45 Home Security Tips That Help to Keep Burglars Away

If you have a home, you should be worried about burglars. Here are 44 home security tips that you can use to keep the burglars away:

1. Keep your doors locked all of the time.
2. Use a deadbolt on every door.
3. Don’t leave ladders outside.
4. Teach young kids NOT to answer the door.
5. Make sure there are no valuables sitting out that someone could see from the window.
6. Keep curtains and shades drawn tight at night.
7. Install a peephole.
8. Don’t answer the door unless you expect someone.
9. Cover all windows with an anti-penetration film known as shatter proof window film.
10. Put a “beware of dog” sign in the front and back of your property.
11. If you don’t have a dog, make it look like you do. Drape a large leash over your outdoor furniture, place a large food bowl with water outside, and even throw some dog toys in the yard.
12. Don’t leave the garage door open or unlocked, ever.
13. Put your valuables in a sock and hide them under your bathroom vanity. Burglars don’t often check bathrooms.
14. Even better, put it in a fireproof safe.
15. Make sure all of your window locks work, and make sure to lock all windows at night.
16. Don’t allow bushes to grow too high near the home. These offer hiding places for burglars.
17. Plant thorny bushes around the windows and doors.
18. Teach your family about fire escape, and then conduct “home invasion drills”
19. If there are no men in the house, create the illusion of one. Place old, worn men’s work boots by the door along with a tool box.
20. Make sure all of your window screens are in excellent condition, not torn.
21. Use stoppers or Charlie bars in all window tracks.
22. Get a new security system, and make sure it includes motion sensors and cameras.
23. Place a video surveillance camera, or even a fake one, above the front and back door where it is always visible.
24. If you are planning a vacation, talk to a neighbor about parking their car in your driveway. Also, ask someone to mow your lawn.
25. When away, put a hold on your newspaper and mail delivery.
26. Set up a system that turns on lights inside and out when you are home or away. This way, it looks like you are home.
27. Don’t post about your vacation on social media until you get home. Burglars look for those posts.
28. Put decals from a security company on your windows and front door.
29. Put a security system sign in both the front and the back yard.
30. Don’t talk about your travel plans with preachers, service people, survey takers, or salespeople. They may not have bad intentions, but people talk too much.
31. Install a lockbox for spare keys.
32. Consider building a “safe room.”
33. Make sure your home’s address is large and very visible from the street.
34. Put your name inside opposed to outside the mailbox. No need to broadcast it to buglers
35. Don’t say “We aren’t home right now” on your voice mail recording.
36. Check all windows after you have a service person in your home. Sometimes, they leave windows open so that they can get in later.
37. Consider keyless smart locks.
38. Get a protection dog.
39. Take a self defense course.
40. Don’t leave any packages sitting outside of your house. Instead, schedule packages when you can sign for them or use a sign-for service.
41. Have a phone on your night stand.
42. Install a good door reinforcement system. Door Devil is a good one.
43. If you leave the house, turn off the ringer of your home phone. This way, burglars won’t hear it ring without anyone picking it up.
44. Give a key to your home to a trusted neighbor. Don’t ever leave it under a plastic rock, welcome mat, or a flower pot.
45. Assume that the guy who knocks at the door representing your alarm company who just shows up wants to rob you.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of Identity Theft Privacy: Security Protection and Fraud Prevention: Your Guide to Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft and Computer Fraud. See him knock’em dead in this Security Awareness Training video.