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

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Put a Scotch Tape seal on all your doors and windows and check to see if it is broken when you come home. Do your front door from the outside. Don't tell anyone aside from your GF. The game cameras are a good idea but I would use them outside at entry points so they can be better hidden.
 
Black sewing thread is better than scotch tape.....rig it down low so someone has to walk through it to break it......just beacause noone was there when you cleared the house, your may be under surveilance at certain times.

I'd let everyone know I'm leaving with the wife for the weekend then on the QT I'd hire a guard dog service and let them put the most azz kickin' shepards they have in the house day and night untill sunday when you return.

You clean up what's left............
 
@ Al Thomspon -
As to the weird stuff, I'm single and live alone. No critters. I do have a seldom used door that locks itself every month or two. Very annoying. Absolutely no reason for it to do so, but it does.
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OMG, at my last house in a different state I had a seldom used bedroom door (room was used for storage only) that would lock itself too!!! It happened on a few occassions, and I have no good explanation because I lived alone. Sooo eerriee. The ONLY explanation I have is that I would occassionally go into the room to retrieve stuff from a box (room was used for storage) and not-purposefully locked the door on the way out of the room as I pulled it shut...
 
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And don't tell anyone...
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No one should know the system even exists...
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Nobody else is going to come out and say it, so I will; don't tell your GF or neighbor either. No reflection on them; it just eliminates those possibilities.

You don't need top of the line or anything, but your typical Kwikset/Schlage locks that you find at home depot and lowes are incredibly easy to pick.
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More info on this would be great.
Thanks!
 
I need recommendations for trail cameras, home cameras, and nanny cames. Am looking at the already provided links now.

Thanks.
 
If you use a trailcam, I would just use it with the understanding that it’s not going to give night photos and place elec tape on the flash or IR. The IR cameras that I use (Moultrie) light up pretty bad when the IR comes on. I have a couple of deer that look directly at the camera every time they walk by it. It’s not a flash, just several red lights. Anyone caught on camera with it in the dark would know that something just happened…
 
Go with the security system regardless - use it in stay mode when you're home too. If you've got a smash and grab/meth problem anyway it could buy you an extra second or so while the dogs get oriented to the threat. Depending on your real estate market, you'll get most or more of the costs back when you re-sell for the next PCS anyway.

If you haven't yet, file a police report to get a legal record going, and next time(s) you arrive and think you've been breached, let them clear it, building clearance might have been our ('91 ODS, '04-'05 OIF, '11 OND in my case) deal in OIF/OEF, but you can get legal-slammed for "perp-hunting" in a lot of states (PTSD driven babykiller, etc...), even if you eventually win the case, it will be expensive. Additionally, you could be "tampering" with a crime scene and hinder future criminal prosecution.

As far as the stock NRA Refuse To Be a Victim answer, "Back out, go to a safe location, call 911, and wait for the police."
 
Park your car in the garage and have someone else drive away one day, pretending to be you. You stay home and wait for whoever may show up. The stereo coming on "by itself" can be explained-something nearby is operating on the same frequency and accidentally turned it on. The watered plant is another thing.

Did the previous owner of the house hire a housekeeper and forget to tell them that they moved out?
 
Good thought about the stereo receiving an errant code to turn it on.... not sure about the plant. It's possible that I watered it a week earlier, but just strange that it would still be 'wet'.
 
I have to keep yelling at my upstairs to quit walking around because I need to sleep! I live alone and it is an old ,old house.It does quit causing the floor (my ceiling)to stop squeeking like someone is pacing back and forth.Weird thing is ,there is a wall in the middle of the "path".Done it for years,I've learned to not think about it much.
 
It's possible that I watered it a week earlier, but just strange that it would still be 'wet'.
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How humid is it in your house?

at least here in FL, the AC has to be set sufficiently low so that it will run often enough to dry out the air. Otherwise, humidity stays around and stuff just doesn't dry up.
 
House humitidy isn't a factor. I have 3 plants side by side, and only one appeared and felt watered recently. It's possible that I overwatered it and it was saturated... I'll do some testing. But I don't think I did.
 
For years we would sometimes find the Paprika in the center of the kitchen floor in the morning.

We didn't have Internet-capable DVR-Camera systems and smartphones then... The Paprika Poltergeist will remain a mystery for the ages.

Your options are many today, I'd go with the system.
 
OMG, at my last house in a different state I had a seldom used bedroom door (room was used for storage only) that would lock itself too!!! It happened on a few occassions, and I have no good explanation because I lived alone. Sooo eerriee. The ONLY explanation I have is that I would occassionally go into the room to retrieve stuff from a box (room was used for storage) and not-purposefully locked the door on the way out of the room as I pulled it shut...
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I have a room like that. It has the same kind of twist locking mech on the back of the knob as my outside doors, hinged the same way too. I've figured out that when I go through that door in a hurry or with something on my mind I sometimes twist the lock like I do every time I go outside. Just a mental habit of always locking my outside doors leaking into my habits with inside doors.
 
Thinking of starting with some inexpensive mini-motion activated cameras like the Sphere Mini Digital Camcorder for $50 on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QRUM92/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?ie=UTF8&m=A1K5JKSMY09R3W

For S&T purposes, I think some of these in interior windows facing outward, say near front and back door, and some inside the home, could help solve the mystery. Also, if there is ever some sort of home invasion, I'll have video from the person/people entering from the outside, then entering from the inside, then moving around in the house. So if I ever have to use lethal defense, I'll hopefully have some video to back it up.

I guess the only risk is that someone who sees them and breaks in may just take them...
 
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The ONLY explanation I have is that I would occasionally go into the room to retrieve stuff from a box (room was used for storage) and not-purposefully locked the door on the way out of the room as I pulled it shut...
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:uhoh: This one is worse. It's the door to the guest bathroom and stays open. The lock is rigged backwards as the folks living here before me didn't want their kid locking himself in the bathroom. :eek:
 
I will guess that it is the neighbor's wife using your place to get away from it all for a few minutes a day.
 
If someone is coming in they aren't going to steal anything. They would have already. Most serial killers are the nicest guy on the block that no one ever would have expected.
 
For another source of motion-activated video, you could use your computer. I bought a new one last year and it came with pre-loaded software for doing different things with the web cam. One of these was set up so that after it was activated the cam would start recording at motion, lights being turned on, etc. Stops recording after 5 seconds. It actually came in handy last year when we had someone at work going through other people's desks after hours and helping himself to their stuff. Turn it on before leaving for the day, and review the files when you get home. This is all assuming they don't steal the computer, of course.

Also, agree with others. You probably don't have a thief, or something would be missing already. Maybe a squatter/lounger. Any other animal problems? Squirrels, raccoons?
 
I have to go along with the 'lounger' thought..is there a sliding glass door in the place? The older ones can be lifted up enough to clear the hook latch and slid back, then when pushed closed it latches again. I've seen this twice: kids in an empty house, and a 'poltergeist' problem.
 
Let me ask: 3 different plants, What plants? How big are they, how big are the pots?

(might have watered one too generously, that doesnt consume as much as the others.)
 
Don't worry about the cameras being stolen, just run the wires well, and have the DVR hidden somewhere behind Cement blocks and a few hundred pounds of basement clutter/furniture.
 
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