How to Keep Your House Safe From Intruders
A home is a place to relax, unwind and enjoy life away from the busy environment of the rest of the world. This sense of peace and safety can often be easily destroyed by an intruder.
Some intruders may resort to violence and some may break into a home for the main purpose of harming the inhabitants. You can take action to fortify your home and keep it safer from any kind of intruder.
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Things You'll Need
- Steel or solid core exterior doors
- Deadbolts
- Outdoor motion lights
- Interior motion lights
- Light timers
Instructions
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Replace all exterior doors, including a door leading to a garage, with steel or solid core wood doors. Hollow core wood doors can be more easily kicked in by an intruder. Exterior doors should also have peepholes so you can see who is on the other side before you open it.
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2
Check all door and window locks. Add deadbolts to doors that do not already have deadbolt locks. Add locks to windows that do not already have locks.
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Contract with a home security alarm company and have a monitored alarm system installed. Most come with some kind of keypad and several sensors that can be customized for your security needs. If the alarm is tripped accidentally, you will usually have time to contact the company to tell them of the error. Otherwise, police will be notified and sent out.
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Set up outdoor motion lights. These should be placed in areas that will otherwise be dark at night, such as the backyard.
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Keep all doors and windows locked even when you are at home. Desperate intruders set on will make use of an unlocked door or window. This includes your garage door and the door leading from your house to an attached garage.
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Keep shrubbery low so it does not block the view of your home from the street. Thick trees and high shrubbery gives an intruder concealment from your neighbors and therefore makes your home more inviting. You can also plant thorny bushes and keep large cacti in pots beneath windows to discourage peeping and break-ins through the windows.
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Make your home look occupied at all times. Keep a radio or television and several lights on. Some alarm companies offer lights on timers. You can also buy timers separately from most home supply stores. Have a neighbor or friend check on your house daily while you are away and collect your mail and newspapers so they don't build up.
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Tips & Warnings
Intruders who case your home may do so for a while to determine your schedule. Although you may have little control over your work schedule, try to vary the routine during your days off. If you always go shopping on Saturday afternoons at 2, change it to other days or evenings, for example, and switch the time or day around each week.
If you are a pet lover, getting a dog with a fierce bark can also be a good deterrent to intruders.
Place stickers announcing "this property is under video surveillance" or something similar near doors and windows. Your alarm company can provide such warning stickers or you can also buy them from home security stores online. The potential intruder won't know if you really have hidden surveillance cameras or not.
References
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