With some common-sense measures and clever diversions, you can make your home less likely to be targeted by criminals. For those who may not see the need or who may not have the funds to pay for professional installation of an expensive home security system or for those who aren’t looking to transform their homes into an impenetrable fortress of paranoia, there are plenty of practical and budget-friendly ways to protect yourself.
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1. Invest In Smart LEDs
Creating the illusion that your home can be just as effective at repelling burglars and other unsavory as an expensive alarm system or a well-trained Rottweiler. In addition to saving homeowners money on monthly electric bills, smart LED light bulbs can be remotely turned on and off via smartphone, tablet, or computer whether you’re at work, stuck in traffic, or out of town for a few days.
2. Get A Dog
When most folks think of canines in the context of home security, they think of German shepherds, Rottweilers, or Doberman pinschers. While these breeds are certainly capable of scaring off potential burglars if trained to do so, you don’t necessarily need to enlist a proper guard dog to protect your home. Many burglars will steer clear of homes where any dog resides. Be it a Brussels Griffon or a Bullmastiff, because dealing with one can be unpredictable, time-consuming, and complicated.
3. Leave Your Car In The Driveway
Many folks, particularly those with driveways and carports instead of proper garages, feel safer leaving their cars in a secured airport parking lot when traveling and for a good reason: Leaving a car, particularly one without an alarm, unattended for several days in a driveway may make it a potential target for auto theft and vandalism. Simultaneously, a car sitting in a driveway can add a layer of home security by warding off burglars who automatically assume that a car parked in the driveway means that someone is home.
4. Don’t Showboat
If you acquire a bunch of super-expensive electronics or what have you, don’t go shouting it from the rooftops by putting them in a conspicuous, easy-to-spot area of your home like in the front window. If you do, a potential burglar may consider the flaunting as an open invitation. But seriously, you wouldn’t leave a diamond tennis bracelet and a Birkin bag sitting unattended on a Starbucks counter, would you?
5. Mind Your Landscaping
While thorny bushes, plants with barbed leaves, and rose beds strategically placed under windows may deter burglars who didn’t bother to bring their gardening shears along with them for the job, homeowners should be mindful not to let their back and front yards turn into overgrown jungles as it will provide unsavory with additional cover if they decide to hide out on your property.
6. Place A Mannequin In Your Window
Like security system decals prominently displayed without the presence of an actual security system, experienced/non-idiotic burglars may call your bluff if you place a mannequin or dummy in a window while you’re traveling for long stretches of time. In fact, it may attract them instead of repelling them. Still, this method has proven successful for some folks, including this Detroit homeowner who, in addition to guard dogs, security lights, and bars on his windows, has placed CPR dummies dressed as gang members in visible spots of his home as an additional level of protection.
7. Place Security System Signage Around Your Property
You don’t have to have an expensive actual security system installed to ward off potential burglaries, but you can use plaques, decals, and yard signs alerting bad guys to the presence of one. This extremely budget-friendly method of protecting your home isn’t foolproof. Some career burglars who take the time to case out your home may call your bluff
