Strong winds and mother nature aren’t the only forces that have the power to break into your home. Safewise states that “a burglary takes place about every eighteen seconds in the United States. That adds up to nearly 200 per hour, and approximately 4,800 every day.”
Your home is the shell you’ve invested in to create memories and protect your family and belongings—wouldn’t you want to do everything within your means to protect it from intruders?
From digital security cameras to remote lock entry ways controlled by phone apps, we’ve provided several measures you can take to keep your home secure by deterring and preventing a break-in.
4 Tips to Deter a Burglar from Targeting Your Home
Home intruders will typically case a home prior to breaking-in. They’ll learn your routine and pick-up on physical changes or lack thereof to assess their likelihood of a successful invasion.
The following are a few tips that you should consider to deter a burglar from breaking into your home.
1. Keep up appearances
Keep the appearance of being home even when you’re away on vacation, running errands for a few hours, are at work etc. You can easily do this by leaving a few things on, such as your television, radio and lights.
If you are energy conscience, you can enlist the help of home automation so you can control when things are on and off via your phone.
Also, when on vacation, try to avoid letting your mailbox get overloaded, and keep your outside trash bin full, which may require the help of a neighbor or friend.
2. Be mindful of your landscaping
The more lush landscaping you have, the more coverage you’re giving to potential intruders. By having large bushes around your home, especially at entry points, burglars can more easily hide out while attempting to break into your home.
3. Motion-activated lights
While most home invasions happen during daytime working hours, motion sensor lights can help deter night time break-ins; and, if you have a security camera, now you’ll have a clear picture of the intruder from the motion activated illumination on camera.
4. Security systems & decals
A simple yet powerful way to deter a burglar from breaking in is by installing a security system or even a “Beware of Dog” decal on your windows and doors, whether you have them or not. Security cameras and systems are great deterrents because no criminal wants to get caught in the act and have hard proof that he or she actually committed the crime. HGTV has a quick read for 8 DIY Home Security Systems.
2 Tips to Prevent a Burglar from Entering Your Home
There are several ways to deter an intruder from choosing a home to break into, but what happens if he or she has already chosen your home?
How do you prevent the burglar from penetrating your entryways and successfully breaking in? The following are four tips to help prevent a burglar from entering your home.
1. Use a smart lock
If you have a traditional key lock or stow away a spare key, invaders can easily find your hide-away key or pick the lock. Instead, try upgrading your lock to a smart lock that automatically locks when it shuts, so you won’t have to worry about whether you locked the door or not and you can control access features from your phone.
2. Window locks and impact glass
If hurricane winds and flying debris can’t break through your impact glass windows and doors, do you think a burglar has the force to? Replacing your home’s entry barriers with impact glass windows and doors not only helps insulate your home, reduce your energy bills, and protect you from mother nature’s strong winds, it also keeps your home safe and secure from intruders.
Windows are known to be the weakest point of entry, so if replacing your windows isn’t an option, you can purchase window locks at your local hardware store.
“Almost 30% of burglars enter a home through an unlocked door or window...an astonishing 34% of burglars enter through the front door.” - Safewise
3 Additional Tips to Keep Your Home Safe
- Don’t “taunt” a burglar by keeping your valuables in plain sight.
- Request your local law enforcement assess your existing homes security and suggest improvements.
- Don’t advertise on social media that you’re away on vacation--you should try to wait to post your pictures and status updates until you get back.
Home is where the heart is! Your home should keep your family protected and serve as a wonderful, happy place to make memories. It’s more than just an investment, it’s the heartbeat of your family.
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