Homes and apartments are crucial parts of everyone’s life, our space, and the place we return to after the day’s work. Therefore it is important to ensure that it is kept safe at all times. While there are people who are very conscious of the safety of their homes, there are others who are not aware of how much some of the things they do, put their homes in danger. In order to ensure that your home and properties are protected, here are some things you should do.
Use the lights
Having your house well-lit can discourage burglars from attempting to enter your apartment. Ensure that there is proper lighting, especially at night. While you may want to reduce the internal lights, it is important to keep the external ones on. This signals your presence, limiting any attempt to burgle the house. It also allows you to have a clear view of your home exterior. You can also use lighting that operates on a time switch or turn on when movement is sensed in the area.
Secure all entry points
Gates and fences are vital entry points to your house, so it is important that they are as secure as possible. Old gates or fallen fences can give intruders easy access to your property. Ensure that your gates are properly and securely constructed, even if they are not very high. Check your fences regularly to make sure they are not weak. High fences are usually more secure than lower ones. You can also consider fixing trellis panels to the top of the fence for better security.
Have your downpipes greased or painted with slippery paint. This will prevent intruders from climbing up and gaining access to your apartment. Likewise, high shrubs can be a potential hiding place for burglars and intruders, so you may want to have them trimmed once in a while. Also, make sure to lock up anything that can be used to break into your house. Things like ladders, garden tools, or tools for car repairs should be locked away in a store room.
Use Secure Locks and Alarm System
While an alarm system may seem expensive, they are very effective in keeping your home safe. Although alarms do not entirely prevent attempts from intruders, it does deter them from continuing on the mission and prevents any future attempts. You can get one that is powered by a solar panel. Ensure that you constantly check to be sure that they are still functioning as they should; some types show flashing lights to signify this.
Also, make sure to fit in secure locks for every part of your house, especially the front door and gates. You can use screen security doors for the front doors. If you have any other entrances from the external part of the house, ensure they are secured as well.
Not everyone needs to enter your apartment
Not everyone needs to be in your house, especially people you can attend to outside the apartment or at the front door, without them coming in. People who have access to your home have an idea of what you have in there, although not all, but sometimes, just enough for someone to cook up plans to break in when you are not around. Only people who have to be in your house should be there, except, of course, if you are throwing a party or something similar.
Remove valuable items from view of visitors, while you may have a luxury home interior, it is safe to keep valuables like money, jewelry, laptops, and other expensive items, somewhere else in the house, somewhere safer and discreet. Leaving them in places like the living room may only attract unwanted attention.
Keep spare keys safe
A lot of homes have spare keys, especially ones that are inhabited by more than one person. Although it is preferable for each person to have one of the spares for themselves, there are situations where you may have to drop one off for the other person. And at such times, it is good to find a safe place to keep it, somewhere known to only you, and whomever you are keeping it for. Likewise, avoid having your spare keys lay around. You can have one in your car, and keep the rest, if there are more, somewhere safe in the house, away from the view of visitors.
Look up who’s at the door
While this may not be possible with every door since not all have door holes to peep through, there are ways to go about it. One of these is by fixing door chains. With this, you can easily see who is at the door without fully opening the door, and granting them access. If you have a front window this is also a very effective method.
Although a smart video doorbell, may be expensive, it is the most efficient and secure. It allows you to see, listen and speak to your visitors while they are still outside. This is much better because you don’t have to show yourself if you don’t want to, and some of these doorbells enable you to respond even if you are away from the house. So while you’re out you can easily attend to whoever stops by.
Use guard dogs
People naturally get scared at the thought of encountering a guard dog, so using this to protect your home can be a good deterrent to burglars. It is preferable to get dogs that are noisy and tend to bark a lot, it quickly sends a signal of danger to anyone planning to break into your home. It can also be a good way to call your attention, helping you to stay alert in case of unexpected situations.
However, it is good to have these guard dogs trained, so they don’t go overboard. You may also want to avoid the excessively aggressive ones. As much as you want to scare intruders away, you also don’t want it to cause too much harm to whomever it is.
Final thought
One other thing you can do, although not the regular tip, is to make sure to fill your trash. The idea is to make intruders aware that the house isn’t vacant. You can ask a neighbor to help put out your trash when you are not around. Intrusion cannot be entirely prevented, however, you can do your bit to ensure that your space isn’t accessible.