5 Home Security Tips You Never Thought Of

Homes are our personal space of safety and security. It is where we let our guards down and enjoy a relaxing time with friends and loved ones. It only makes sense that we take steps in ensuring it continues to be a place of peace and safety. With an ever-increasing crime rate, many homeowners and renters have begun to seriously consider taking steps in ensuring their homes are always protected at all times.

And while the most apparent precaution would be to install more locks and get a burglar alarm, there are a number of steps, some simple ones, that could deter any attack to your home. Some you can do on your own and some you might need a little bit of help. Regardless, they are all aimed at ensuring your property, and those who reside in it are kept safe at all times. Here are five home security tips to keep burglars at bay.

1. Get rid of places to hide

Don’t give strangers and thieves somewhere they can hide in your property. Make sure you trim trees and bushes regularly, especially for shrubs underneath windows and near doors. Branches on trees that are reaching into windows should be removed to prevent easy access into your home. Bushes or hedges that are high enough to block windows should also be trimmed down.

Another precaution you can do would be to keep areas around your home that are infrequently visited well lit at night. These offer a great spot for thieves and criminals to hide as they are out of sight, and they are not directly in line with any footpath. If you are concerned about your electric bill, the next best option would be to install motion detection spotlights. This helps curb your electric bill, and it won’t annoy your neighbors for keeping a light on an entire night.

2. Let them know there are people inside

If you plan on leaving your home for a couple of days without anyone inside, the best option to deter any burglary attacks would be to let people know that there are always people inside. There are many ways you can do this. Often they don’t require you to have expensive equipment installed. The easiest way is not to announce it on social media. Cunning thieves are always on the lookout for people to post pictures of them on planes or in exotic holidays before they make their move.

Another tip would be to let your post office know that you will be out of town for a couple of days and do not deliver your letters at home. Instead, you can ask them to keep your mails until you come back to collect them. A pile of letters on the front step or an overflowing mailbox is a sure sign that a home is unoccupied. You can also install a timer in a few of your light switches so that they automatically turn based on a set schedule, so your home is always well lit at night. Also, ask a friend or a close neighbor to check up on your house every now and then to make sure nothing is amiss and to pick up flyers, and newspapers that are left outside.

3. Update your locks

One way that many thieves gain access to a home is by jimmy-opening an old lock. Homeowners who bought old houses usually forget to updates locks, opting instead to use the existing ones without realizing that those are very vulnerable to sabotage and lock-picking. Newer models are far harder to pick and incorporate the use of new materials that make it almost impossible to pry open with heavy tools and equipment.

Even if the home is relatively new and the old owner guarantees that the locks are more modern models, give yourself the peace of mind by opting to change the locks. You might trust the previous owners, but they might have forgotten who they have given extra keys to the home to or if they hid a key in the property that they might have overlooked. Also, if you recently had a roommate move out or went through a break up with a partner who has access to your house, it is time to change the locks.

4. Install a home security system

One sure way to deter people from entering your home without you knowing would be to have a home security system installed. If your home is frequently without anyone inside, then having an alarm is perfect for when thieves break in. They attract attention because of the noise and bring the authorities into your home quickly. They might still enter your home, but they won’t be spending a lot of time going through your things or carrying your expensive appliances. Even a visible sign that a home is equipped with an anti-theft system is enough to prevent criminals from targeting your home.

Ideally, an alarm should be paired with video monitoring such as CCTV cameras or even spy cams. Also, a spy camera with audio like nanny cams is excellent for indoor monitoring. And because many of these cameras are made to be discreet, the intruder won’t know they are being recorded, making it that much easier to build a case against that person in court.

5. Protect your windows

Not many homeowners and renters realize this, but it is not the doors that are often attacked by thieves and burglars. Usually, it is windows that are easily jimmied and accessed. So increasing your home security means not only reinforcing doors and installing monitoring equipment, but also ensuring that your windows are well protected and secured.

A simple way to do this would be to make sure that they are always locked when you leave the house and at night. Another thing to remember is to update your window panes into a shatterproof glass if you recently bought the place. If updating the window glass is too costly for your budget, then the next best thing would be to have a security film installed on your windows. This stops the glass from shattering and may stop thieves from continuing to gain entry into your home.

Author Bio:

Sarah Brooks is an ardent blogger and frequent traveler who writes about home improvement, travel, and the latest trends on emerging technologies. She is currently working with EyeSpySupply, which offers a wide range of surveillance equipment, including spy camera with audio, nanny cams, GPS trackers, voice-activated audio recorders and more.