Everyone will agree keeping your home and family safe from burglars is important.
State Farm Insurance offers the following valuable tips to dissuade burglars from invading your home and sense of security:
- Add a generic security sign to your yard or stickers to your door. It may not fool a burglar, but he may think twice about hitting your home.
- Consider setting up a home security system, which can qualify homeowners for discounts on insurance.
- Create open spaces in your landscaping and keep bushes trimmed so burglars have fewer places to hide. If you are landscaping, plant thorny bushes, such as roses, in vulnerable areas.
- Install a motion sensor light to catch intruders by surprise—but put it high enough that a burglar can’t reach up and unscrew the bulb.
- At night, turn on your lights, open your curtains, and walk around the exterior of your home. You will see what’s visible to a burglar from your yard or sidewalk. Then, have someone turn off the lights in your home. You may be surprised how much you still can see from street level. After this exercise, you might choose to move certain items or draw the blinds more frequently.
- Install deadbolt locks on all exterior doors and doors from an attached garage. Select a deadbolt that has been given a Grade 1 from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The ANSI tests locks for security and durability, and gives them a Grade 1, 2 or 3, with Grade 1 being the best.
- To make existing locks more secure, install a heavy-duty strike plate using 3-inch screws that penetrate the wall stud. Make sure the door strike is held in place by four or more screws. And strengthen the doorframe by installing a doorjamb reinforcement product.
- Put tools, bikes and other items away when you are done using them. If your possessions are too visible, burglars may wonder what else you have inside.
- Dogs are exceptional deterrents to theft. Let your dog be seen—and heard. A thief who knows there is a dog in the house may pick another target.
Pretend you are there
- Keep your home looking lived-in when you are away.
- Leave lights on timers when you’re away—but choose timers that have random settings so thieves cannot detect a pattern.
- If you’ll be away for a short time, leave a radio or TV on, turned up loud enough that it might be heard outdoors. If a longer trip is in your plans, consider using an electronic device that simulates the lights and flicker of a TV and gives the impression that someone’s home—and uses about the same amount of power as a nightlight.
- Don’t post your travel plans on social media websites. Some burglars use social networking sites to find victims.
- When you are leaving for a longer period, ask a trusted neighbor to watch your home, gather your mail, and otherwise give the appearance of activity. Leave your spare key with the neighbor, too. Burglars know the usual hiding places.