Simple Home Security Tips - To Stop Burglars In Their Tracks

Very few people worry about securing there home from burglaries until it happens to them. It usually takes a burglar 60 seconds or less to enter your home. The FBI issued a report that says one in six homes will be burglarized this year. Only one in four burglaries are forced entry. If you don’t think it can happen to you, don’t be too sure. These home security tips can help protect your home from becoming a statistic.

Is Your Home Secure?

The best defense against burglary is to make your home less approachable. This allows potential burglars to move onto a less challenging or less risky prospect. Have you accessed what your home looks like from the outside? If you think like a burglar and walk around your home, what potential opportunities do you see a burglar could exploit?

Are your entryways well lit?
Do you have overgrown bushes or shrubs that would allow a burglar a place to hide?
Do you have tools lying around that could be used to pry a lock or break a window?
How about a ladder lying by a garage that could easily allow access to an unlocked second story window?

These are all considerations you must find and correct to keep burglars away.

Outdoor Lighting

A well lit home can deter a burglar. Use landscape lighting to help highlight walkways, bushes and any other potential dark covered areas. Motion detector lights at the corners of your home as well as by entryways are great ways to scare off intruders.

Tip: Aim motion detector lights into your yard to illuminate it. This allows you and others such as neighbors to see who is approaching your home.

Installing motion detector lights is very easy to do and can be purchased online very inexpensively.

Indoor Lighting

Indoor lighting plays an important part in helping prevent burglars. Keep a few lights on in the home when you leave for the evening. Be sure to switch lights from time to time. For extended time away from home, it is recommended you do not use light timers to light your home. Intruders can identify the “on/off” pattern of specific lights and know when they can enter your home without worrying about being caught.

Doors

A heavy, solid, and sturdy door can make a big difference in forced entry burglaries. Solid wood doors or a metal doors with a solid core are very good doors for your home. These doors are strong, anchored securely into the doorjamb and prove to be very difficult to kick through. Examine your doors to see if they are strong. If they are light or appear flimsy consider replacing.

Door Locks

Install sturdy deadbolt locks in all entry doors to your home. Be sure the locks strike plates are installed with 3” screws or longer to assure optimal strength. Doors with small sidelight windows or panel windows should have a deadbolt lock that uses a key from the inside to engage the lock. It is very easy for a burglar to break a small window on the door and reach in to unlock the deadbolt. If you have a keyed deadbolt lock (a lock you engage with a key) the burglar will not be able to unlock the door. Just remember to not leave the key in the lock.

Tip: Install a peephole in your door if it doesn’t have any windows. All doors can be equipped with one and they are inexpensive to install. Having the piece of mind to know who is at your door and if it is safe to open it is well worth its investment.

Patio Doors

Most patio doors are equipped with some sort of locking mechanism however these locks alone are usually insufficient to keeping out intruders. Patio doors can easily be pried open breaking the lock. There are many options to help secure a sliding patio door. The most inexpensive method to securing a patio door is to use a strong piece of metal or wood stick (like a dowel or 1x1) in the door track to prevent the door from sliding open. For a more professional look there are many locking devices that you can purchase and install to secure your patio doors including arm stops and track clamps.

Windows

Many burglars gain access to homes through unlocked windows. Be sure to lock all windows especially when you are not home. If you don’t have locks on your windows, you can pick up window locks at any hardware store or order them online.

Tip: Install security stickers on all doors and windows and/or put security signs in your yard as it may deter a burglar even if you don’t have a security system installed.

Vacation

To help reduce your risk of burglary while on vacation, ask a friend or family member to stay at your home. Be sure to notify your neighbors that you will be gone and either stop the mail and newspaper delivery or ask your neighbors or house sitter to collect them. Nothing says you’re not home like a pile of papers on your front steps.

You cannot guarantee that you will never be burglarized or broken into but you can help prevent it. Use and implement these simple tips to secure your home and family before it’s too late.

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