How to Adjust a Motion Detector on an Alarm System So That It Will Not See Pets

Access a motion detector that is mounted high on a wall with a ladder. Locate the adjustment screw on the side or back of the motion detector. Rotate the screw one-quarter turn counterclockwise with a Phillips-head jeweler's screwdriver. Let a pet walk in the area that the motion detector is protecting. If the detector sends a signal to the alarm system it is connected to, rotate the screw an additional one-quarter turn counterclockwise. Continue this procedure until the detector no longer responds to the pet walking in front of it. Confirm that the detector will still respond to a person by walking in front of it yourself.

Draw an imaginary line from the front of the motion detector to the wall, window or doorway it is facing. Place a telephone book beneath the detector, if it is free-standing on a bookshelf or table, so that the imaginary line is now higher than the height of the pet from the floor. If the detector is mounted to a wall, loosen the screws on the mounting bracket with a Phillips-head jeweler's screwdriver or a Torx screwdriver (depending upon the make) and realign the front of the detector so that the imaginary line is now higher than the height of the pet from the floor. Tighten the screws.

Place a piece of opaque tape, for example, duct tape or painter's tape, across the bottom of the sensor at the front of the motion detector. Let a pet walk in the area that the detector is protecting. If the detector sends a signal to the alarm system it is connected to, realign the tape so that more of the sensor is covered. Confirm that the detector will still "see" a person by walking in front of it after it no longer reacts to the presence of a pet.