Approximately 67% of all burglaries occurring in the United States target residential properties. This results in nearly 3.5 billion dollars in homeowner property losses each year. Of those burglaries, 15% occur in homes in the Northeast, and nearly half of those take place while the resident is at home.

This makes security cameras a very important tool for both the safety of the home and the homeowner. Yet, an effective camera isn’t enough. You also need an effective camera placement.

In some cases, you may not want your cameras right out in the open where they can be tampered with. Instead, you want to ensure that they are well hidden, yet still placed in prime position to capture any would-be intruder.

Here are a few great places to hide your indoor and outdoor cameras to ensure that they are as useful as possible while remaining undamaged by potential burglars.

For Indoor Security Cameras

Hide the Cameras in Everyday Household Items: Items like stuffed animals, photo frames, tissue boxes, and clocks are great places to hide your security cams. Find an object that is the right size to fit your camera, and place it near the valuables in your space. This will ensure that the camera will capture anyone trying to loot your most prized possessions.

Leverage High Places: Burglars are less likely to look up when entering your home. This makes high places like tops of bookshelves or cabinets, ceiling fans, or pieces of art hung high on the wall great options to hide a camera. Test the camera before you settle on a location to confirm that it can capture all important areas clearly and without interference from other items in the space.
For Outdoor Security Cameras

Use a Doorbell Camera: A doorbell cam allows you to closely monitor your front door without worrying about how to hide the camera. It is also at the perfect height to be able to capture the burglar from head to toe. They may be looking for a separate camera hiding around your entryway, but the doorbell cam might go entirely unnoticed.

Place the Cameras at the Right Height: The right height for outdoor cameras (excluding those kept very near the ground) is anywhere from 8 to 9 feet off the ground. Anything higher than 9 feet runs the risk of producing grainy or incomplete footage. Lower than 8 feet leave the camera too reachable. It could easily be tampered with or destroyed at that height.

Use a Birdhouse: This is one of the most common ways people hide their cameras, and it still proves effective. Place the birdhouse so that it points toward the front door and make sure that no tree leaves or branches are covering the lens. You may want to check this again periodically and remove anything that is obstructing the camera’s view.

Finally, as a general rule for both indoor and outdoor cameras, you need to place them in the most common points through which a burglar will try to enter. That means in the entryway and the living room for indoor cameras, and near the front door for outdoor cameras. Place cameras in other areas as well, but definitely make sure these spaces are covered first.