How to Secure Your Home Without Even Installing a Security System

Alright, so you caught me, I will admit it. Even if you have the most advanced, fully wired camera and bio-security system, you can still have your home broken into. I can tell this might upset some of you who just spent thousands of dollars on installing the best security system that the market sells right now, but it is the truth. Even with a security system, your home can be broken into. Some security services will make up for this fact by providing some kind of insurance deductible compensation to help you out, but in the end, you still have all of your valuables stolen. What I am trying to tell you today is that there are certain things you can do as a homeowner/renter that will save you thousands of dollars and hours of headaches. These are all things you can do without spending an arm, leg, and possibly an eye of each of your family members. Are you ready?

Landscaping: This is no doubt the biggest indicator to a burglar that he can either break into or stay away from a certain home. There are many reasons for this, such as how the upkeep of a yard can be an indicator of how occupied the house is. If the lawn has not been mowed for weeks, the trees are overtaking the house, or there is a general unkempt look about the yard, you are risking attracting would-be thieves. In addition, a yard that has not been well-kept is also providing hiding places for burglars to avoid detection by your expensive security systems. Finally, a great idea I have heard recently is to use bush strategy. No, I am not referring to our dear president, but the layout of your trees and bushes can act as protection. For example, place low-lying, dense, thorny or sticky bushes near points of entry such as windows. This will make sure that if a burglar does attempt to come in through a window, he will get a mouthful of thorny pain while attempting to do so.

Lighting: Coupled with landscaping, your property’s lighting may either make or break your home’s security. Just take a look at your yard, see if there are any especially dark spots at night, and that is where you need to place your next light! In order to save electricity and money, consider sticking with motion sensing lights, or even better, body heat-sensitive lights. Both will help detect someone in your yard, but the body heat-sensing lights will help you avoid pets and other animals setting off the sensors. Also, as bad as it may sound to you, consider leaving a porch light or two on just to let burglars know that your house is occupied. Most times they will not even take the risk when they can find another, more burglary-inviting home.

Other: You may not think so sometimes, but investing in a dog really can save your home. Even if your dog is not the biggest, toughest, meanest thing on the block, having a dog in your home can alert your family of intruders. Thanks to their higher frequency range of hearing, dogs can detect sounds much quieter and further away than we could ever hope to. Also, throw in the big, bad, tough dog, and you have yourself an automated, burglar-scaring security system. Another miscellaneous thing you can do around your home is to consider the placement of your expensive electronics. You know what I’m talking about here. You’ll be driving down the street and you turn to your left just in time to look in someone’s window and catch the latest episode of Lost on their monster television! This is not a good practice in case you are wondering. Keep things conservative in this regard, and it could help you out in the long-run. You may not be entertaining the whole line of cars outside your window, but you will be marginally safer in regard to burglars.

Doing these things can help you even more than any security system could ever do. No matter how much you may spend for your home security, these basics are some of the most important practices to keep in mind, and they do not cost a whole lot, especially in comparison to what you can spend for a security system.