How To Improve Your Home Security
A man’s home is his castle and these days it must be defended with vigor. You could pull up the drawbridge and release the hounds but thankfully, there are other very effective ways to deter home raiders and keep your family and possessions secure and safe. Here are a few things you can do to keep you well protected.
1. Opt For Suitable Locks
There are various locks available on the market, including smart locks. It’s wise to go for the locks that are designed to go with your door if you want to make sure all is secure. For doors with vertical panels, a mortise lock is an ideal choice. These locks can only be opened with keys and are far more secure than traditional knob locks. Knob and handle locks are easier to break and provide the least protection against any theft or raid. It is also a mandatory requirement imposed by insurance companies.
Similarly, you should get locks for your windows as well. Window panels often have built-in locks, but if your windows don’t have one or if it is broken, you can easily install one. Remember that there are different types of locks available for the types of windows you have, like casement or sash type windows.
2. Pay Attention To Door Safety
Your exterior door is a major security concern. Often burglars attempt to break through it to gain access to the house. Apart from installing the locks, you are needed to take additional safety measures to ensure complete protection.
Installing a deadbolt and strike plate will make your front door more secure. An upgraded smart lock is definitely worth the investment when it comes to the safety and security of your family and assets.
3. Install A Video Doorbell
Installing a wireless doorbell or, even better, a video doorbell is another excellent idea for enhancing your home security. You will be able to see exactly who is at the door without the risk of opening it. A video doorbell also enables you to monitor the activities outside your house and alerts you by text message when there is any suspicious activity.
4. Go For A Door Sensor
Installing a door sensor or glass breaker sensor for glass doors is also a wise security measure. Although it cannot prevent unauthorized access to your home, it will alert you if anyone tries to force the door. The noise of the alarm will deter thieves and force them from your property.
5. Install An Alarm System
An up to date alarm system can also detect and alert you of the presence of an unidentified person or if someone tries to force your lock. There are various wired and wireless alarm systems available. It is an expensive but comprehensive option.
If you cannot afford an alarm system, you can create the perception of an installed alarm system. Strategically placed fake boxes, especially the ones powered by solar panels with some lighting are an excellent deterrent. They give the impression your house is completely secured. There are very few instances of burglars attempting break-ins. They don’t risk it being a real alarm system.
6. Use Barriers
A good way to protect your house from burglars is to build tall walls and fences around your property. However, no matter how tall you build walls and fences they can be climbed over by various means. To discourage any attempt, install barriers across the top of your walls or fence such as barbed wire, spikes, broken glass, and even create natural barriers with thorny bushes and shrubs like holly, whitethorn, flowering quince, gorse, barberries and even rose bushes. These barriers would not only make access to our home impossible but also provide a painful lesson to anyone who tries to act smart.
7. Install Proper Lightening
Dark places and houses in shady places attract thieves. They assume it is an easy target with less risk of being seen. The chances of getting caught or being identified are reduced in gloomy conditions. A good idea is to keep your front porch and backyard well lit at night. Also, make sure to include ample lighting on your pathways and front stairs.
You can experiment with different lighting to make the house exterior well lit and safe. Instead of installing regular spotlights, you can opt for solar-powered lights to save on electricity bills. Motion activated lights will increase security further by lighting up as soon there is movement in its vicinity. Not only is this a cost-effective option but is also enough to deter burglars. You can also opt for timer lights for when you are not at home.
8. Join With Your Neighbors For A Neighborhood Watch
You can always join with your neighbors to increase your home security, as it is a mutual concern. Along with keeping an eye out for suspicious activity around each others’ homes, neighbors can contribute to the costs of a security company for night patrolling or installing a CCTV system in the community to make the whole neighborhood safer and a more secure place to live in.
9. Secure Your Garage Too
When burglars can’t gain access to a home through doors and windows, they often go for entering through the garage. This part of the house is often ignored when it comes to adopting security measures but it is essential to lock your garage too. A small garage door opener or a smart lock is a must-have for your total home security.
Stay security conscientious and never unlock your garage safety lock in front of anyone. It could make them curious about what valuables you could have in there. You definitely don’t want to lose your cars and expensive outdoor equipment kept in the garage due.
10. Keep Your Valuables Concealed
The idea there could be valuables in your home is enough to attract thieves and burglars. Never keep your valuables where they can be easily observed by others, be it an expensive car or new electronics or expensive porcelain vases on a window sill. All it takes is the suggestion that there might be something worth taking from you and a thief can get that idea from the smallest things you leave out on show. Keep all your jewelry and cash in concealed places.
11. Never Announce Your Absence
The best time for burglars to act upon their plans is in the absence of the homeowner. It’s the perfect moment to make all security systems inoperable and access the house without consequences. Never announce you are leaving home for stretch of time, such as taking a vacation, so that no one has any idea about when you are leaving or when you will be back.
Take measure to leave clues that the house is occupied. Internal and externals lights on timers are excellent for this, but timer switches can be used on radios and TVs too with the volume turned up they give the impression that someone is home.
Arrange for all deliveries to be done with before you go. A parcel on your doorstep is an invitation for a thief. If it is unavoidable, arrange for a trusted neighbor to accept your deliveries for you and let the courier know.
12. Avoid High Privacy Measures
Sometimes taking too many security measures also attracts burglars to the house being potentially full of valuables. To a home raider, common sense says that a house with a high fence covered with multiple barriers has to contain more valuables than the house with nominal security measures. Therefore, you need to know when you’re going overboard with the idea of keeping your home secure.
13. Don’t Make Your House An Easy Target
While avoiding high-end security measures you don’t want to make your house an easy target. The idea is stop intruders entering on to your property in the first place and this is why your main defenses must be on show.
14. Secure All Floors Of Your House
Often people are more concerned about the security of their front entrance and stairs if they have them. While taking security measures and installing locks on the ground floor people often forget about the security of the second storey of their house. If a home raider is determined and confident he can avoid detection, he will go for accessing the house from the second floor knowing that often homeowners fail to secure windows securely. Make sure you add locks to all the windows and doors in your home, however awkward or unlikely access to them might be.
Conclusion
Burglars and thieves know their shady profession well and will not put their livelihood at risk. If homeowners take a few sensible precautions, they can make homes a less attractive target. They don’t need to be expensive but they do need to be visible. However, even the very best security system is useless if you don’t apply some good common sense. So, along with worrying about how to keep your home, family, and possessions safe, think first about how not to make yourself a target in the first place.
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