Webmaster Having your home broken into while you’re away is a pretty unpleasant prospect and much worse if it happens while you’re home. Improving your home security is always a smart call. Top of the line, direct-to-responder systems, though, can be awfully costly. In a previous post, I suggested a great local alarm system that could be helpful. Here are some additional tips for home security solutions. This is good home security advice using only essential and inexpensive home security gadgets.
7 Hot Tips for Better Home Security Solutions 
1. Always Leave Your Home Well Lit
Well-lit homes are far less likely to suffer break-ins. A few lights left on in the middle of the house, so that the light radiates toward windows without giving a potential burglar a clear sense of where the light is coming from leaves uncertainly that the house is really empty. Full exterior lighting is also a great idea. A burglar doesn’t want to be that exposed to the neighborhood. Motion-detectors for the exterior lights and timers for the interior ones are great investments to further frustrate potential thieves.
2. Landscape Your Way to Security
It may be a long term solution, but it’s a good one. Keep trees well-trimmed to avoid giving burglars a place to hide. Tall trees can help criminals if dense branches lean too close to your home. They create pockets of darkness where burglars can lurk. Dense shrubs can have the same impact; keep them low so doorways and windows are visible to the street and neighbours.
3. Re-enforce Your Doors
There are a number of things you can do to improve the security of your doors.
- You definitely want a deadbolt on your main doors. Be sure to use heavy-duty screws when attaching the locks. Your hardware store will usually have better screws available to use than you get with the lock.
- For around $10 you can get a decorative door reinforcement plate, which will make the lock area on the door far stronger and resistant to prying.
- Add a bar to patio doors. It will stop the inside door from sliding open or being pried off if the lock is broken. You can use a sturdy piece of wood, strategically placed in the open track, to provide this security.
- If you’re going to be away for a while, a good home security solution is to re-enforce your garage door: insert a large stove bolt through one of the side track holes to prevent the door from being slid open.
- Install a wide-angle (200-degree) peephole in your front door.
4. Don’t be Generous with Your Keys
A lot of people like to hide spare keys around the house, under rocks, in flower pots, etc., so they can get in if they lose or misplace their key chain. Very clever, except, the thieves know all about that little trick. Don’t do it. You can buy excellent sturdy security boxes accessed by a secret code and discreetly attachable by the door for these occasions. Be very careful about lending out keys. As much as you trust the person to whom you’re lending, you can’t control what happens to the key thereafter. Also, never put your address on either keys you lend or your own key set.
5. Don’t Let Your Windows be the Weak Link
They often are the weak link in efforts to ensure good home security solutions. Windows left open while away for the day will completely undermine all your other efforts. If your windows have sash locks, use them. In either event, improve security by drilling a hole from front to back where the top and bottom windows overlap. You can then install a long nail in the hole. This will prevent undesired sliding of the window up. Security bars on ground-level windows are also good home security solutions. However, do make sure they’re fitted with quick-release mechanisms for emergency opening from inside.
6. Ensure Your Insurance
Of course you should have theft insurance, but that insurance may only be as good as your preparation. Perhaps the most important home security advice is to document your home’s contents, particularly the valuables. Use a video camera to tour your home. Once everything is recorded, deliver a copy of the tape and any other documentation – models, makes and serial numbers – to a safe deposit box. If your home security is ever violated by a burglary, you will have the documentation necessary for police and insurance company alike.
7. The Best Home Security Monitoring
The best home security solution is always you and your vigilance. You know the house, you know your needs. Always keep your eyes open for improved home security solutions to protect your property and your family.
Finally, don’t fall for the mistaken benefit of knowing the secret way to break into your own house when you get locked out. You can be sure professional criminals will figure it out, too, without much problem. If you can get in, so can they.
I hope these 7 hot tips on home security solutions and some great, low cost little home security gadgets has provided you the home security advice that will help protect your home and your loved ones.
