Budget
Deterrence works before anybody touches anything, and it is the cheapest part of this subject. A motion light that comes on, a visible bar at a window, warning stickers and — with real reservations — a shell that looks like a camera. The light and the bar are honest without reservation; the two dummy cameras, the BASI and the DODUOS set with its stickers, need a sentence of warning.
Deterrence is the cheapest thing in this subject and the easiest to do badly.
A motion floodlight works by contrast, not by brightness. Set the on-time to a minute — a light that stays on for ten after a cat crosses the garden is on all night, and a light that is always on has stopped telling anybody anything.
A bar across a window, seen from outside, says the window cannot be opened. That is a decision made before anybody approaches, which is the cheapest place to win.
A sticker at a gate is read before anybody reaches the building, and in several countries it is part of what the law expects of anyone filming an area others pass through.
They record nothing. Use them alongside real cameras on approaches that do not justify a real one, and never as the only thing watching. A blinking LED gives them away — real cameras rarely flash — and both in this guide have one: put them where nobody sees them up close, or alongside a real camera.
The cheapest effective measure, and mostly a matter of habits rather than purchases.
Where cutting back a hedge costs nothing and removes the concealment an intruder needs.
Where gravel underfoot and a gate that squeaks are genuine low-cost deterrents.
Where the aim is simply to look like more work than the house next door.
| Cost | The measure | The effect |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing | Habits and sightlines | Larger than expected |
| Very little | Gravel and signage | Noise and hesitation |
| A little | Motion lighting | Best value deterrent |
| A bit more | A better lock cylinder | Addresses the real method |
Cheap measures are the ones that quietly lapse. The hedge grows back, the gate stops being locked, the light's sensor gets covered in cobwebs, and the free security disappears without anyone deciding to abandon it.
Budget measures must not create hazards.
20 W · 2,200 lm · 6500 K · IP66 · adjustable SENS, TIME and LUX
A 20 W motion floodlight at 2,200 lumens and 6500 K, rated IP66, with three separate adjustments: sensitivity, on-time and the ambient light level below which it will trigger.
Best for: A first security light where the three adjustment dials matter more than the brand.
Telescopic security bar · 101–175 cm (39.8 to 68.9 in) · orange, visible from outside · rubberized pads · no drilling
A telescopic bar clamped into the window reveal rather than screwed to the frame — vertically, horizontally or diagonally. SCHMIDT states 101 to 175 cm (39.8 to 68.9 in) of adjustment, rubberized pressure pads, and a deliberately visible orange finish.
Best for: A rented apartment, a vacation rental, or any window where nothing may be drilled.
Dome shell · blinking LED · indoor or outdoor · fixings included · records nothing
A dome-shaped shell with a blinking LED and a molded lens, sold by a German lock and security hardware maker. It records nothing at all, and this page will not suggest otherwise.
Best for: A low-value approach already covered by a real camera elsewhere, where a second housing costs nine euros instead of ninety.
Four dome shells · red blinking LED · four warning stickers · records nothing
Four dome shells with red blinking LEDs and, more usefully, four warning stickers. DODUOS states wall, ceiling or door mounting; none of the four contains a camera.
Best for: A larger property or a small business frontage where several corners need marking cheaply.
A little, on an opportunist scanning a street, and only alongside real ones. They record nothing — no image, no timestamp, nothing to give anybody — and a house covered entirely by decoys produces nothing on the day it matters.
Light that changes. A dark approach that suddenly lights is noticed by neighbors and by the person standing in it; a lamp burning all night is scenery within a week. Keep the on-time short so the change stays a signal.
Habits: locking the side gate, putting ladders away, keeping windows shut when out. They cost nothing and matter more than most purchases.
Noise underfoot removes the quiet approach an opportunist relies on, and it costs very little. It is a modest but real deterrent.
If your door has an older cylinder, a better one. It addresses the commonest method of forced entry more directly than anything else at that price.
On some people. They cost almost nothing, and the aim is simply to make your house look like more effort than the next one.
No, and it is better to be honest about that. They deter opportunists, and that is worth having.
Designed for: A first security light where the three adjustment dials matter more than the brand.
Its main asset: Three separate adjustments — sensitivity, time and daylight threshold
Its main gap: 6500 K is a harsh, blue-white light that neighbors notice
Designed for: A rented apartment, a vacation rental, or any window where nothing may be drilled.
Its main asset: No drilling at all — it clamps into the reveal
Its main gap: A clamped bar depends entirely on the reveal being sound
Designed for: A low-value approach already covered by a real camera elsewhere, where a second housing costs nine euros instead of ninety.
Its main asset: Housing molded to resemble a real dome camera, with a lens dummy behind the bubble
Its main gap: It records nothing — there is no camera, no card, no image, ever
Designed for: A larger property or a small business frontage where several corners need marking cheaply.
Its main asset: Four shells and four warning stickers in one box
Its main gap: Records nothing — four times over
$5 – $10
2 models
$16 – $68
3 models
Device against device, already covered, inside this guide or this aisle.
The devices listed are drawn from the catalog of this site. Specifications are those the maker and the Amazon listing publish; prices are what Keepa recorded on the date shown, and both move. The order follows declared specifications, the balance between stated strengths and stated limits, and price. No device here has been installed or tested by us, and no page claims it was.
Last checked on
Prices quoted in these summaries are dated readings. The live price is shown next to each product.
Cameras, alarm kits and safes swing by thirty dollars or more across the year, and the biggest "discounts" often land at prices the same model sold for six weeks earlier. UniverTrack tracks the real price history across retailers, spots fake reductions, and alerts you when it is genuinely the moment to buy.
