A home is a safe retreat for most people – we all love to relax and unwind while enjoying warm meals with family after a tiring day. However, if you are continuously worried about the safety of your home, you can neither focus on your work nor sleep well at night. If you live in an area where the crime rate is comparatively high, you should consider improving the security of your home for peace of mind. Here’s what you can do:
- Secure the Entry Points:
If you are worried that someone may break into your home in your absence, you should start by enhancing the security of all the entrances. Replace the regular sliding doors with sliding screen doors made of a perforated stainless steel system. You may also consider installing security screens on the windows. Additionally, you need to get high-quality locks installed at all the entry points, including the doors, windows, attics, and garage doors. Whether you leave the house for a few hours or a few weeks, make sure these entrances are properly locked to reduce the risk of break-ins and burglary.
- Keep the Spare Keys and Passcodes Safe:
If you have spare keys for the house, do not hide them in places that are obvious to everyone. Instead of hiding it under the doormat, fake rocks, and potted plants, you can keep the keys with a close friend, a family member, or a neighbour you trust. In case you have a smart security system at home, do not reveal the passcode to anyone. Never let more than two of your trusted contacts have access to the passcode at the same time. If you have to share it with some other friends or family members, consider changing the passcode once they leave.
- Install Security Cameras:
Installing security cameras at key locations in the house can help you keep an eye on all the activities in and around your home. Moreover, having your home under surveillance often discourages intruders and burglars from breaking into your home or committing any illegal activities in your area. Since security footage can be treated as genuine evidence in a court of law, trespassers are usually afraid of security cameras. Additionally, you can monitor your home remotely by connecting the security camera feed to your mobile devices.
- Practice Landscaping:
This may not sound like a security measure, but this unconventional approach towards improving home security is quite effective in keeping strangers away from your property. While regular care of your lawn can send a strong signal to intruders that the homeowners are around, you may also consider planting thorny shrubs around the windows to make it difficult for burglars to access your home. Plants like roses, thorn acacia, bougainvillea, and aloe vera are great at providing an additional layer of security to your home. With proper landscaping measures, you can ward off strangers from your property.
- Install Proper Lighting:
The right usage of lighting significantly enhances the nighttime appearance of your house. At the same time, it can deter potential intruders. Since a majority of the illegal activities are performed in the dark, installing bright lights in and around the house can make it difficult for burglars to hide. Even if you are not present at your home, your neighbours can easily notice if there is any activity on the property while you are away. You may also consider lighting up your entire lawn with LED lights to make the driveway visible to everyone.
Even if you reside in a comparatively safer neighbourhood, you can still use these aforementioned measures to boost the security of your home. Apart from minimising the risk of break-ins, these security measures are also quite useful for people who often get anxious about the safety of their homes and belongings.