Share Now:
Home Security
How to make your home more secure? In this Home Security article, you will learn what you can do to make your home safer. Most of the suggestions here include the easy methods that you can do on your own.
Vulnerable Areas of the Home
- Skylights can he a security risk-add iron or steel bars if your roof is easily accessible. Keep hedges low and trimmed.
- Windows near a roof or drainpipe are easy to reach -never leave them unlocked.
- Keep access to the back of your house locked.
- Secure sliding doors with special locks.
- Skylights can be reached via a drainpipe paint drainpipe antic limb paint.
- Back windows or those hidden by shrubs are often targeted by burglars.
- Put extra locks on the back door as well as the front -most burglars gain access at the backs of houses.
A More Secured Home
Locks and alarms deter burglars, but you must also be sure not to “invite” them into your home. Make sure your home always appears occupied even while you are away. Poor outside lighting and dense shrubbery provide covers for burglars while they break-in. Remember to join the local neighborhood crime watch if one exists in your area.
Making Your Home More Secure
- Alarms: Install a house alarm system, and make sure it is clearly visible in order to deter any casual intruders.
- Doors: Use good-quality, solid wood exterior doors. Flimsy doors can easily be kicked in. Put secure locks on exterior doors, and a chain or peephole so that you can inspect visitors.
- Windows: Put locks on every window, especially windows close to drainpipes, ground-floor windows, and French windows. Lock them each time you go out.
- Rear entrances: Make the back of your home as inaccessible as possible. Most burglars break in at the backs of houses.
- Garage: Secure the door leading from the garage to the house, as well as the garage doors. A burglar could work unseen in the garage.
- Hedges: Keep hedges trimmed as low as possible so that anyone trying to break in can be easily seen. Prickly hedges and shrubs will also act as a deterrent to intruders.
- Cars: Always lock your car when you leave it, even if you are coming right back. Burglars can use tools they find in cars to break into the house.
- Sheds: Lock sheds so that your tools cannot be used to break into the house. Put shed door hinges on the inside so that they cannot be removed by burglars to take the door off.
- Ladders: Keep ladders locked up so that burglars cannot use them to break into the house through the upper floors.
Inside Your Home
Locks, bolts, and alarms are only as good as the fabric of the home they are protecting. Make it more difficult for thieves to get in by having good-quality doors and windows that are always kept locked. Always change the locks when you move into a new house.
Securing Doors and Windows
Internal doors: Do not lock internal doors. Burglars will think you are hiding valuables and may break them down.
Casement windows:
Sink a long screw into a casement window beside the handle to prevent it from being opened. Put permanent locks on windows as soon as possible.
Drawing Curtains:
- Daytime: Open curtains during the day. Drawn curtains enable burglars to work unseen.
- Evening: Draw your curtains when you have lights on, so that no one can see valuables.
Exterior doors: Put special bolts into the hinge sides of exterior doors to make them harder to break through.
Sash windows
Install locks on sash windows, or put a long wood screw through the meeting rails. Do not permanently screw-down windows, in the case of a fire.
Possessions:
- Marking: Print your name and zip code on all valuables.
- Photographing: Take a picture of all your valuables so you can identify them if they are stolen and recovered.
Placing spare keys Leave unlabeled spare keys with a reliable neighbor. Never leave keys under flowerpots or inside die mailbox – a thief will be familiar with these plays.
In a Burglary:
Confronting a burglar: If you interrupt burglars, do not provoke them. Cooperate if necessary, then call the police as soon as you can without endangering yourself.
Home Security Equipment:
A home security system need not be elaborate, but it must be effective. Ensure that everyone in the household is able to use any locks or an alarm, and always puts them into operation when leaving the building, even if it is only for a short time.
Fitting locks: Before you fit a lock, check that the door or window and its frame are structurally sound. The lock will not deter burglars if they can easily destroy the surround.