Making Your Home a Less Desirable Target
Think like a burglar. A burglar will want as much time alone and undisturbed in your house as possible. This will allow them to take what they want without being caught. You can prevent your home from being targeted by burglars by getting into a burglar mindset, which will help you shore up weak points in your home protection. Think like a burglar by asking yourself: "How would I break into my home if I had to? Would this be obvious to someone else? How can I make it less obvious/easy to break in to?" "Is my home easy to view by other people? Would other people see a person breaking into my home from the road? How can I make my home more visible?" "Does my home look unoccupied? How can I make my home look more occupied both when I'm away and at home?"
Know the main routes of burglar ingress. Certain avenues into your house are more popular among burglars. These can sometimes be opposite what you might expect, but when breaking into your home, the burglar will try to appear natural, as though he belongs there or has permission to enter your home. This makes the following entrances especially vulnerable to break-ins: Front door Ground floor windows Side/back doors
Reinforce entrances to your home visibly. Obvious reinforcements will make your home a less desirable target. Burglars will be able to tell at a glance whether or not a door into your home is hollow core, which can be kicked down easily, or insulated metal, which can withstand greater punishment. Use dowels or rods as security bars. Lay these along the inside track of sliding doors and horizontally sliding windows to prevent being forced open. Install reinforced locks on exterior doors. Install a security door, or some other sturdy variety, like a solid core door.
Retrieve post as soon as you return home. The accumulation of mail at your front door, letterbox or mailbox could indicate to a burglar that you're on vacation and that your home is ripe for robbing. Packages, too, even those that are not valuable, can send potential burglars a signal that your home is infrequently occupied if left unattended.
Post signs to indicate extra security. This is a good tactic even if you don't have a security system or a dog. Burglars will frequently avoid the risk of a guard dog or professional security system. "Beware of The Dog" signs can be placed at the entrance of your home or in your front yard, while imitation security system stickers should be stuck to the main entrance and exit of your home. "Beware of The Dog" signs can be bought at most hardware stores but can also be purchased online. Imitation security system stickers might be found at a hardware store, home security store, spy/surveillance shop, or online.
Maintain the landscaping of your property. Lawn that is patchy or excessively long can indicate to potential burglars that you are away and make your home vulnerable. Poorly maintained shrubs, bushes, and trees, on the other hand, can provide burglars with places to hide while breaking into your home. Keep your yard well maintained to prevent burglars from receiving break-in opportunities.
Deterring Burglars with Physical Measures
Get a dog. If a burglar approaches your home and hears a dog barking, they're more likely to move on to the next house—not just because of the sound, but also because of the potential of being bitten. Even small dogs can make a home less desirable to a burglar. Some popular dog breeds for you to consider include: Bull mastiff Doberman German shepherd Rottweiler
Hide valuables from sight. New television sets, expensive (and highly portable) laptop computers, jewelry, and other valuables can be extra tempting to prowling burglars. Don't leave these sitting out in the open. To prevent undue attention to your things, you might: Put up curtains or blinds to make it more difficult for burglars to peep inside your home. Store expensive outdoor items, like bicycles and barbecues, in a storage unit. Tint your windows. Don't keep valuables in your car, either.
Plant thorny bushes and shrubs strategically. Many thorn bushes, like roses, have beautiful flowers that can add to the beauty of your house even while protecting it. Thorny bushes, shrubs, and trees that are planted outside windows will make it more difficult for burglars to enter using these access points. A few options for good bushes include: Barberry Pyracantha Roses
Purchase and make use of lighting timers. These can be bought at most hardware stores and are excellent, cost-efficient ways of making your home look occupied and undesirable to burglars. If you spend most of your day at work, you might set a timer to turn on lights or a TV during lunchtime. Motion sensor lights at the main doors of your house are another affordable prevention measure you might employ. Be sure to set a timer before going on extended trips or a vacation. If you don't have a timer, keep your exterior lights on so the outside of your home is lit up.
Put in a real or imitation security system. Professional security systems offer many advantages to home protection, often providing services like monitoring and improved police response. But even if a professional grade system is out of your price range, you can still purchase fake security cameras from your local hardware or home security store to achieve a similar effect. A camera with a blinking light is a great deterrent, even if it isn't hooked up. When setting up imitation cameras, be sure you do so convincingly. Connect the camera to an outlet even if it doesn't need power and arrange other wires to appear connected to the inside of your home.
Add security bars outside your windows. Ground floor windows are the most likely to be used by burglars, so unless you live in a very rough neighborhood, it's unlikely that you'll need to install bars higher than the first storey. Security bars that you can attach to the outside of your windows can be bought at most hardware stores, and are a sturdy, high visibility deterrent. Second storey windows and doors are responsible for approximately 2% of burglaries, and usually only need to be secured with regular measures.
Establishing Burglary Prevention Habits
Keep your vacations private on social media. It's not likely that you have to be cautious about your Facebook friends breaking into your home, but information about your trip can travel quickly among acquaintances and the friends of friends. These individuals, who you may not know well or trust, could see your online post about your vacation and think it a prime opportunity to make some easy money by stealing from your home while you are away.
Cancel subscriptions while away from home. Or you could always arrange for a trusted neighbor to collect your mail while you are away. In either case, taking steps to ensure newspapers, mail, or magazine subscriptions don't pile up on your doorstep will make it less obvious to burglars that you're not home. If you get milk delivered, don't forget to cancel it!
Store garbage in your garage or an enclosed area. Professional burglars often observe a neighborhood or a handful of likely targets to determine the rhythm of its occupants. This informs the burglar of the best time to break in. Many of your daily habits can be inferred from the trash you produce, so you should limit the information you provide burglars by limiting access to your trash. If a garage is not available, you might build a small structure to store your garbage cans with 2x4 pieces of wood, thick gauge chicken wire, hinges, and a latch. You can then lock your garbage cans in your enclosure to prevent snooping.
Join, or start, a neighborhood watch. Regular patrols will be more likely to notice strange cars or people that don't belong in your neighborhood. This can also cut down on the opportunities burglars have to evaluate your house for future theft. Inquire with your neighborhood association or homeowner's association to see if your community has a neighborhood watch program already in place. Check out some tips on how to form your own neighborhood watch.
Inspect your property for signs of a break in regularly. Take a stroll around your property every other week or so and check that all your security measures are in place and untampered with. Take note of strange scratches around locks and latches, strange footsteps in flowerbeds, and anything else that might suggest you have an unwanted visitor poking around your property.
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