Your home is your castle and if you don’t feel safe at home, where can you feel safe? House alarms and other security systems are all well and good but, as comedians have been pointing out for years, a house alarm is treated more as an annoyance these days rather than a security feature.
Thankfully, there are some additional security measures you can introduce to your home that’ll help you rest easy:
Garage Safeguarding
There’s no doubt thieves will aim for your garage first. It’s usually slightly separate from the main house giving them a chance of gaining access without disturbing you. The first step is to lock the garage and replace windows with more secure options but what else can you do?
Hiding your more expensive tools and belongings is a great place to start – you can purchase inexpensive security boxes and external tool chests can be moved indoors and padlocked for added safety. Even bikes and suchlike should be chained up to prevent them being easy targets.
If you keep your car in the garage, make sure there is no way it can be accessed. Spare keys need to be kept in the house and not close to the car. With keyless entry a feature on many vehicles these days, make sure it is locked before you leave it unattended.
Lock Bumping
More of an American concern but still prevalent in the UK, lock bumping is the act of grinding a key down and applying pressure to force it into a lock. This effectively creates a skeleton key and damages the lock beyond repair leaving the door open to any one who feels like visiting invited or otherwise.
For extra security, it may be worthwhile investing in an electric or magnetic lock that can only be opened using your own code or pass. It may seem a lot for a domestic property, but if you’ve been burgled you’ll certainly consider it.
Some locks, such as Yale locks, can’t be bumped so it would be worthwhile upgrading the locks at your property – spending extra on security will make your property more secure. Fact.
Cameras
Cameras are becoming more and more common in UK homes and they are also becoming more affordable as a byproduct. Remote access cameras are a great way to monitor your home when you aren’t at home – you can even get a video doorbell now to ward off unwanted visitors.
You could even rig up the inexpensive GoPro system in particularly exposed areas of your home – they’re all night vision prepared too which is priceless in a robbery situation.
Landscaping
Having tall hedges and trees provide great cover options for intruders should you be alerted to their presence. Instead of affording them the opportunity to hide, keep everything low and install motion sensitive lights to catch them in the act – nowhere to hide and nowhere to run.
Deception
If a thief is intending to break into your home, they will most likely look to do so whilst you are out of the house so making it appear someone is in is a clever way to deceive potential threats. The old fashioned methods such as leaving a radio or a television on aren’t as effective these days but there’s nothing stopping you from asking a neighbour to park their car in your driveway whilst you’re away or asking a relative to stop in from time to time to collect post and make the place seem lived in when it isn’t.