5 Burglar Deterrents to Protect Yourself & Your Home

Learning of a burglary at a nearby home is always unsettling. It rattles your sense of security and comfort. But, there are many ways you can deter burglars from entering your own home. Never wait for something unfortunate to happen, instead, go out and work on your home security right now.

Burglar Deterrents to Protect Your Home

Here are a few ways you can easily avoid a burglary attempt.

The most comforting and communally reliable way of protecting your house against burglars is to get a dog or create a neighbor watch. Now, most residents do not consider dogs an effective way of deterring burglars, but if the dogs are intimidating or loud, they will be as effective as anything else. However, if your dog is friendly towards strangers, you may want to consider a different option. 

Another way of getting a watchful surveillance over your house while you’re away is setting up a neighborhood watch. This is a two-way street as you may become the watcher when another neighbor is not at home. This method, although primitive, negates any error that machines may skip. But this reliance on man and animal is only doable if you know your neighbors well or if you own a dog in the first place. Some people are against neighborhood watch since they may be new in the area or may not trust the neighbors as much as the other residents. 

A common reason for burglaries being easy is because the house has too many entrances and exits. As a homeowner, if it is not possible for you to close down certain entrances, you can choose to use only specific ones in order to reduce risk. Most pet owners have door flaps in their main entrances which are convenient for their pets, but are also a burglar-magnet and provide easy access into the house. So, secure your doorways and build a proper fencing around your house. 

Another aspect to consider are windows. These provide easy access into your home. Invest in motion sensors on all windows and doors. You can also fence the windows with narrow openings so as to allow air and pets, but not a human. Make all your entry points harder to get in because the harder it is, the tougher it will be for the burglars to break in.

If you have an active social life or are not around the house most of the day, the best way to keep burglars out of your home is to invest in a good, effective and remotely-accessed home security system. These systems can be as comprehensive and as simple as your budget allows. You can get surveilling all entry points through remote camera access over the internet, so you can check up on your house anytime, anywhere. The security measures in these systems are highly customizable so you can focus more on risk areas while keeping surveillance easy on hard-to-get-in areas. The best benefit of these systems is the round-the-clock surveillance and the surety you get. A simple motion detector that triggers a loud alarm is one of the most effective and simple solutions to scaring away any attempts at burglary. Most systems include motion lights, alarms, doorbell cameras, and smart locks to secure your home

As a homeowner, the easiest thing you can do is to get into the mind of the burglars. Now go around your home and look for the weak areas to get in. It is best to carry out this exercise during the broad daylight as everything will be more clear. Also, this way you will not scare your neighbors or invite unnecessary attention. Now go around the hedges, the fences, the doorways, the windows and the likes. Once you examine every detail, you’ll know better which areas need extra security and which areas can be made more secure. There are always weak points somewhere in the house which burglars use to get in. Your job is to find them, rectify them and earn back your peace of mind. Mostly, the shrubbery and trees nearby provide easy access to upper floor windows that may not be as secure as the ones on the ground floor. Add extra layers of protection and privacy by adding curtains into all windows including ones in the basement, garage and attic. 

The burglars always study their victims and their houses before making their move. How do you avoid that? By simply shuffling up your routine every now and then. We are animals of habit which means we hardly ever favor change in our behavior and tasks. But this is exactly what can get us into trouble as most burglars map out routines of the occupants, the number of occupants, when they do what, and when they are not at home. The thought of being watched like this is unsettling. But this allows you to prepare by sometimes not acting as you should. Similarly, if you put spare keys outside, break that habit. If you keep all valuables here and there, gather and lock them up in a safe. Change locks when you move into a new place as you never know who may have the old keys. When you do go out, put your lights on a timer, leave a radio on, schedule a Netflix show to play, make Alexa light up the rooms one by one via the internet, and so on.

Conclusion 

When you’re on a vacation or even away for work for the day, don’t make it too obvious. The best way to keep burglars out of your home is to not advertise your everyday schedule freely and with everyone. Make sure you never share any confidential information with anyone except family and close friends. In short, stay safe!