Home burglaries are surprisingly common, and they’ll often occur when you least expect them.
Luckily, there are many simple ways to deter burglars from targeting your home in the first place.
11 Ways to Stop Burglars from Targeting Your Home
1. Install Deadbolt Locks
Locking your doors is a given, but installing deadbolts can improve the effectiveness of home security. These locks can’t be carded open, and it takes more time to deal with them—time a burglar will likely not be willing to give your home.
The longer it takes a burglar to get in and out, the higher their chances of being caught, so any method you can use to delay access to your valuables will help.
If your doors don’t already have deadbolts, consider installing them as a good first step.
2. Own a Dog
Burglars are less likely to rob a home that has a dog in it, and with good reason.
At the very least, your dog will make a great deal of noise upon spotting an intruder (and even non-intruders, truth be told), and that noise itself is a red flag for a burglar.
Certain breeds of dogs are at least perceived as being more aggressive than others, and larger canines can be intimidating to someone who knows they don’t belong on your property. Even a small dog with a big bark can be enough to deter a burglar.
Your pet doesn’t necessarily have to be vicious in order to assist with your home security strategy.
3. Make the Most of Home Lighting
Outdoor lighting can beautify your home and also make it more burglar-proof.
Light means a possibility for detection, something anyone who would break in wouldn’t want. As such, well-lit premises can be an effective theft deterrent. Motion sensor lighting is another tool to keep burglars at bay.
Keeping interior lights on a consistent timer or through home automation can creating the illusion that someone is home. The flickering glow of a television screen can create a similar effect.
4. Have a Neighbor Collect Mail and Other Outdoor items
Burglars keep a close eye on signs of an easy mark, and one of those signs is accumulating mail or newspapers.
A burglar may even place a flyer on your door to see how long it stays. If papers start stacking up, it’s likely no one is home.
Have you left for vacation and taken your trash cans to the curb a few days before your scheduled pick up? Actions like these can act as a green light for potential burglars.
If you are going to be away from home ask a trusted neighbor collect your mail, watch for packages and take out the trash cans for you. This can quickly eliminate easy signs thieves look for when determining if your home is a good target.
5. Cover Your Tracks
A similar principle applies in the winter with drifts of snow. If the snow in front of your home is undisturbed for days on end, then that’s a good indicator that you’re not home.
If you’ll be gone traveling for the holidays, think about asking a neighbor or friend to make fake tracks up and down your front walk or driveway.
6. Shred Documents
There are many ways to assess whether you’re worth robbing. One of those is through discarded mail in the trash.
Receipts, bank statements, papers from expensive purchases, and so on give a burglar an idea of whether your home is worth visiting.
Shredding documents with financial information as well as sensitive personal data will take away this insight, effectively making you less of a target. It serves to prevent identity theft as well, which is certainly a welcome bonus.
7. Post Carefully
Social media is a great way to share information with your friends. It’s also a great tool for burglars to assess whether you’d be a productive mark.
Announcements of financial success or good fortune (winning lotto tickets, for instance), are a loud statement saying, “I have money! Come and get it!”.
Travel plans and other information that may alert burglars to when you’ll be away should never be shared on social media. It’s best that they (and everyone else who doesn’t need to know) only find out about your vacation after the fact.
8. Use the Garage
Since a burglar doesn’t want to be caught, they’ll shoot for a time when they’re sure you won’t be home. This means tracking your patterns throughout the day.
What time do you leave? When is your car there? When is it not?
If you have a garage, make good use of it. If your car is always in your garage, it will be harder for burglars to discern when you’re away.
9. Secure Sliding Doors
When it comes to actually breaking into a home, sliding doors are especially vulnerable.
Sliding doors don’t tend to have very strong locking mechanisms, and they’re made entirely of glass. If a burglar breaks the glass, your neighbors might hear it, but if they don’t hear the noise a second time, they likely won’t do anything about it.
Alarming your sliding doors is a must for home security. In addition, placing a rod in the track while the door is shut can reinforce the lock, making the door very hard to budge without breaking it.
10. Conceal Alarm Panels
An alarm system is a very useful way to keep burglars at bay. Simply being aware that your home is alarmed will be a powerful deterrent since it makes it more likely for intruders to get caught.
However, your home security system needs to be installed intelligently.
If your alarm system control panel is easy to see from outside, burglars can simply wait for a moment when you forget to arm it before leaving. As such, it’s best to keep that panel somewhere out of sight of windows or doors.
To further reinforce home security, many systems include smartphone apps that allow you to set your alarm remotely in case you forget.
11. Arm with Strategy
When installing an alarm system, there are some areas that may be overlooked.
For instance, you may not feel like you need to protect second-story windows, but those are often a prime target just for that reason. So too are windows over the kitchen sink and sliding doors.
Arming these spots is key to theft deterrence, so make sure your system covers all areas. A home security system provider can help you create the optimum system for your home, so they are definitely worth a call.
Find Out How to Stop Burglars From Targeting Your Home
The right home security system and best practices for using it most effectively are critical to protecting your home and your family.
Moon Security designs home security systems that meet the unique needs of your family, as well as your budget.
Learn more about home security systems from Moon Security. We have locations in Pasco and Spokane Washington and have installed a wide variety of smart home systems and features throughout the states of Washington, Idaho and Oregon.