A home’s extravagance increases its risk of being broken into. Increasing security can involve big upgrades to your property, but just as often smaller and simpler tasks can keep the bad guys at bay. Here are a few tips and four ways to keep intruders from targeting your home. The key? Lowering your house’s attractiveness to thieves without diminishing its beauty.
Set Up a Security System
This one should be a given for homes on the high end. A combination of security cameras and lights with motion sensors can dissuade thieves and trespassers. Lights that flash on in the presence of intruders will startle them while letting them know they’re being watched. Fine-tuning sensor sensitivity ensures security lights only activate for significant movement, avoiding unnecessary illumination from things like animals or passing cars. Cameras can be synced with apps that let you see who’s on the property or at your doors or windows, giving you time to call the authorities. Cameras can also record evidence of break-ins.
Add Obstacles, Remove Hiding Places
A well-made fence is a great way to decorate your property while providing a reliable method of security. Surrounding the perimeter with an elegant fence adds another obstacle to trespassers while also providing a lovely backdrop for your landscaping and lawn. You can also boost security with an automatic gate or similar movable blockade that lets you in while keeping others out. Conversely, make sure your windows and doors aren’t obscured by bushes or similar foliage. They may look lovely, but such blind spots can help robbers hide while they work to break into your home.
Be Cautious with Your Things
We all like to show off a little, but if a home displays too many valuable things to outside eyes, it will draw attention. Park expensive vehicles in the garage, keep expensive outdoor appliances under wraps, and don’t store valuable items near windows. Most robberies are spontaneous, and an easily accessible item or unattended piece of equipment can be all the prompt a thief needs to make their move.
Batten Down the Hatches
Here’s the last of our four ways to keep intruders from targeting your home. Invest in bigger, stronger doors. There are plenty sturdy, secure doors that also look great. Have thick wooden or metal doors installed, and reinforce their security with strike plates, multi-point lock systems, and electronic locks that can be activated by a phone or keychain fob. Windows fitted reinforced locks, sensors, and security film can make the harder to dislodge or penetrate with tools and brute force. And naturally, always remember to lock up when you’re out.
Above all, stay vigilant. Paying attention and enlisting your neighbors in a bid to keep the neighborhood safe goes a long way toward keeping your valuables secured and all your homes safer.
