The Penny-Pincher"s Guide To Home Security
Even though an elaborate home security system might not be in the budget, there are several things you can do to make your home more secure without spending much more than the cost of a little easy work.
Even if you do decide to go ahead and invest in a home security system, your provider will suggest that you do these things, as well. So you might as well get a head start and improve your safety either way.
1. Thieves like the dark. It makes it easy to hide. Add good cover to the dark and you have a happy thief. So the first thing you want to do is make sure your bushes and shrubs are trimmed back from your porches, entries and walks. Without all the shrubbery a bad guy at your front entry will be visible to all and sundry.
2. Make sure there are working bulbs in all your outdoor lights. Even better, install a motion-detector and light combination that will bathe the area in bright light every time it senses motion. Scares the heck out of both cats and burglars.
3. Plant prickly holly or other thorny shrubs under your ground floor windows. It makes washing the windows tricky, but burglars don't like being sliced either. You can lay an old blanket or quilt over them when you want to get in there yourself.
4. Trim tree branches back so no one can use them for a convenient ladder to your roof or upper floors.
5. Display your valuable items where they can't be seen from the street or the window. Why advertise that your home is worth burglarizing?
6. If you've just purchased an expensive item, break down the packing boxes and put them in a garbage bag. Then put the bag into your trash or recycling container, never on the street.
7. Don't believe the ads that say you can safely hide a spare key in a fake rock or thermometer. Never hide keys under the door mat or a flower pot. Thieves know about all those tricks. If you don't have a trusted neighbor who will keep a spare key for you, try a numbered keypad. Then change the combination regularly.
8. Reset the combination that came with your garage door opener. Factory settings are usually fairly easy for thieves to crack in only a few tries. If you have two remote control units, don't forget to change both of them.
9. Keep your lawn mowed and your grounds picked up. An unkempt yard suggests that either no one has been home for a while, or no one cares.
10. Keep bicycles, tools and other valuable stuff out of sight in your garage, basement or tool shed. And keep the doors closed when you aren't directly in sight. A thief can be in and out in less than 30 seconds.
Remember that most burglars are looking for the easiest possible target. They may be crooks, but they aren't usually stupid. Use common sense and these tips and you'll send him off to easier pickings.
Even if you do decide to go ahead and invest in a home security system, your provider will suggest that you do these things, as well. So you might as well get a head start and improve your safety either way.
1. Thieves like the dark. It makes it easy to hide. Add good cover to the dark and you have a happy thief. So the first thing you want to do is make sure your bushes and shrubs are trimmed back from your porches, entries and walks. Without all the shrubbery a bad guy at your front entry will be visible to all and sundry.
2. Make sure there are working bulbs in all your outdoor lights. Even better, install a motion-detector and light combination that will bathe the area in bright light every time it senses motion. Scares the heck out of both cats and burglars.
3. Plant prickly holly or other thorny shrubs under your ground floor windows. It makes washing the windows tricky, but burglars don't like being sliced either. You can lay an old blanket or quilt over them when you want to get in there yourself.
4. Trim tree branches back so no one can use them for a convenient ladder to your roof or upper floors.
5. Display your valuable items where they can't be seen from the street or the window. Why advertise that your home is worth burglarizing?
6. If you've just purchased an expensive item, break down the packing boxes and put them in a garbage bag. Then put the bag into your trash or recycling container, never on the street.
7. Don't believe the ads that say you can safely hide a spare key in a fake rock or thermometer. Never hide keys under the door mat or a flower pot. Thieves know about all those tricks. If you don't have a trusted neighbor who will keep a spare key for you, try a numbered keypad. Then change the combination regularly.
8. Reset the combination that came with your garage door opener. Factory settings are usually fairly easy for thieves to crack in only a few tries. If you have two remote control units, don't forget to change both of them.
9. Keep your lawn mowed and your grounds picked up. An unkempt yard suggests that either no one has been home for a while, or no one cares.
10. Keep bicycles, tools and other valuable stuff out of sight in your garage, basement or tool shed. And keep the doors closed when you aren't directly in sight. A thief can be in and out in less than 30 seconds.
Remember that most burglars are looking for the easiest possible target. They may be crooks, but they aren't usually stupid. Use common sense and these tips and you'll send him off to easier pickings.