For home-owners, security is the utmost consideration. You cannot underestimate the instances of break-ins every year in the United States. All you need to do is search the FBI website to find out all the reported break-ins and burglary. While you want to make sure that the inside of your home is secure, burglar proofing starts with your backyard. If you have a yard, it is where all the attempts at break-and-enter start. That’s why any attempt to secure your home should start there.
Yard Features that Keep Burglars Away
Totally preventing a break-in may involve a lot more, but adding these few features to your yard will go a long way in keeping the bad guys at bay. When you overlook your yard, you give them an easier time getting in.
- Install a fence
The fence is a proven technique in securing the home. You need to have a strong and high fence to make it difficult enough for the intruder to come in. Wood offers a good enough protection, but you have to remember that it decays faster than aluminum or steel. An aluminum fence costs cheaper than steel, but it is strong enough and more aesthetically pleasing. You can design your fence to have sharp points to make it look more intimidating, and you have to have a good locking mechanism that self-closes.
- Get a sensor lighting
A sensor lighting turns on when it senses movement in your yard. It gives the impression that you noticed somebody coming in. Depending on the settings of the timer, the light can stay on for 10 to 20 seconds. While this feature is inexpensive to install, it is a huge deterrence because burglars don’t want to feel like they are being watched from the inside of the home they want to break into.
- Install a burglar alarm
Installing a burglar alarm that’s visible to the burglar makes him think that it’s going to go off anytime. Chances are big that he will just move on to the next house that’s not as well protected.
Secure Outside Belongings
While the above features can already go a long way in preventing entry, you need to ensure that you are not making it easy for intruders to get in. There are a lot of things that we leave lying around our yard that helps intruders in their job.
- Chain the ladder
If you have a ladder in your yard, make sure you chain it because an intruder can easily use it to scale any high places in your home like an open window on the second floor. Better yet, store your ladder in the garage to make inaccessible to intruders.
- Keep your tools in the toolbox
Tools like screwdrivers and hammers can easily be used as weapons by intruders. Again, these are things that are better kept in the garage inside a toolbox.
- Secure tables and chairs
Chairs and tables can also be used to get access to open windows just like the ladder. If you have them in the yard, make sure to chain them as well.
These simple things will go a long way in securing your home. These are not expensive to put up, but the returns are huge. The best way to keep your home safe is to use common sense and pay attention to what you have lying around, which might be used to gain access to it.
