19 Jul The Top 10 Home Security Mistakes to Avoid
Home Security Mistakes
As the owner of your home, it’s important to take responsibility for everything that goes on in it. From making the necessary repairs if something gets broken, to being sure your taxes are paid on time, these are only a few responsibilities of being a homeowner.
However, while there’s no doubt these are important, you also need to keep your home secure at all times. After all, burglars often take advantage of the mistakes we tend to make. Not only do they know what houses to target, but they may also watch your progress over a period of time. Even if you lock the door upon leaving, there are plenty of other slip-ups that could make you an easy target.
So here are the top 10 home security mistakes people make. These tips should lead you in the right direction, and allow you to make smarter decisions with home security.
Mistake #1. Not Preparing for a Vacation
First of all, there’s nothing wrong with taking a vacation. Everyone needs a break once in a while. One shouldn’t be afraid to leave their house just because there’s a risk of it being robbed. Also, it’s not necessarily being away on a trip that makes robbing a home so easy for criminals, but it’s the lack of home security. We spend so much time preparing for the vacation, but we often don’t give a second thought about preparing for a burglary.
But burglars are always watching, and they may target your home because it’s empty. How can you prepare for this? First of all, you should consider hiring a house-sitter while you’re away. Aside from being entrusted to your home, they will also keep your residence protected if a burglary were to occur. And there’s less of a chance your home will be robbed, since the criminal will know it’s occupied.
Have you also considered purchasing a security system or camera? It’s an efficient tool that monitors your house, and just the sight of it may warn criminals to stay away. Overall, preparing your home during a vacation is an important part of keeping your residence secure. You can find more tips for preparing for a vacation the right way here.
Mistake #2. Keeping the Porch Lights Off
One thing that’s important to remember about burglars is that they seldom rob in broad daylight. Many of them sneak around at night, and prefer not to be seen. A common mistake for some homeowners is keeping the porch light off at night. While some may think keeping it on won’t make a difference, there’s evidence otherwise.
Suppose there was a criminal at night who was looking to rob a house, and they preferred not to be seen. Would they choose a house where the front lights are on and they risk being spotted? No, it would be easier for them to choose a residence that’s dark. However, having the front lights on won’t always work as a deterrent. But it can still pose as a warning sign to criminals. Keeping the porch lights on is a smart decision that will make your residence more secure. Consider a timer or controlling your porch lights with ADT Pulse.
Mistake #3. Leaving the Windows Unlocked
Every homeowner knows how important it is to lock their door when leaving the house. However, burglars aren’t stupid either. Not only do they come prepared, but they also have multiple ways of getting in if one plan doesn’t work. With that said, make sure you keep the windows locked shut. If you’re gone from the house for extended periods of time, don’t hesitate to go the extra mile. Consider purchasing additional window locks or dowel rods to put in windows. Even though most break-ins are through a door, if they are through a window, a good percentage of them are because a window was open or unlocked. Having a monitored security system can really come in handy here since it can tell you if a window is left open. Also, if you have a security system, even if you forget to lock your windows, it will go off if you have a window sensor on them after they are opened.
Mistake #4. Not installing a Security System
For as little as $99 down and $36.99-$49.99/mo you could have a state of the art security system protecting your home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The odds have shown that a security system can drastically reduce your odds of break in by up to 10 times. Why gamble with the odds when they can be in your favor for around $1-$2/day?
And if you have a security system, make sure your yard sign and window stickers are visible from the street.
Mistake #5. Not trimming your bushes
Having good lighting is important, but since half of break-ins happen during daylight hours, you also need to make sure your shrubs are trimmed. If you have large overgrown bushes, you’re providing a good hiding place for prowlers to check out your home and break in.
Mistake #6. Leaving a ladder on the side of the house not locked up
If you have second-level windows, most people would not be worried about someone breaking in through them. But if you leave a ladder on the side of the home and it’s not chained up, it invites burglars to enter a second story window. If you don’t have window sensors on the second level the alarm would not even sound. If you can keep ladders inside the garage and keep the second level inaccessible.
Mistake #7. Leaving your Garage Open
Open garages are invitations for burglars to enter and take what they would want. Many thefts would be prevented if everyone kept their garages shut. One easy way of doing this is having an ADT Pulse Garage Door Controller and an ADT Pulse Tilt Sensor. These can remind you if the garage is left open and also allow you to close the garage from your smart phone. How sweet is that?
Mistake #8. Letting others know what new electronics you have bought
Large TV boxes and other boxes from large new gifts or purchases can educate others to what is new in your home. Make sure you cut up the boxes and put them in the cans so that everyone doesn’t know about your new stuff.
Mistake #9. Hiding a key on the outside of the home
Burglars know that people hide keys and they look for them. So if you want to have an easy way to get in if you are locked out or if someone else is coming over, we recommend an ADT Pulse deadbolt. When you have one of those, you can just type in a code to get in the door. Or you could unlock it from your smartphone.
Mistake #10. Oversharing on social media
Try not to share too much info about you going out of town or being away for a wedding or funeral, or having a recent baby or surgery, etc. One of your 450 Facebook friends might leek that info to a non trustworthy family or friend. If they are struggling with an addiction, they might not be in the right frame of mind and might break in your home to look for things that are easy to pawn or pain medication to feed their addiction. If you are going to share, make sure you have taken all other precautions like having a security system and locking up.
For more information about the ways you can keep your home secure, contact us today at Zions Security Alarms. We look forward to hearing from you.
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