14 Ways to Keep Your House Safe. They Will Protect It against Burglars Once and for All!
The number of burglaries does not drop, in spite of several measures we take. Our houses most often fall prey to burglars when we go on holidays. However, with a couple of simple tricks you can protect your apartment or your house by turning it into some kind of … fortress!
#1 Lock the door
Keep the front door locked at all times, even if you are inside. Remember to close your windows before you go to sleep. Of course the ones in the basement must not be left wide open either.
#2 Hide the key
Under no circumstances should you ever leave the spare key anywhere near. The doormat or plant pots will be the first places the burglar is going to check. If you really need to leave the key somewhere, make sure you hide it really well. You can fix it to the bottom of a stone, hide it in a fake lawn sprinkler, a bird house or a hollow tree trunk.
#3 Window locks
Windows usually come without locks. However, there are several solutions available on the market that secure the windows so that they can't be either opened or taken out of the frame. All you need to do to fix them is to drill a small hole in the window frame.
#4 Fall back on lies
If you don’t have a CCTV in your house, you can always resort to a little white lie. Why don't you put a notice on your fence saying 'THE HOUSE IS UNDER 24/7 CCTV SURVEILLANCE' It is very likely that the thieves won't take the risk and just ignore your property.
#5 Get the cameras
Of course to feel safer you can get the CCTV system installed in your house and around it. There is a wide range of cameras available, some of them are really small. Once they are hidden properly, you will actually forget they are there. Of course you need to make sure that they monitor the busiest areas of your property.
#6 Fake cameras are also an option
If you can’t afford the cameras, you can always get … some fake ones. Choose the cameras that are not very sensitive to weather impact and put them in a visible, yet not too visible, place. There is a chance they will deter the criminals, too.
#7 Keep your car keys at hand
Before you go to sleep, put the car keys on your bedside table. If you should hear that there is someone in the garage at night, just switch on the alarm. Burglars hate plot twists and the loud sound should scare them away.
#8 Make some stashes
If you haven’t got a safe, you have to hide all your valuables in a rather unusual place. It could be a fake socket stash, a rice box, a shampoo bottle, a sewer pipe or the chair upholstery. There are thousands of smart solutions here.
#9 Get an extra lock
The front door can be additionally reinforced with a special lock. Once you fix it, nobody will open the door, even if they manage to unlock it.
#10 Keep the garage door key with you
Never leave the garage door key inside the car. If the burglar manages to get in the car, that will automatically help him get into the house. Fix the garage door key to the rest of your keys and keep it with you.
#11 Trust a dog
If you have got a dog, that's just great. No burglar likes being bitten and all dogs immediately start barking the moment they sense a burglar. If you can’t have a dog, again you can just place a notice warning everyone outside that you do have it. A bowl at the front door should do the trick, too.
#12 Lamps with movement detectors
It's a good idea to fix a lamp with movement detector at your front door. A sudden flash of light at night will confuse the burglar at least for a second and it will also be a message for you that there is something going on outside.
#13 Hide your ladder
Never leave ladders or chests with tools outside. It is a big incentive for the burglars and, obviously, they can really help them get inside.
#14 Never leave the keys close to the front door
Don’t leave your car keys (especially the Keyless things) anywhere near the front door. Burglars have recently developed a so-called 'suitcase method'. They have got two devices that look like small suitcases. They approach the front door and the devices amplify the key signal and transmit it to the car, which gets it open quickly and quietly.