Using Trail Cams to Monitor Garden Critters

You might need to invest in a Spypoint trail cam to record the critter so you know what you're dealing with.  Last night I recorded a opossum devouring pears that had fallen off the tree. Going to have to pick up those pears in the evening from now on, so they aren't there for that possum!

Earlier this summer, something was eating my lettuce and spinach, so I moved a camera to that area, and it caught the critters doing it.

sanderson wrote:OG,   Oh, my goodness.  The photos are great.  It looks like that is the solution for mystery critters.

I looked up the company and the price is reasonable for what it does.  Do you turn it on at sundown or is it automatic?  What model do you have?  Do you have 2 or more?  Does it only record when there is movement?

I have two of the Spypoint Link-Micro-LTE-V cameras which I bought several years ago when Gander Mountain (now out of business) had them on sale. They have motion detection with settings for single photo or multiple shots, and they have a cell phone built-in which sends notification and photo to my phone any time there is motion detected (have to choose either AT&T or Verizon cell service when ordering). Each phone allows for 100 photos per month free, and a subscription plan if a user wants more (I've never had a need for more than the 100 provided).  It has user settings for the times it is active, or it can be set to be on 24 hours a day. I periodically change the settings to always record from dark until dawn - presently that is set from 7:00 pm until 7:00 am.

In the latest sale flyer I received, Cabela's has them on sale, and has a $20 rebate which goes through mid-November..
https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/spypoint-link-micro-lte-cellular-trail-camera

markqz wrote:Once you had the photos, what could you do about it?

In the case of the deer, they had to jump over a chain link fence to get into my garden area. So, I put a string of electric fence about 10" on the top of the original fence. The camera showed that they approached the fence one time, but they never tried to jump over it.

In the case of the possum, they simply crawl under the fence, or climb over it.  That little critter walked into a open Havahart trap, and is no longer in the neighborhood.

How many years will that device continue to send you 100 photos per month? If I had phone that I paid $80 for and got 100 minutes a month free, I'd buy it! I'm sure a call takes up less bandwidth than a photo.

Theoretically, as long a Spypoint is in business, they will continue to support the trail cams which are heavily used by hunters to observe where the game is.  For $5/month you can get 250 photos, or for $10/month you can get 1,000 photos.  I've had the cameras for about 5 years, and had to upgrade the firmware once because of changes to the cell service. There have been only 2 or 3 months when I reached the 100 photo count on one of the cameras, and had to wait for the 30 days to expire.

I'm considering upgrading to a couple of the new Flex cameras, though. They have increased the sensitivity, and have added video previews before deciding to download the full video.

markqz wrote:

OhioGardener wrote:Theoretically, as long a Spypoint is in business, they will continue to support the trail cams which are heavily used by hunters to observe where the game is.

If the shots happen in day time, are they in color, or always B/W ?

 
Yes, they are in color during daylight, but B&W at night. I turn it off during the day because it records me, birds, etc., which I don't need.

Early this morning one of the trail cams caught an opossum checking out the garden. Fortunately, there is nothing there for it to eat or destroy this time of year, but was surprised to find another one visiting.

MrBooker wrote: Within the last few weeks, I have caught and released two Skunks from my have-a-Heart trap. There's no way to dispatch a trapped Skunk without it spraying and I'm not taking a chance of it spraying my truck.

How did you successfully release the skunks without getting sprayed? So far, I haven't had them, but have trapped a number of possums and raccoons, which are easy to deal with.