How to Protect Your Home from Burglary and Theft

How to Protect Your Home from Burglary and Theft

Buying or building a house is not easy. It takes a lot to build or buy a house of your own. And when you have a house of your own, you must make it safe and protect your home from burglary and theft. Isn’t it? Whether you are living in a rented apartment or you live in your own house, if you are not sure about how to protect your home from burglary and theft, then here are a few of the best home safety tips and hacks that’ll help you make your house safer and protected from common theft and burglary attempts.

The number of burglary cases is increasing day by day, and in many cases, it has actually occurred in the presence of the family members. So, you better be aware as not only can burglary lead to huge loss of property, but may also become a serious threat to the safety of your family members.

Our home is supposed to be the safest place for us. But sadly, sometime it is no more safe, thanks to the burglars. And, the most common reason behind that is lack of home safety awareness.

We are not always aware of the innovative tricks the burglars use to break in inside the homes. However, it is better late than never.

So, if you want your home to be well protected then start keeping yourself updated about the burglary cases happening around you, and accordingly take preventive measures.

However, if you are unsure and confused and wondering from where to start and how to make your home burglary and theft proof then continue reading these home safety tips to protect your home from burglary and theft attempts.

25 safety tips to protect your home from burglary

You are the owner of your home and no one knows your home better than you. So, why allow the burglars to fool you and rob you of your riches? Try out these safety tricks to protect your home from burglary and theft, and ensure that your home is safe for your family.

Some of the home safety features may cost you few extra bucks. But it is far less than what you may lose, in case your home becomes a target of the burglars. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Here are a few of the best home safety tips to protect your home from burglary and theft:

Keep the doors locked

Many have a habit of leaving their doors open mistakenly while going out which make their homes very easy targets for the burglars and thefts. So, it is important that you become responsible and make it your habit to check your door every time you leave your home or even when you are inside your home.

This, I think, is the simplest way to protect your home from burglary.

Lock the windows

It is safer to keep the windows locked when you are outside of your home. This is because when they can’t enter your home using the doors, in most cases they try to target the windows. And, an open window, make things easier for burglars and thefts.

Secure the doors and windows

Apart from keeping your doors and windows closed when you are away, it is also important to ensure that the doors and windows are strong enough to prevent break in.

As far as doors are concerned, make sure you change the locks if it is a rented apartment, if this was previously owned by someone else.

Also, install a deadbolt, change to smart locks, go for video doorbell and make sure your door has a peephole to make things more secure for you.

As far as the windows are concerned, you may add window bars, install glass break sensors, plant prickly bushes under the windows of the first floor etc.

Install alarm system

Most of the time, the burglars and thieves avoid homes having an alarm system. So when you have a home alarm system installed, and if any burglar target to break in your home and encounter the alarm system, he, in high probability will run away.

Keep the lights on

One of the important tricks to protect your home from burglary is to keep the lights of your home on even when you are not at home. It is not that you have to keep all the lights on, all the time. Switching on one interior light and one on the exterior will give the impression to the burglars that you are home, and that may discourage them from attacking your home.

Turn on the TV simulator

Another way you can fool the thieves into believing that you are home is by turning on the TV simulator before leaving the home. This actually produces light of high intensity, color changes and on screen motion which gives an impression that someone is in the home watching TV.

Fence and boundary wall

If your home does not have a fence yet, then try to build a fence immediately to keep the unwanted people away from your property. It is better if you go for ornamental metal fencing or open chain link as they are secured into concrete and cannot be easily lifted.

Avoid the solid fences as they are easier to climb but if you still want them, try to make them secure with sharp pointed tops.

Drawn the curtains

It is better to keep the curtains drawn most of the time as this will prevent the unwanted people for peeping inside your house and inspecting it. 

This is not only applicable for the curtains in your rooms but also in case of the curtains in your garage.

Use motion sensor lighting

Installing motion sensor lighting (especially at the entry points) can definitely help protect your home from burglary and theft. This is because the moment any potential intruder comes near your entrance, you will get the warning. This is a really good thing to have. You may like to go for more and more motion detectors at the entrances and all the dark corners and potential hiding places of your home.

Secure the garage

Sometimes the burglars may enter your house through the garage or even if they cannot enter the home, they steal expensive items stored in the garage. So, you should ensure that your garage is fully protected and secured from burglars. And to secure your home from theft or burglary, you may go for extra keys or get smart door opener installed. A security code to open the gate is also a good option to try.

Install security cameras

One of the best ways to keep your home safe from the burglars is by installing the security cameras at every entry point in your home. In most cases, the burglars avoid homes having security cameras. Also, if you go for security cameras, you will be able to monitor your home all the time even when you are away or even review the recorded footage if needed and send it to the law enforcement agencies when needed.

Trim the shrubs and bushes

Make it a point to keep the shrubs and bushes properly trimmed from time to time as they most of the time, act as the hiding places for the burglars. Also, make sure the branches of the trees do not come too close to the windows as the burglars may use those to enter your house or inside your property.

Be friends with neighbors

If you have good neighbors, then you are actually blessed because they can help prevent burglary in some cases. This is because they become those extra pairs of eyes always looking after your home when you are not at home. Crimes are lesser in tight-knit communities so it is better you turn your neighbors into your closest pals.

Keep the garden free

It is important that you keep your yard free of interesting things like toys, tools and ladders. The reason is very simple. It gives the burglars a signal that your home may have more interesting things which in turn can motivate them to target your home.

Light-up the streets

Burglars usually want to work in the dark so if your neighborhood is well lit then that may discourage the burglars from attacking your home or in that case, any home in your neighborhood. So, talk to the neighborhood association and increase the lighting on the streets as well the surroundings.

Neighborhood watch program

Try to form a neighborhood watch program. This will not just help you in knowing all your neighbors better but will also create a lot of awareness and commitment to preventing crimes in your area. You may have a word with the local police and ask them to help your group get important information about how they can identify the suspicious person and what they need to do if they identify one. Earlier, people used to protect their home and the surroundings by forming neighborhood watch groups.

Highlight house number

Installing large reflecting numbers in the home and in the mailboxes actually helps the police to act out quick during an emergency because the reflective numbers help in identifying your home quickly. Burglars usually prefer dark houses that are difficult to identify but if yours is not, maybe they will reconsider their decision to attack your home.

Secure your car

If you have a car, make sure you have secured it as well. Even if it is parked inside your property, never leave it unlocked. Avoid keeping anything valuable inside your car when you are away. Also, make it your habit to roll up the windows when you are not driving. And yes, never leave a spare key in the visor or anywhere inside the car even if you have locked the car.

Lock the WIFI network

You may not know this but your WIFI can actually become a door for other people to know about your personal and financial information. And, it actually may also lead to break-ins if you have home automation. Also, if the WIFI is connected to the home security, it will become easier for the burglars to directly assess your home.

Avoid updating your trip

If you are going out of town and you won’t be at your home for a long time, you have to become a little more cautious. Like for example, do not update about your trip or location it on social media because you never know you may be actually passing the information to some potential burglar who may take the advantage of your absence and rob your home.

Keep a dog

One of the best ways to keep the burglars away from your home is by keeping a pet dog at your home. The burglars often avoid homes having dogs, so keeping a dog may help protect your house from burglars and thieves. Moreover, the dogs have got good intuitive power and they can bark and make you alert and you can act accordingly.

Put in window air conditioners

Installing window air conditioner units are a great way not just to keep the interiors cool but also to protect your home from the burglars. How? Well, the AC units will block the entry into your home through the windows in the first floor which are otherwise one of the most favored entry points that burglars use.

Keep the wires covered

You may have installed a home security and is satisfied that your home is safe but what if the burglar notices it and tries to disable it by cutting the wires? Well, for that, it is better to conceal the exterior wires in electrical conducts as then it will become hard for them to find and snip them.

Hire with caution

Many times, burglars pose themselves as one of the professionals and enter your home. So, whenever you are hiring anyone be it housekeepers, contractors, handymen etc., be very careful and do not let anyone enter unless you are very sure of their identity. Ask for their ID cards right away, before letting them in.

Leave the radio on and turn down the doorbell

In many cases, the burglars ring the doorbell or knock the door to find out whether anyone is home or not. But if you turn down the doorbell as well as keep the radio on, then that will confuse the burglars whether you are not at home or you are not able to simply hear the doorbell.  

Over to you

If you want to live peacefully in your home, then tightening the security of your home is seriously important. And therefore, before you move in to your new home, you got to ensure that your home is fully safe and secured. Break-ins have been common previously as well, but nowadays the burglars are using more innovative ways to get into your home. So, you got to be more vigilant, aware and well prepared to prevent any burglary or theft attempt at your home.

I have already shared a few of the best home safety tips to protect your home from burglary and theft. Some of the hacks may sound like simple, but they are actually good safety measures to make you home burglary and theft proof.

What else do you think one can do to protect their home and make it super safe from thieves and burglars? How do you protect you’re your home?

Share your safety tips and hacks by commenting below.

Until then, stay safe.

Published by

Elina

Elina is a passionate blogger. She has been working with various local service providers at servicesutra. When she is not occupied, you can find her watching home improvement and moving related videos on youtube. Her next goal is to become a successful vblogger.