A burglary happens in the United States every 26 seconds. The average loss from a burglary is just under $2,800. However, there are a number of simple things you can do to make your home less of an attractive target and to protect your property from break-ins.
Here are a few:
– Landscaping: Trees and shrubs provide good hiding places for would-be thieves trying to break into a home. Make sure that your landscaping is well-maintained and that overgrown shrubs near windows don’t provide the perfect cover for a burglar.
– Lighting: Another way to eliminate hiding places for potential thieves is to install motion-sensor lights that will come on whenever something passes in front of the sensor. In addition to making your home less attractive to burglary, it’s also a nice safety feature for you so you won’t potentially trip over things in the yard if you’re out walking around in the evening.
– Cover: Be careful about displaying valuable items that thieves might take note of when “casing” your neighborhood. This means keeping things like tools, bikes, grills, smokers, motorcycles, etc. safely stashed in a shed or garage when not in use. You may also want to consider where you place things like computers, big-screen televisions, and other valuable electronics in your home, and how easily they can be seen from the street as people are passing by. Keep valuables out of sight and, if possible, try to dispose of boxes for expensive items in a local dumpster instead of putting the empty boxes on the curb with your trash and recycling. People will take note of the purchases you make.
– Reinforcements: To add an extra measure of security to your windows and sliding doors, you can put cut-to-length dowels in the window and door tracts when you close your home up for the evening or when you’re heading out for the day.
If you want real peace of mind, the very best way to fully secure your home is to have a home security alarm system installed by Johns Brothers Security. We offer the best home security systems in Virginia and we can provide you with everything from smart doorbells and locks, motion sensors, indoor and outdoor surveillance cameras, to a control panel you can access remotely from your smartphone or tablet and 24/7 security monitoring.