Security Tips

In our home, we’re concerned about improving security in your home. Use the following security tips to insure your home is a secure place to be.

10 Simple Steps to Safeguard Your Home From Invasion or Burglary

  1. Install a NightWatch deadbolt — the only deadbolt that prevents an intruder from entering your home, even if they have your key — on every entry door.
  2. Don’t hide spare keys outside of your home — experienced burglars will know where to look for them. Instead, consider using Master Lock’s line of locking key storage products as a secure, alternative solution.
  3. Eliminate easy entry points by keeping entry doors, windows and the garage door closed and locked while at home or away. To secure sliding doors, invest in a Master Lock door security bar that will prevent against unauthorized entry.
  4. Avoid including personal information on your answering machine message, and never indicate that you are out-of-town or away from the home for an extended period. For added security, women who live alone may ask a male friend to record their outgoing message.
  5. Trim overgrown shrubs to below window level height so neighbors can see any suspicious activity that might take place. Overgrown shrubbery gives burglars a hiding place, especially when bushes or plants are growing in front of ground-level windows.
  1. Show activity in your home while on vacation. Keep a car in the driveway, and keep lights (both exterior & interior) on a timer. Cancel your mail and newspaper delivery and give your lawn one last trim, or ask a neighbor to do it for you while you’re gone. Also, turn down your telephone ringer volume — unanswered telephone calls can alert burglars to an empty home.
  2. Consider fitting Venetian blinds to ground-level windows. They will help stop thieves from seeing into your home during the day, and burglars hate Venetian blinds because they’re awkward to get past and can make a lot of noise.
  3. Be wary of leaving empty gift boxes outside for trash collection — they may alert burglars to the expensive, new purchase that’s inside your home.
  4. Use window and door alarms. Alarms vary in degree of sophistication, ranging from a door alarm that makes noise to silent alarms patched in to your local police station. Burglars will typically leave when any alarm is sounded. In addition, an inexpensive alarm also creates valuable piece of mind.
  5. Keep the perimeter of your home well lit. Installing low voltage outdoor lighting is a cost-effective way to discourage intruders.