Decorating the interiors of the house is fun. You pin ideas on your Pinterest board, search for items online and offline, and match decorations with interior design. But you know what’s not fun? Setting up security measures. And even if you would like to avoid this essential step, you cannot do it because it directly impacts your wellbeing.
There are 2.5 million burglaries annually, and 60% of them are home break-ins. It’s surprising to find out that they are more likely to occur during the daytime, while you’re at work. Even if the night brings security for intruders, it also means it’s more likely to find you at home.
Houses with no security system attract most burglars because there are fewer chances someone to identify them. Over 90% of home invasions imply forceful entry like breaking a window, kicking a door or picking a lock.
To help you focus on the fun stuff, here are some impressive methods you can use to secure your house.
Make sure there are no hiding places around the house
Securing house interiors starts with the exteriors. Trim the hedges around the house to keep the doors and windows visible from the street. But don’t remove them entirely because prickly shrubs placed under the windows make them less attractive entry points for burglars.
Thieves don’t like to be in the spotlight so they’ll look for places where to hide to observe your property. Fluffy trees and shrubs make the house look more appealing, but they also hide burglars from sight. Identify the trees and shrubs people can use to hide and trim them down. Replace voluminous bushes and flowers with smaller ones because they maintain the aesthetics of the property, without allowing criminals to watch you. Remove the trees placed close to the house or reinforce the windows if you like the shade they provide.
When you leave the house put away ladders, stools and pricey items.
Light up the exterior of the house
Criminals (no matter what infractions they do) don’t like to be in the spotlight, so when you secure your property, ensure you install a lighting system outside the house. Outdoor lighting is effective at keeping thieves at bay. Install lights along the driveway, pathways, around the yard and near all entries. Don’t neglect the garage because burglars will definitely check it if they intend to break into your house.
Outdoor lighting does more than keeping criminals away, it also prevents you from stumbling at nighttime. To make the outdoor lighting system more effective, use motion-activated lights, connect them to a timer, and install solar-powered solutions.
Install a security system
All houses should have a security system, no matter if it’s a DIY or a professional one. No matter your budget, you can easily find a monitoring security system you can install to enhance house protection.
Before purchasing one, evaluate the needs of the neighbourhood and property. If you just moved into the area, contact the local police department to find out what the crime statistics are and what recommendations they have for homeowners.
When you look for a security system check the customer service, reputation of the provider, installation required, monthly costs, and extra features (carbon monoxide and smoke monitoring).
Secure the windows
Most burglars break doors or windows to enter houses. If you don’t want to replace the windows, install locks and key-operated levers because they may be flimsy. And don’t stop at locks, reinforce the glass with window security film, add window bars, install window break sensors and plant prickly bushes under the windows to deter burglars.
Lock the doors
Around 30% of homeowners help burglars to enter their house by leaving pricey belongings close to windows, forgetting to lock the doors or placing the keys somewhere close to the door. So you should check the door frames to make sure they’re strong, and inspect the mail slot to see if someone can reach through it to unlock the door.
If you recently bought the house change all locks because you don’t want other people to have a key to your home. When you replace the locks, buy the best on the market.
To make sure you secure your doors properly install a video doorbell, use smart locks, and install a deadbolt.
Lock down the wi-fi network
Your doors aren’t the only entries to your house, your wi-fi network acts as a doorway to your financial and personal information. When you use home automation to secure your house, you need to ensure the wi-fi network isn’t vulnerable to break-ins. If you connected all home and security systems to the wi-fi network, it can offer criminals direct access to your property.
But you can ensure you’re not vulnerable to attacks if you secure the wireless router, use a firewall, create strong passwords, install anti-malware and antivirus protection, rename and hide your network, and enable WPA encryption.
Use home automation to control your house
When you decide to switch the traditional systems for automated ones, security is one aspect you should pay extra attention to. Home automation brings many benefits, from adjusting lights to controlling security cameras and smoke alarms. You can identify suspicious activities in real time and respond quickly to threats. But to ensure it properly functions you should lock down the wi-fi network and use complex passwords.
When you use home automation to boost security, install apps on your smartphone to check on carbon dioxide and smoke alarm, cancel false alarms, get instant videos whenever someone enters your property, and schedule lights. You should turn light on and off when you’re away from home to create the impression someone’s at home.
Prevention is important because when thieves burglarize your house, they’re not getting only items, they also affect your mental health. It’s overwhelming to live in a house once it’s been broken because you don’t feel safe. You’ll always feel you’re at risk someone to enter your house again because they know you replace the ones they stole.