According to recent studies, the majority of residential break-ins begin during the daytime, and perpetrators most often enter homes via open doors or open windows.
Whether you’re living in a town or a huge city with a high crime rate, you’re at risk of your home being targeted for any reason. Not only are you at risk of the structure itself, your garage and yard might also provide a space where criminals can steal or cause damage to your property.
Luckily, you have many different choices to secure your home that include upgrading your existing systems to practicing some simple tips that make it easier for criminals to steal from you. Read on the following to find out more about the 14 best techniques for protecting your own home from intruders.
1. Consider Installing a Full Home Security System
Want to make it harder for unsavory people to target your home? Then look into getting a high-quality home security system with motion sensors, alarms, cameras, and 24/7 surveillance.
They include wired systems for houses, totally wireless options for apartments and condos, and options that fit any place in between. Once you leave your house, you merely activate your security system. If someone attempts to intrude into a certain area or area or violate the boundary system, the security options will activate.
Despite where you are or what device you’re using, the software program will typically let you know if there’s a problem through phone alerts or e-mail. The most famous programs usually notify the local authorities, oftentimes even before you’re conscious of the alert.
You can also check out investing in an alarm system that has an integrated garage door blocker function. These options may be an integral part of your main security system or be sold separately.
2. Add a Fence and Gate to Your Property
Fencing can usually be done around your residence, but if you have an apartment, condominium, or something comparable, you likely won’t be able to build a fence. To prevent unwanted visitors from breaking in, consider constructing a tall fence and putting in an electronic gate key or passphrase as a condition of entry.
To ensure your house is safe from harm, it’s crucial that you maintain your fence and gate frequently. Examine your fencing for any evidence of damage, such as seep corrosion or bowed posts. If your gate is acting up, it might be time to schedule service with a gate repair company.
3. Use a Smart Video Doorbell
Video doorbells are so widespread because some people find technological advances concerning. Combined with police agencies and community groups, video doorbells have subsequently become integrated to increase neighborhood safety.
Wired and wireless options are available, allowing you to use these doorbells to communicate with whoever presents a remote video feed on your phone, tablet, or Echo Show device. When you press on the doorbell, you will see a snapshot of the live video stream of the person at your door.
Video footage gets synced to the cloud on the manufacturer’s website, so you can be referred to individuals who have not visited you while traveling. It also saves you time by enabling you to be traced by law enforcement officials in case a suspicious person comes to your front door.
4. Keep All Your Windows Locked
When windows or doors are mounted incorrectly, you can risk your home when you neglect to secure them or you leave them unlocked in the summertime. Stay mindful of the measures you take to keep your household safe and your doors and windows safeguarded.
Besides that, it’s crucial that you close and lock your windows before you go indoors, especially before going to sleep. Changing this habit may be hard, but it’s feasible to set up an alert for your phone to help you remember this.
Along with making use of the built-in locks, you could also think about installing the security bars that are on the doors too. Those will typically be installed easily and there are various choices from which you can take your pick. Just make sure there is an opening on the door without any bars left so that you could escape in the case of an emergency or fire.
5. Use Secure Locks on Your Exterior Doors
Are you recently in your home? If so, then you should call your locksmith and have them switch all the locks. Even if you’ve got new locks, they have other options to enhance the protection of your door.
Adding deadbolts to both the front and back exterior doors is a good idea, but you should also consider getting smart locks that require you to log in to the entrance from your cell phone with the use of a code. When combined with reliable, traditional locks, you can get a secondary level of security.
6. Pay Attention to the Greenery Around Your House
You’ve got trees and shrubs around your home and they just distort the aesthetics of your yard. Do you have a thought on landscaping your home? Examine the trees and bushes in your backyard close to your windows. Have there been any recent developments that might curtail anyone’s ability to get into those bushes and trees? It’s best to refrain from trimming as short of a blade of grass as possible, as that makes it easy for an intruder to conceal themselves.
7. Use a Good Garage Door Lock
Although you might want to count on your home’s locks to work correctly, don’t forget to keep your garage door lock in mind, as well. Your selections range from simple-entry garage door locks that use a keypad or a remote control to advanced models that work with the assistance of gadgets from your smart home.
If your household and garage are attached, then a poor garage door allows the thief to have an easier access to your house. If your garage is detached, a vulnerable lock opens the perpetrator to the opportunity of going into your garage and stealing from your storage space or harming your vehicle.
Whenever deciding upon a garage door lock, take into consideration who will be able to gain access to the garage in the event of an emergency. For example, the electronic garage door lock should have a backup method used to open it in the event of an electrical power outage, and the reinforcement should include emergency services when you will have to access the garage.
8. Use a Motion Lighting System Outside Your House
Having a motion-detecting system installed outside your house can likewise help prevent criminals. A basic outside floodlight works pretty well for this purpose, but you can also install a more sophisticated one. It will not only save you money on your utility bill, but you won’t have the hassle of constantly having bright lights in your yard at night.
Some common places to put a motion-activated light include your backyard, your home’s front and back porches, and your garage. As soon as a person walks through the sensor, the light will light up, hopefully deterring the criminal in your home.
9. Avoid the Appearance of Nobody Being Home
Your house may be an easy target for thieves when it’s vacant, which makes it important to make it look occupied when you’re away. To deter criminals, you should keep the interior of your home well lit and music or television playing when you are gone.
Instead of accessing items ahead of time, making usage of home automation technologies such as TiVo lights and timers can be a more sensible alternative. Following that, you can manage your home lights and other gadgets from a cell-phone regardless of your place. This makes it effortless to enlight your living room the evening before or even watch a video of your indoor security cam.
10. Don’t Leave Expensive Items in View of Intruders
Leaving valuables all over your car can provide criminals with an incentive to break in. And this situation is effective right on your property, garage, and yard as well. Don’t leave portable items like bikes, expensive toys, gadgets, and packages where anybody can see them. Keep these inside your home or in a secure garage. Consider having packages delivered to your work or a trustworthy neighbor if possible.
Next, don’t leave your windows open so that neighbors can take a look at your TV, artwork, furniture, and other expensive material in your possession. Use curtains and keep them closed whenever possible, regardless of where you are. In addition, make sure that you use your garage door operator properly, and avoid leaving it open when you’re in the garage. Leaving the door up is an invitation for thieves to take what they want.
The last thing to bear in mind when disposing of something at the curb is to hide it from the people who live next-door. It would seem convenient to leave a large television or computer box out in the open, but this could signal that valuable items could be easily stolen from the residence.
11. Use a Safe to Protect Important Items Inside Your House
Even if you know well how to keep your home secure, there’s still a chance that an intruder could gain entry. For this reason, additional precautionary steps need to be taken concerning your most prized possessions. In some instances, electronic locks are more effective than traditional keys, as the latter are much easier for thieves to break.
Using your own safe to store your jewelry, money, documents, small electronics, family heirlooms, and other things that would be expensive to lose or impossible to replace is a good option. If you choose a safe that fits perfectly into a space like your closet, you’ll be able to take all your valuable items with you anywhere you go.
12. Avoid Leaving a Spare Key Outside
If you have family members in other homes, it can make you feel as though you need to keep a spare key hidden nearby, though you really want guests to be able to safely and easily enter your house. As shrewd criminals know the obvious places to find a spare key, giving yourself a prominent place to hide the key could lead you to look like you’re giving them an invitation.
Rather than sharing a spare key with a friend or family member, why not let that person use it immediately? It’s very simple; simply use your cell phone to call a friend or go to your neighbor to retrieve the key.
13. Use the Help of Those in Your Community
As you’re able, taking actions to improve the security of your home all on your own is sensible. However, getting advice from your neighbors and law enforcement can improve the level of security for your house even better. In fact, neighborhood watch programs are now popular in many places, as they offer a fast way to share concerns about suspicious activity in your neighborhood.
Check if your hometown has a community watch program and find out about any meetings or websites where residents share information. Commonly known events are often posted on Facebook or you can join the home-secured-community where people can make announcements and perhaps even post pictures and videos.
To get to know others, spend time in the neighborhood. That way, the next time you go on vacation, you can let your neighbor know to keep tabs on your house, and vice versa. Your neighbor might even be aware of an outdoor security camera system and other surveillance methods to keep an eye on your home.
14. Verify Identify Before You Let Strangers Inside
People are at increased risk from criminals posing as utilities providers and salespeople. This is most commonly a threat to home owners in particular, who are often vulnerable on account of their demographic. If someone claims they are going to your home for an appointment or try to sell you something, ask for them to notify you of their identity so that you can make sure the individual is undoubtedly human. Having video doorbells can give you peace of mind when having a suspicious person enter your home. See to it to confirm that the particular person is really at the business they’ve claimed to associate with. Name individuals and ask for confirmation that they are supposed to be at your residence.
Take These Steps Today to Protect Your Home
Using these suggestions in mind, you’ll be able to keep your house and safeguard yourself from potential danger.
If following all the advice seems complicated to you, you may be pleased to download a house security checklist from the Internet. That way, you can audit the security of your home by each of areas such as your doors, windows, outdoor security, and garage. You can also locate security pros eager to evaluate your home for security weaknesses.
Would you like to add a door lock or security system to your garage to make it safer? Then just subscibe and we will keep you update with every posts.
