There are some general home security tips that can help you to protect your home from burglars. These are low-cost and easy ways to make sure you feel safe.
Home Security - Keep Them Out of Your House
Burglars like to use basement windows to enter a house. They can enter the house through a rear window that is not visible from the street. Putting metal bars on the inside of these basement windows will cut off this form of entry for burglars.
Installing deadbolt locks on your doors is another easy to do home security tip. If your door has windows, make sure you install a deadbolt that uses a key to unlock. If you just have a regular deadbolt that can be unlocked by turning the knob, a burglar could break the window, reach in and unlock the deadbolt.
If you have a door without windows, then a regular deadbolt with a knob is fine. If you use the kind that needs a key, just remember that if you lose the key, you won’t be able to open the door.
Who is that Stranger?
If you live in an apartment building or residence hall, these home security tips will help you be aware of your surroundings. Look around and take notice of who is hanging around your building. Do you know them? Do they look familiar? Or are they complete strangers to you?
If you’re lucky enough to live in a building with a controlled access door, you should never let strangers gain access to your building. If you notice a stranger hanging around outside and watching your building, make sure you have your key ready before you reach the door.
If the stranger approaches the door as you’re about to enter, act like you forgot your key and walk away from the building. Or ring your own apartment and then walk away as if no one was home to let you in. If you believe the stranger is up to no good, go someplace safe and call the police to report the suspicious activity.
Never let children answer the door. Children sometimes are more trusting of adults and might let strangers in the house. If you’re not expecting a delivery or a service call (i.e. repairman or gas and electric employee), don’t unlock the door. Speak to them through the door or a nearby window, asking them what they want. Also, ask for ID.
There have been cases where a house was invaded when someone went to the front door and asked to use the phone to call the police because there was a car accident or something. The obvious thing to do here is to offer to call 911 without letting the person into your house.
We’re Always Home
When you’re not home at night, you can turn on a couple of lights to make it seem like someone’s home. It’s good to have a light on anyway so when you come home at night, you’re not entering a dark house.
Sensor lights can be triggered to come on when someone approaches your house. Set them up near all your entrances and other areas of your house. There are also lights you can set up that come on when the sun goes down and goes off when the sun comes up. Some people put these lights all around the exterior of their house.
If you live in an apartment or residence hall, make sure there is sufficient amount of light in the building, especially near your apartment door. Talk with the manager of your building about getting more lighting if needed.
Even when you’re home alone, it’s a good idea to have a couple of lights on in order to make potential burglars think that there is more than one person home.
These are just some of the home security tips that can help you stay safe and protect you and your family. We will be discussing even more home security tips in other sections of this website.
Home security monitoring systems can help you protect your home from burglars. You can install a wireless home security system yourself or hire a professional company.
Building or renovating a smart home should be fun, easy, and stress-free. The Smart Home Automation Guide provides you with everything you need to prepare for your new dream home.