likely to find it if you use a little common sense.:)
 
Have any animals? We found out that our cat has learned to jump up and turns the lights on/off around the house, and he has opened a door once... little bastard grabs on with both paws and knows to twist!:eek: He can only do it on one door though, it's door-knob is considerably easier to operate than the others in the apartment, though he still tries with the others.:scrutiny:

edit: My wife SWEARS we had a poltergeist among us for a few days as the lights were turning on in the middle of the night... until one night that Jack decided to jump up and switch a light on while we were watching TV together.
 
The items you found changed don'ts sound like "scoping out" or burglarly type behavior. Besides - if they're already in a criminal is going to take what they can get their hands on. Each subsequent reentry is another chance at getting caught.

If you're still worried though, then as said you might try getting a hunting camera. Alternatively, I use a computer product called "Yawcam". With a webcam enabled computer, you can schedule monitoring periods. If anyone steps in front of my computer during the times when I'm at work then the motion detection algorithm goes off and it starts blaring an alarm, takes a few rapid succession photos (it takes 40 of them spaced 1/4 second apart), sends me an email alert, and starts uploading the photos to my Dropbox account (that part ensures that even if they take the computer itself the photos have already made it to the internet where they can't do anything about it).

Yawcam is completely free. A webcam costs $20 or so. It's cheap protection.
 
Reiterating duble naught spy, I've put in security for many people that were saving more money a year on their homeowners ins than what the alarm costs. You can get cameras hidden in anything you can think of.
 
Well, weirdness is weirdness, but I did discover after about a year in my apartment that my neighbors (house about 50 feet window to window) would occasionally work my TV.

I can not imagine an explanation for a phantom plant waterer.

keep us posted.
 
I'll chime in here and reiterate the point that you need to get good locks if you don't expect them to be picked. Typical padlocks are also a total joke. They are very easy for even a novice to pick in only a few seconds because there are so few tumblers. I picked a gun lock for a friend the other day who'd lost his key. He and his shooting friends were surprised at how easily it was done, but the truth is I only practiced off and on for a day or two a few years ago to get it right. I am confident that I could get into most houses in my neighborhood using only a larger jewelers screwdriver and stiff paperclip within a few minutes, and anything locked with a typical Masterlock (storage shed, basement door, etc) within seconds. Same for most filing cabinets. Get padlocks with a code and devise a way to encase them while locked so that you can still enter the code but not get something like a crowbar into the lock.
 
Wow, all this because your plant was wet and you left a window unlocked? Really? I think you have been watching to many movies or something.;) Your dog sounds like it would stop someone from coming into the house.Besides who the heck is goingt ocome in just to water a plant?? :rolleyes:
 
Additional facts: I didn't mention this in my original post for security reasons, but I was out of town for two weeks while this happened and I just returned. All seems okay but I'm changing the locks and garage door opener code.

Woody, those are good points - it's just unnerving to think that someone *may* have been in my house, harmlessly or not.

Only a few non-threatening plausible answers - the plant is that I inadvertently over-watered my plant the week before and residual water remained at the top. As to the stereo, either an electronic glitch or errant signal turned it on.

The fact that nothing was stolen (no ammo, no guns, no liquor, no beer, no wine) tells me that no-one nefarious was here.

Another answer I hadn't considered was that my neighbor or his wife were using my place for relaxation or a tryst... hate to think of that.
 
Quick n' easy

Dust your window sills, door thresholds, and/or main thoroughfares with a light dusting of talcum powder. Stevie Wonder could see the footprints.
 
Nobody who was just in your house for a few minutes, to steal from it, to use it for an affair, or whatever, would have watered the plants. That had to be you or your girlfriend.

As for the stereo, it's possible your neighbors have a similar unit and their remote is hitting yours as well. It's also possible it's subject to various other kinds of interference, particularly if it's a low-end brand. Some units, if the power goes off briefly, will turn on when the power comes back on. Most appliance clocks these days have a short-term battery that allow them to weather a brief power outage (even if it's only a few seconds), so they may not be a good indicator of whether your power wen tout.
 
I would not suggest getting game cameras to do your security work, or if you do, get multiple cameras. You are limited by a number of factors with game camera, the biggest being the reset time between images. I know from running multiple cameras at the same location and covering the same area from different angles that there is a lot that a single camera misses, mostly due to the various delays either in activation or in followup images.

You can offset part of the problem by getting a camera that can take images at a fairly high rate, such as every 10 seconds. Make sure you get a large capacity SD card and use top shelf batteries. Also note that some game cameras actually make some noise which can lead to its detection.
 
I wouldn't be shy about asking for advise on this either. I would definately put cameras of some kind up outside and definately a couple inside. If someone is playing games you need to know.

I have strange goings ons in my house also, I have doors that don't have locks on them that the knob won't turn at times, then it will just swing open like someone else opened it from the other side of the door, things like that. We see shadows in our house all the time and some peek around the corners at us while my wife and I are watching tv. She just about flipped out about flipped out when she first saw one.

I would definately put in a security system with cameras/door alarms. You don't know what kind of weido is living around you, including your neighbors.

You may get a break on your homeowners insurance for putting one in, then you will know.
 
leadcounsel wrote, on February 2, 2012:
I'm debating cameras and a security system.
Click to expand...

leadcounsel wrote in another thread, on December 9, 2011:
I am also at home today, on vacation, and had someone ring my doorbell. When I answered he had some questions about cable services or something...

Seems that would be a very easy way to case a joint. Good thing that I have loud dogs, camera, alarms, etc..
Click to expand...

So which is it. Do you already have the cameras and alarms, or are you "debating" getting them?
 
I think your house is haunted!!!! lol.

I'm waiting to hear any updates on this. Lots of great advice given, but a hidden camera is the best suggestion. After installing it, you and your gf should leave for a day or two. Dont tell the neighbor you will be gone. Come back and watch the surveillance vids.
 
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