How Do I Keep Mouths From Activating My Motion Dector Lighta

Moths. not burglars, activate lights

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praxis: Posts: 599; Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2009 1:51 pm

Moths. not burglars, activate lights

Post by praxis » Sun Apr 24, 2016 8:37 am

After a spate of break-ins nearby, mostly to cars in driveways looking for firearms/cash, we installed motion activated floodlights. They have range and duration settings and 2 bright halogen bulbs. We don't want the lights on all night, but as soon as a cat trips the sensor, moths show up and the light cycles on/off all night. I bolted out of bed at first, confident that I could discourage intruder with karate (I've never taken karate) but now, a week later, I'm just sleep-deprived. It never occured to me, but this must happen all the time. Suggestions?

quantAndHold: Posts: 6705; Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2015 10:39 pm

Re: Moths. not burglars, activate lights

Post by quantAndHold » Sun Apr 24, 2016 8:41 am

We have several of those. They can be interesting to adjust, especially if you have several of them working together. If the cat is tripping the sensor, it's either set too sensitive, or the sensor is aimed too low. We also found there were differences in how well the sensors worked. If you can't get it adjusted, you might try a different brand.

Yes, I'm really that pedantic.

Topic Author praxis: Posts: 599; Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2009 1:51 pm

Re: Moths. not burglars, activate lights

Post by praxis » Tue Apr 26, 2016 6:16 am

Thanks for the great suggestions. I set the range (sensitivity) lower and it seems not to be set off by moths now. We'll see as the bug season gets in full swing. Moving the sensor apart from the light is perfect, although I'll have to buy a new setup. Worth it.

Topic Author praxis: Posts: 599; Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2009 1:51 pm

Re: Moths. not burglars, activate lights

Post by praxis » Tue Apr 26, 2016 10:20 am

desiderium wrote:You appear to have a rich local ecosystem. Enjoy!

Well, that's a nice way to describe the Louisiana swamp. Being a Yankee immigrant for the past 35 years, I wouldn't trade this weather for anywhere, at least from Oct. to June. We have no shortage of critters down here. Thanks.

BuckyBadger: Posts: 1192; Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2011 11:28 am

Re: Moths. not burglars, activate lights

Post by BuckyBadger » Tue Apr 26, 2016 10:26 am

We just keep the floods on all night. They're situated so as to not shine in anyone's bedroom windows (us or neighbors) so we have them turn on at dusk and turn off at dawn.

It makes us feel better, at least!

bru: Posts: 1013; Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2010 6:32 pm

Re: Moths. not burglars, activate lights

Post by bru » Tue Apr 26, 2016 3:00 pm

At least you care enough to figure out a way to not have them going off and on all night. So many people are either too stupid or too inconsiderate to care. I moved to the suburbs to escape the city and enjoy some tranquility but instead my house is lit up like a christmas tree from all my neighbors' lights.

BuckyBadger wrote:We just keep the floods on all night. They're situated so as to not shine in anyone's bedroom windows (us or neighbors) so we have them turn on at dusk and turn off at dawn.

It makes us feel better, at least!

Glad I don't live near you. So what if they aren't shining in someone's bedroom? You are still unnecessarily adding to the light pollution issue.

Topic Author praxis: Posts: 599; Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2009 1:51 pm

Re: Moths. not burglars, activate lights

Post by praxis » Tue Apr 26, 2016 3:53 pm

I chose motion-activated lights because both of my neighbors have lights that light up the inside of our house all night and I think it's inconsiderate. I thought spooking a burglar occasionally wasn't as bad as shining my floodlights around the neighborhood all night long.

However, I don't feel strong enough about it yet to mention their light invasion. People certainly have worse conflicts with neighbors than safety lights spilling over next door. My experience is that good fences make good neighbors. We are friendlier with the couple on the north side and the south side neighbors are newer but I haven't asked either neighbor to aim the lights elsewhere.

We do not have drapes, and I would not like to hear that from them in response to a complaint from me.

cheese_breath: Posts: 10662; Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2011 7:08 pm

Re: Moths. not burglars, activate lights

Post by cheese_breath » Tue Apr 26, 2016 4:01 pm

chx wrote:I think you should leave it at the current setting. Cats are notorious burglars.

Car burglars? I always thought cat burglars were burglars who stole cats.

The surest way to know the future is when it becomes the past.

Nicolas: Posts: 3285; Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 7:41 am; Location: Ashtabula, 56th and Wabasha; Contact:

Re: Moths. not burglars, activate lights

Post by Nicolas » Tue Apr 26, 2016 6:08 pm

praxis wrote:I chose motion-activated lights because both of my neighbors have lights that light up the inside of our house all night and I think it's inconsiderate. I thought spooking a burglar occasionally wasn't as bad as shining my floodlights around the neighborhood all night long.

However, I don't feel strong enough about it yet to mention their light invasion. People certainly have worse conflicts with neighbors than safety lights spilling over next door. My experience is that good fences make good neighbors. We are friendlier with the couple on the north side and the south side neighbors are newer but I haven't asked either neighbor to aim the lights elsewhere.

We do not have drapes, and I would not like to hear that from them in response to a complaint from me.

This is good policy. It would take a lot for me to ever complain about anything to my neighbors. I made that mistake at a previous house I owned and had to live with the animosity for 12 years until we moved out -- never again.

Last edited by Nicolas on Wed Apr 27, 2016 10:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

itstoomuch: Posts: 5343; Joined: Mon Dec 15, 2014 12:17 pm; Location: midValley OR

Re: Moths. not burglars, activate lights

Post by itstoomuch » Tue Apr 26, 2016 8:45 pm

You have some smart Moths.

Last edited by itstoomuch on Tue Apr 26, 2016 9:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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quantAndHold: Posts: 6705; Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2015 10:39 pm

Re: Moths. not burglars, activate lights

Post by quantAndHold » Tue Apr 26, 2016 8:52 pm

praxis wrote:I chose motion-activated lights because both of my neighbors have lights that light up the inside of our house all night and I think it's inconsiderate. I thought spooking a burglar occasionally wasn't as bad as shining my floodlights around the neighborhood all night long.

However, I don't feel strong enough about it yet to mention their light invasion. People certainly have worse conflicts with neighbors than safety lights spilling over next door. My experience is that good fences make good neighbors. We are friendlier with the couple on the north side and the south side neighbors are newer but I haven't asked either neighbor to aim the lights elsewhere.

We do not have drapes, and I would not like to hear that from them in response to a complaint from me.

I do have to admit, one time when my neighbor was on vacation, I went over to her house and unscrewed one of her light bulbs. It was set wrong and it was turning on and off about every 20 seconds all night. That was about 10 years ago. She still hasn't noticed.

Yes, I'm really that pedantic.