The Best Ways to Improve Home Security
You want your family to feel safe and secure inside your home. You also want to keep your property safe while you are away. Here are some of the best and most effective ways to improve home security.
1. Have Good Locks (and Use Them)
The first step to improve home security is to have high-quality locks installed on your doors and windows. Old, weak, or broken locks can easily be taken advantage of by intruders. After installing quality locks, remember to use them.
Talk to each member of your family about the importance of properly locking the house and make sure everyone has a key. Don’t leave spare keys hidden on your property because criminals know where to find them.
2. Use Your Landscaping
Landscaping plays a role in your home security efforts. Make sure foliage around the house is well-trimmed. Overgrown trees and shrubs obstruct views of your home and offer hiding places for intruders.
Use landscaping to construct natural barriers around your property by using shrubs with thorns or hedges.
3. Get a Dog
Dogs are known as man’s best friend for good reason. Of course, you should never take responsibility for the life and well-being of an animal for the sole purpose of home security.
However, if the idea of getting a pet has been on your mind, a furry companion helps improve home security. Even small dogs, while not threatening in appearance, are helpful because they’ll bark to warn of intruders. A barking dog startles burglars and often causes them to flee.
4. Install Outdoor Lighting
Outdoor lighting is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to improve home security. This is especially true for motion-detecting lighting. Lighting discourages intruders from your property because it is more likely they will be noticed in well-lit areas.
When you are away, set lights on timers to make it appear that someone is home. Save on electricity costs and practice greener living by installing solar-powered walkway lights. These lights charge their batteries during the day in the sunlight and turn on automatically when light levels dim at night.
5. Hire a Home Security Company
A home security system is a good investment if you are concerned about the safety of your home. Modern security systems come with apps so you can monitor them remotely.
These systems are not only good for alerting you to intruders but also to other hazards such as fires and flooding. You have live support from the security company, who can contact the police or other emergency services on your behalf.
Home security is a concern for every homeowner. With some simple steps, you will sleep more soundly at night and leave for vacation with minimal worry.
Veriguard Home Inspections provides home inspection services to Northern New Jersey. Contact us to schedule an appointment.