How to Hide Security Camera Wires Outside – 10 Tips and Tricks

Last Updated on Mar 15 2024

Installing security cameras can help you monitor your home for unwanted visitors and bring you peace of mind. But the sight of cables trailed and dangling across your walls can draw attention to your security system’s existence, offering potential burglars the opportunity to cut the wiring and render your security cameras useless. Hiding your security camera wires can help to keep your security system safe.

Another advantage of hiding your security camera wires is to protect them from exposure to the sun, wind, rain, and even birds and squirrels, thereby prolonging their lifespan.

How To Hide Security Camera Wires Outside – 10 Tips and Tricks

1. Paint the Wires

Black cables trailing against a white wall will stand out more than white cabling against a white wall. Painting the wires to match the color of your walls is one of the easiest ways to disguise them. Using flat cables would improve the camouflage method further.

Before painting, be sure to use the correct wire clips to fix the wires to the wall as neatly as possible.

2.  Use Plastic Tubing

This method depends on feeding plastic piping through your walls before inserting the wires through them. It results in entirely hidden wiring. The plastic tubing method can be difficult to complete and may require a professional fitter, however, your wires would be protected from nature, as well as intruders.

3. Hide Wiring in Soffits

Some homes have soffits — a horizontal surface on the underside of the eaves. By running your security camera wiring through the soffit, you can protect them from the elements, and animals, and hide them from view. Vinyl soffits are relatively easy to remove and replace, giving you easy access to your wiring.

4. Wire-free Security Cameras

Not to be confused with wireless cameras, which may still need a power cable, wire-free security cameras are battery-operated, eliminating the need for any cabling. This means you can install the camera anywhere you wish, without having to worry about whether the cables will reach, or how to hide them. They tend to cost more than the average wired camera system, but buyers could save on installation costs.

Wire-free cameras depend on a strong Wi-Fi connection, so it’s not a safe option for areas with low or bad connectivity.

5. Use Decorative Shrubs and Ivy

Drilling into your walls, and other intrusive methods, are not always possible, but you can run your security camera wires behind tall shrubs and bushes. Along with choosing a wire that closely matches the color of your walls, this method will help to disguise the wiring and draw attention to the shrubs and bushes instead. However, this method would not protect the wire against wind and rain or animals. 

6. Use a Junction Box

If you choose a location that’s close to your CCTV system’s hub, you can drill straight into the house, using a junction box to conceal the clunky parts of the wiring. With the wires going into the junction box and straight into the house, there’s no need to worry about the installation of the wires on the outside.

7. Hide the Wires in Baseboards

Baseboards are thin wooden boards that run along the bottom perimeter of the internal walls. You should be able to remove the baseboards and trail the security camera wires along the bottom edge, before replacing the boards. This method would mean that most of your wiring is inside the house. By drilling out to where you want your camera placed, only a small amount of wiring will be visible outside.

8. Use Conduits

Running your wires through conduits would protect them from animals, weather, and malicious intent. The conduits would be visible against the walls, but they could be painted to blend in. You may need to hire a professional to do it as conduits are not always easy to install.

9. Wire Guards

Wire guards are like conduits but easier to install. It is essentially half of a conduit and can be placed directly over the wires on the outside of your house. They can then be painted to match your walls, keeping the wires beneath safe and out of reach.

10. Run Wires Through Your Porch

If you have a wooden porch, you could bury the wires for your security camera inside. This way, they would be invisible to the public eye. Even if you can’t bury the wires, it’s still a good idea to run your cables along the internal perimeter of the porch where they’ll be in a sheltered spot.

Conclusion

Hiding your security camera wires may seem like a hassle, but the benefits of doing so outweigh the costs. By taking time to plan and install your wires correctly, not only will you increase their lifespan, but you’ll also be making sure that your home remains safe, even when you’re not around.

Featured Image Credit By Anna Tikhonova, Unsplash