Whether you’re moving into a new house or simply want to make sure that your home security is as effective as it can possibly be, you can take many simple precautions that will only take minutes of your time to put in place yet can go a long way towards making sure your home is criminal-proof.
While it may be challenging to completely protect your home from professional thieves, the majority of break-ins are committed by amateurs, who can be easily deterred with simple everyday techniques.
Simple And Effective Home Security Tips
Door/Entry Point Security
To be sure that you’re secure from a break-in attempt, you want to make sure that first and foremost any entrance points are secure.
This, of course involves making sure that all doors are locked when going to sleep or leaving the house unattended, but you can do more to really make sure that they’re secure from someone whose absolutely determined to get in.
1. Lock the doors and windows—
As I said, the scenario may seem simple enough, but in all truth, many criminals break and enter by simply waltzing casually through an open door or window.
Even if you're only gone for a bit, lock everything up.
That short trip up to the store is plenty of time for someone to get in, grab some valuables, and be a mile away before you even realize that you’re a victim.
The easiest way to improve home security is by remembering to lock your doors and windows.
2. High-Quality Deadbolts—
One of the first (and cheaper) things you’ll want to invest in for your own home security needs is a quality deadbolt for each door into the house. Preferably, get ones with beveled casings.
These will stop criminals who would attempt to use a special pair of pliers that have the ability to tear cylinder pins out of your locks in the hands of an experienced burglar.
3. Bulletproof Strike Plates
If you have a front door or otherwise that has a small window like many people, the best way to make sure that a burglar doesn’t end up breaking through the glass and fishing either his arm or a tool down to unlock the door is to have a strike plate on the window.
These are bullet- and shatterproof windows that are secured with large screws specialized to not succumb to force.
Installing these on any small windows in your house will significantly reduce the likelihood of even the most determined burglar breaking in.
4. Sliding Glass Doors—If you’re also like me and have a sliding glass door, this can present a problem as well.
Most of these are burglar/break-proof, as their size makes them easy targets for forced entry.
In addition to shattering the door, picking the lock is another possibility.
Even if the burglar is able to pick the lock, there’s a simple solution that will keep anyone from entering from the outside—simply place a long wooden or metal pipe/bar along the length of the track the door is mounted on.
The blockage prevents the criminal from reaching in to remove the bar, making it impossible to force entry.
This is why the bar must be as long as the track; even a 5–10 inch gap may allow an intruder to reach in and remove the bar.
A simple tip to lock anyone from outside the glass doors
5. Secure doors from being kicked in—The majority of doors on your average residential home are simply held in place with a wooden frame and molding.
Although it can take some significant force, these aren’t all that difficult for someone with a strong kick to break down.
The criminal can easily make an entrance uninhibited once the hardware that holds the screws and locking mechanism in the wooden frame breaks.
You can prevent this with a heavy-duty, high-quality metal door that attaches to the door frame with four or more long (3 inches or more) wood screws.
The steel structure will withstand any force that any human (or a couple of humans) could possibly muster without the assistance of machinery or special tools.
6. Secure your door hinges—Take a look at the doors at all of the entrances to your home and check where the hinges are located.
To be truly secure, you need to ensure that those hinges are on the inside of your home.
This is because all a thief has to do to gain entry to your home is knock out the pin holding the hinge together.
After these are all knocked out, the door will literally come right down.
The front door might not be too much of a concern, especially if you live on the main road, as the work involved might not take too long but enough to dissuade anyone from trying it right on the main road.
If you (and no one else) happen to be at home at the time, a dedicated criminal will probably have plenty of time to take your door right off the hinges and rob you blind.
The mistake is something so easily overlooked, but a criminal who knows what he’s doing will have an easy time spotting this blunder.
Window Security Measures
Windows are often an even bigger issue. They don’t always come to mind as an entry point in our minds immediately, and criminals constantly use this fact to break into unsuspecting homeowners' property.
An open window that’s visible from another yard, the street, etc., is an invitation for a burglar to come in and snoop around your home after you’ve left.
To comply with fire codes, you can put bars or other anti-break-in devices on windows, but they must be easy to remove from the inside.
It should be common practice to close and lock any windows at night or if you’re away during the day, but there’s more that you can do to totally ensure that your windows are secure.
7. Install secondary blocking devices—Since most windows you see typically use latches instead of locks to keep them shut, you should utilize some sort of “backup” secondary measure to ensure that it can’t be opened from the outside
For horizontal windows that slide, you could use a solution as simple and inexpensive as a wooden dowel, stick, or metal bar on the track to prevent being forced open, just as we described above in the case of the sliding glass door.
For windows that slide open vertically, metal pins through the window frame will prevent anyone from forcing the window open.
8. Alarm/warning decals on doors and windows – This rule goes for any point of entry, including all doors and windows.
Many professional systems for home security cameras or alarm monitoring offer decals or stickers that you can place on these locations to warn criminals that your home is protected by a professional security system.
If you use a service like this, these are a great deterrent, but you can also buy generic stickers that show your home is safe.
Either way, warning an intruder that he’s about to make a massive mistake in attempting a break-in on your property can go a long way towards stopping a break-in attempt before it even happens.
Let them know that you have systems for home security cameras in place!
9. Frost garage windows—In line with the above concerning garage safety, be sure to frost your garage windows once cold weather begins to take hold of your location.
This way, anyone trying to peer through the windows won’t be able to see a thing inside and therefore won’t even be able to tell whether your vehicle is parked inside at the time or not, which could potentially deter a criminal from attempting a break-in into your home, considering they wouldn’t know if there was anyone they’d be coming toe-to-toe with inside the home.
10. Ensure windows left open 6 inches or so can’t be tampered with –
For ventilation purposes, you may wish to leave a window open a few inches during the day while at home or even at night while sleeping in a bedroom. In this case (especially if it’s a ground floor window), you should go outside and do all that you can to attempt to break in by removing the blocking device, unlocking the door or window, etc. This procedure will reveal any flaws in your security systems, at least as it pertains to your windows.
Outdoor Home Security Precautions
Keeping the home itself safe from a break-in through the doors and windows is essential to the security of your home and family, but you can avoid a break-in attempt altogether by making it well known that you’re utilizing home security cameras and home alarm systems.
Openly active or thorough placement of security camera systems and the like will probably deter 99% of criminals before any of your home security equipment or preventative measures have to truly be put to the test, thankfully.
Having your domain on the perimeter of the house itself is just as important as keeping the entry points secure.
11. Motion Sensor Lights or LED Floodlights
– Not only will these make it difficult for a criminal to approach and enter your home unnoticed, but they’ll also probably completely deter the culprit from even making an attempt in the first place.
These sorts of lights are standard with many modern security camera systems available for purchase currently, but you can also buy motion sensor lights on their own for a very reasonable cost.
These LED floodlights are capable of detecting motion and can be programmed to trigger any sense of movement. Once the motion sensors detect something, the bright LED floodlights will spring into action like a spotlight over your entire front yard.
This surprise attack will send even the most hardened criminals running with their tails between their legs, and even if it didn’t, the illuminated home security cameras in their faces would probably be the last straw.
These can make an excellent add-on to your existing outdoor security cameras.
12. Don’t let your landscaping act as cover—Many homeowners choose to place elaborate shrubbery or bushes around windows and other entrances to the home.
This can make your home look better, but be sure you're not just making it easier for a criminal to get in.
Windows are heavily shrouded by bushes and trees, which in a sense “shroud” the home from the main road or the visible path of your home security cameras and can provide just the safety net for the crook to fall back into when the LED floodlights start up.
13. Hide any wiring to your security systems
– Most of the home security equipment available to purchase today is available in a wireless model, but should you be making use of a security camera system that has wires that have to be run outside, do all that you can to ensure that these are hidden from sight and would be difficult for someone trying to find them to locate.
Crafty criminals might be tipped off by outdoor wiring that you’re running a security system but can just as easily cut the wires that are powering your equipment.
To hide your wires, you can build a PVC piping system to protect them from thieves and the elements.
Tip: If possible, consider using a wireless security camera system instead. No more hiding!
14. Keep garage doors locked—If you’re like me and have an unattached garage, something many people fail to do is make sure that the door(s) is locked at all times, even if your vehicle isn’t in it at the time.
Thieves often view garages, particularly unattached ones, as open doors, knowing they can sneak in at night when everyone is asleep without anyone noticing.
Even without a vehicle present, garages present a valuable target for criminals, as they are often full of normal as well as power tools, chemicals, etc.
15. Home alarm systems—Having a reliable home alarm system is an important element to securing your property on top of your security cameras and other crime deterrents.
You have many options in this area, from a professional service for which you pay a monthly fee to a simple motion detector that can sound an alarm for you.
A monthly service that will alert you at the moment of a break-in can contact you to ensure you’re okay, as well as contact the proper authorities for an immediate response.
If you’re doing your home security correctly, you may not feel the need for a full-fledged professional servicer, although they do provide many benefits, as I previously mentioned.
An audible signal is one of the most important features of your home alarm system.
First of all, an extremely loud buzzing or ringing is probably going to send any criminal heading for the hills, especially if people can hear it a few houses away in the middle of the night while the occupants of the home are upstairs sleeping.
If the noise is loud enough and at night, the neighbors may hear it too, which could make the intruder worry about the police being called.
Finally, it can serve to wake you, the homeowner, up to defend yourself or catch the criminal before he’s able to get away!
16. Spare Keys—It’s commonplace for many people to leave a spare key to their home under the doormat, a flowerpot, or on an obscure windowsill.
Unfortunately, it is not good for your home security, as many criminals know this as well and will likely check these spots out before attempting to break into the home with force.
Your best bet is to hide the spare key in a small container and bury it nearby.
This way, in the case that it's truly needed, you can dig it up very quickly, but no one would ever suspect that you've found it.
A couple of inches of dirt dug up with a little garden shovel will do just fine for this purpose.
17. Always appear to be home—research has proven that the summer months of July and August are the times when you are most likely to be burglarized.
Why?
Because your everyday criminal, as I explained above, will be an amateur with no real experience getting past people or quietly getting into your home while you’re sleeping.
Criminals prefer to break in when no one is home, so if you can make it seem like someone is always home, you're less likely to be a victim.
These tasks can be done with the use of timers and remote controls that can switch lights, televisions, and other light-emitting electronics on and off when you’re away so as to give the appearance that there’s an activity in the house taking place.
Most people simply won’t risk coming face-to-face with an angry homeowner who could possibly be wielding a weapon.
18. Identify valuables for later retrieval—If you’ve done everything you possibly can to the best of your ability, you’ll hopefully be fortunate enough to never have to deal with the sad situation of a burglar getting away with some (or many) of your valuables.
If you are ever robbed, there are ways to increase the chance of getting your things back.
Many people suggest placing a social security number in a hidden spot on the item so that it can be identified as yours at a later time should it be recovered.
Some locations' police departments also offer a similar service utilizing a driver's license number instead.
Mark your item so you can identify it later.
19. Coordinate with neighbors—Having trustworthy neighbors who will watch out for you is one of the most valuable resources you can have for keeping you, your loved ones, and your possessions safe.
Whether you’re new to the neighborhood or have been there for years, you should really attempt to get to know your neighbors at least on a basic level and earn their trust, while they earn yours in return.
Establish a clear agreement to monitor each other's homes, particularly during vacations or during the day when the occupants may be at work or school.
Offer to pick up mail or park in the driveway to simulate that someone is home while they’re away.
Simple actions like these with your immediate neighbors can form a mini security perimeter around your network of houses, which can be invaluable without costing you more than a little of your time.
Making friends with neighbors will go a long way in home security
20. Look around yourself for flaws—after all is said and done and you’re fairly certain your home is a modern-day fortress that would take a bomb squad to break into, take a real look around your property for any potential flaws or holes in your home security systems.
Think like a criminal and see your house as a target. Where are the easiest entry points?
Is there potential to pick any locks or jimmy any doors?
Are there dark, hidden areas on your property where someone could hide and wait for you to let your guard down?
These are all good things to consider, as there may be obvious flaws in your armor that you, as the homeowner, can't see.
21. Weapons—Fortunately for me, I’ve never been the victim of a home invasion, burglary, etc., and if you do all of the above and have some decent luck, you’ll never have to worry about it either.
Even with the best home security evaluations, a criminal could still break in at night.
What can you do while waiting for help if you and your family are in danger?
I’ve never been a violent person and would never suggest violence as a first or even second reaction to any problem, but I can’t control the actions of others, and if another man is threatening the security of me and my family, I wouldn’t hesitate to use deadly force to incapacitate the criminal.
I can certainly respect the opinion of anyone who would be opposed to keeping a firearm or other deadly weaponry in the home, but I couldn’t live with myself knowing that I could have possibly prevented something horrible from happening to my loved ones had I had a gun instead of a knife to bring to the fight.
At igotc.com, we have various different home security solutions. Call now (844) 777-6668 to customize them to fit your needs. Since every home is unique, we offer home security systems that will protect you in any situation.