Garage Door Locks and Other Helpful Residential Security Measures

One thing you can never take for granted is your home’s security measures. That’s because there absolutely is no such thing as a home that is too well protected. Many people have found this out the hard way as they have become the victims of home intrusions or burglaries. So it’s always best to be proactive when it comes to protecting your home and constantly be on the lookout for ways to improve your home’s security. That way you can keep your home’s security level as high as possible. Here are some things you should consider to help your home be more secure if you do not already have them in place.

Garage Door Locks

Your garage door may seem sturdy and burglar-proof but in reality, it’s not. Over time thieves have learned some interesting ways in which they can defeat normal garage door security measures. This includes everything from having programmable remotes they can change frequencies on to picking manual garage door locks. There are steps you can take to help prevent garage door breaches. The best way is to install additional garage door locking devices. Among these is a locking device that is attached securely to your garage door and the concrete below it. That means even if a thief picks your garage door lock or tries to open it with a remote, your garage door will still not open.

Upgraded Window Locks

It’s a known fact among security experts that people tend to be too confident with their factory installed window locks. This should never be the case because factory installed window locks often do not offer proper window protection. That’s why so many thieves try to enter a home through a window as opposed to trying to defeat door security measures. You can increase your home window security by simply adding high-security window locks on your factory made windows.

Improved Entranceway Locks

Here is another area where people that own or rent homes are too trusting in their locks. This is especially true if someone only has single traditional keyed locks installed on their entryway doors. These door locks are extremely vulnerable to being picked or pried open. That’s why lock experts always recommend having at least two locks installed on every entryway door. It’s even better if at least one of these locks is a strong and hard to pick deadbolt lock. This will greatly improve your home entranceway door security. So get this done if you do not already have two locks protecting each entryway door.

Exterior Lighting

Thieves look for ways in which not to get caught when burglarizing any home. It’s the reason why so many thieves strike at night. It gives them a better chance at not being seen or have their images captured on camera. You can negate the advantage thieves have here by installing good nighttime lighting around the perimeter of your home. A well-lit home at night is not an inviting target for thieves. If you are worried about paying too much for the electricity to do this, you can simply install lights that are activated by motion detection sensors. Just be careful not to panic every time a raccoon or the neighbors wandering cat trigger then to come on but do investigate whenever this happens.

Security Cameras

If your home does not have video surveillance protecting it then you should highly consider installing a system. This is a great way to deter home break-ins. Thieves no that they have a better chance of being caught if their image is captured on a surveillance camera. Police can use the camera footage to identify and apprehend them. This is especially true if they have a prior record. All security experts recommend people install home video surveillance systems.

Landscape Maintenance

Believe it or not your landscape grooming plays a factor in how secure your home is. That’s because would-be thieves are attracted to homes that have such things as overgrown shrubs and bushes. These things make attractive features for thieves to hide behind as they attempt to break into a home. So keeping bushes trees and shrubs properly groomed and trimmed will take away these hiding places. This is especially important to do around windows. Consider planting a few bushes that have prickly stems or leaves to help deter thieves from hiding behind them too. That way your landscape will work for you instead of against you as far as security is concerned.

Use Deception

Have you ever gone by a house and seen a sign in the yard that said ‘beware of dog’? If you did you probably thought to yourself I certainly don’t want to go in that yard. It might even be the case where the family does not have any dog bigger than a Chihuahua, but they effectively applied the art of deception to their home’s security. This is something that you should consider too and there are many ways you can do this. You can put up signs that say such things as your home is alarmed (even if it’s not) or that you are a member of a neighborhood watch group. Some people also use police stickers and gun ownership stickers as a way to fool and deter would-be thieves.

Keep Curtains and Garage Doors Closed When Not At Home

Thieves do not like thought of risking breaking into a home and not finding anything valuable in there. That’s why many times thieves will canvas a home before attempting to break into them. When you leave your garage door open or have open curtains it gives a thief the ability to see what valuables you have in your home. By simply closing curtains and garage doors when not at home you negate the ability of the thieves to see what you have inside your home.