Extensive research shows that a burglary happens after every 25.7 seconds in the United States. Another study shows that 34% of all robbers enter through the front door, while 23% come through the first-floor window.
It means your house requires state-of-the-art technology to ensure you and your possessions are always safe. Moreover, you don’t have to spend your paycheck installing or upgrading security tech in your house. Below we discuss the top 10 effective yet inexpensive ways you can secure all potential entrances:
1. Secure Your Doors
Protect your property and family by installing smart home security devices. Extensive research shows that 81% of robbers enter houses through the first floor.
Here’s a couple of things you need to do to ensure the doors in your house are adequately protected:
- Inspect all doors to ensure the frames are sturdy.
- Make sure the hinges are well-secured
- If you’ve recently switched houses, make sure you change the locks. It ensures no one else owns keys to your house.
- Add a robust deadbolt or a strike plate to ensure extra security.
- You may enhance security by adding smart locks and a video doorbell.
2. Bolt Your Windows
Not just your doors, but miscreants often enter the house via the window. Moreover, pre-installed latches aren’t half as safe as people believe. In fact, they are weak and can easily break. Below are a couple of ways to boost your home’s security:
- Upgrade safety by adding window bars.
- Reinforce security by installing window security film.
- Burglar-proof your house by installing glass break sensors.
- An extra step is planting, especially prickly bushes under every first-floor window.
3. Light Up Your Yard
It’s common knowledge that criminals are less likely to strike if the area is properly light. An in-depth DST experiment suggests that criminal activity fell by 10% to 13% due to ambient light. Here’s what you can do to light up your yard:
- Install lights on your front and back yards. Add them alongside your pathways, the garage, and so on.
- Use automated lights featuring infrared motion sensors to throw off porch pirates.
- Place eco-friendly solar-powered lights.
- If you’re away on vacation, place outdoor lights on a schedule to ensure timely switching on and off.
- Request the neighborhood association to install street lights in your community.
4. Ensure there are No Hiding Places
The best way to ensure no burglars are lurking outside your house is to eliminate potential hiding spots. Your garden boasting a wide variety of lovely trees, bushes, and plants may add value and beauty to your house, but they also offer robbers a great area to hide. Here are a few things you can do to exterminate the threat of robbers:
- Always trim your trees and shrubs to ensure robbers don’t hide behind them.
- Grow pretty flowers instead of bushes.
- Keep in mind there should be no tall trees next to your window.
- Bolt all your gates, sheds, and outdoor buildings.
- Install security signs.
- Ensure not to leave stools and ladders outside.
- Don’t flash your electronics, jewelry, cash, or other valuable accessories. Instead, protect them in a safe.
- Always lock up your car, bike, and tools inside the garage.
5. Take Extra Steps
Below are certain objects burglars often target and how you can stop them from entering your house via them:
Air Conditioners
Eliminate the threat of burglars stealing your unit by adding sliding window locks and corner braces.
Mailboxes
Your mail contains all kinds of private information. To ensure burglars don’t steal them, purchase a sustainable mailbox featuring a lock and key.
Sheds
An experienced thief is likely to use tools like screwdrivers to open up a shed door. To avoid that, install unique tamper-proof screws.
Cars
Often criminals will opt for stealing your car. To eliminate the threat, always park your car inside your garage. Moreover, keep the parking area well-lit and make sure not to leave inexpensive objects inside the car. Lastly, keep your windows rolled up and your doors locked.
6. Update Your Locks
You must switch locks while moving from one house to another. It is because your previous owner or contractors may have copies of your old key.
In addition to this, make sure your doors come with durable locks that don’t break upon kicking or picking.
7. Utilize Home Automation
If the thought of transforming your house into a smart home seems enticing to you, adding security is an excellent reason to do so. Home automation includes connecting smart devices to your phone or speaker. Plus, it allows you to monitor turning on and off your lights, security cameras, smoke alarms, door locks, and so on.
Since these keep you up-to-date with present-time circumstances, thwarting criminal plans becomes more efficient and convenient. Following are top ways you can benefit from home automation:
- Schedule the turning on and off of your lights while you’re away from home.
- Receive constant updates on who’s lurking around your house.
- Take fast action in case of smoke alarms. Moreover, assess the situation as high-grade security cameras show footage on your smartphone.
- Watch live videos of people walking around and near your house.
- Get rid of suspicious people via two-way audio available on contemporary doorbells.
8. Purchase a Safe
Your main objective is to ensure the safety of your family and valuables. It means you need always to be one step ahead of your burglar. In case the robber manages to defeat your home security infrastructure, you must make sure your accessories are well-protected. A household safe is a perfect way to ensure this.
Here you may choose between a portable safe or one installed inside your wall or floor. Moreover, look for one that’s heavy, fireproof, waterproof, consists of multiple locks, and features modern tech. Your in-home safe may comprise the following:
- Expensive jewelry
- Confidential information
- And other valuables and sensitive information
The Takeaway
Devising the perfect security plan to keep your family and valuables takes thorough planning. You want to ensure your strategy is efficient and cost-effective. However, with the tips we mentioned above, you can upgrade your security system.
