6 Tips to Burglar-Proof Your Home

The U.S. Department of Justice reports that more than 1.8 million burglaries occurred last year, resulting in nearly $4.2 billion in losses. Over 39% of burglars enter a victim’s home through the front door, which may surprise Americans.

Consider taking some precautions to protect your home, particularly your doors and windows, from susceptibility, if you don’t want to become one of those statistics.

Protecting your home from intrusion should be a priority for many homeowners. Burglary prevention techniques can help you keep your home and family safe and secure. It can also help reduce home insurance costs.

Safe Home Overview

There are several methods to keep your home safe, including motion-sensing lights, alarm systems, burglar-proof windows and doors, hiding valuables in an unusual place, keeping the exterior clean and tidy, and keeping valuables out of sight.

There are also physical approaches, such as installing deadbolts on doors, bars and grilles on windows, using window locks, and setting up surveillance cameras both indoors and outdoors. 

Implementing these strategies will ensure maximum security for your property while also providing peace of mind that you can rest easy knowing that any potential intruders will be quickly noticed or deterred altogether.

Let’s look at some of the most effective home safety tips. 

1. Consider A Home Alarm System

When the house is empty, or at night, installing a monitored home security system can give you peace of mind and secure the safety of you and your family. It can aid in discouraging would-be intruders, and if they do manage to get inside, the sound of the alarm can dissuade them from being there for an extended period and give them less time to steal your goods.

2. Secure Your Doors and Windows

One of the most important steps in protecting your home from intrusion is to secure all doors and windows. The best way to do this is by installing deadbolts on each entry point; these are made up of a metal latch that slides into an opening in the door jamb, making it impossible for anyone to force the door open unless they possess the key.

Other forms of locks, such as knob locks or chain locks can also be used, but these are less effective than deadbolts at keeping out intruders since their mechanisms can easily be broken with minimal effort.

3. Install Surveillance Cameras

Another effective way to protect your home from intrusion is by installing surveillance cameras. Security cameras should be placed both indoors and outdoors to ensure maximum coverage of all vulnerable points, such as entryways, windows, and yards.

It’s important that the placement of the cameras is discreet and not easily seen or accessed by potential burglars; this means that they should be moved around often or hidden behind furniture or plants.

4. Never Post Vacation pictures on Social Media

Criminals are watching your home and social platforms. If you post a picture of your family on the beach in Hawaii, it can tip off these criminals that your home is open to theft.

5. Install Security Lights

Criminals, intruders, and vandals frequently target homes where the occupants are absent or asleep. Their main objective is to avoid being observed by neighbors who could call the police. For this reason, it makes sense to put outside lights around the outside of your house.

You may easily discourage burglars from trying to break into your property with the help of these lights. When someone approaches too closely to your home, motion-activated door lights, floodlights, and other exterior lights will instantly switch on.

6. Less Costly Ways to Reduce the Chance of a Home Burglary

• When leaving your home at night, leave one or two lights on. By doing this, your house will look to be occupied while you are away.
• Depend on a reliable friend while on vacation. Inform them of your location and contact information. Request that they pick up any items that would give the impression that you are not home, such as your mail, newspapers, handbills, litter, packages, and so on.
• Stop the mail and garbage when on vacation.
• Use a smart lock on your doors.
• Invest in the doorbell camera. These can be added to your smartphone, so you can see when anyone approaches your home.
• Always keep your shades and drapes drawn at night. A lighted house with open drapes is like a fishbowl at night, exposing its contents to every passerby.
• Leave a talk or news station running on the radio. This will give the impression that someone is at home.

These are some of the more effective ways you can use to burglar-proof your home. If your house is brightly illuminated and equipped with security mechanisms that slow intruders down, they won’t find it an easy target. Avoid making your house a target for theft and vandalism.

By taking reasonable safety precautions, you may protect your property and yourself while saving money on insurance premiums. We hope you found this helpful and that you will become more proactive about in-home security.

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