9 Unique Ideas to Keep Thieves Away From Your Property
KEY TAKEAWAYS
More than one million home burglaries happen each year in the United States. That’s a scary number, but there are ways to prevent a thief from intruding on your home.
While security systems and locks can keep you safe, you could do more. Here are nine unique ideas to keep thieves away from your property.
- Make It Bright
Keeping lights on in and around your home gives the illusion that someone is home and awake, making criminals steer clear of it. Despite popular belief, most home burglaries happen between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. to avoid entering an occupied home.
People being in the house make plans much more complicated for thieves and most will avoid risking it. You can have a visible room light on during the day and night and rig outdoor lights to stay on through the night.
- Get Motion-Activated Sprinklers
Most people don’t have outdoor sprinklers set to spray passersby, but doing so can keep the thieves away. A slippery yard makes it hard for burglars to navigate to your entryway and out with items. It also decreases their chance of quietly completing a burglary, which increases their chances of getting caught. Several companies make sensors you can arrange to spray intruders if they come into your yard, keeping thieves from coming any closer.
- Make Them Think You Have Dogs
Dogs can be a large deterrent for burglars since they fear the attention and possible danger they could encounter. If you have an ultra-friendly dog or no dog, an intruder doesn’t have to know it.
While posting signs and items around your home to make a dog obvious, you can take things further with some technology. Motion-activated devices can emit loud, scary barking to anyone scouting out your home, making them flee.
- Plant Thick Shrubs
Shrubs can be an excellent way to keep burglars from entering your windows. Any obstacles that get in a thief’s path serve as a deterrent.
Burglars rely on speed to get in and out of your house quickly and without getting caught. They’re more likely to turn away if they have to navigate through thick shrubs. Bushes can also reduce the visibility through your windows, making it hard for burglars to plan their navigation. Hawthorn, blackthorn and holly are just some options to beautify your exterior while protecting your home.
- Keep the Program On
Keeping a television on during the night can help keep burglars away. If voices come from your home, a thief might not enter to avoid confrontation. The same strategy can work with a tablet, a smart home device or a laptop if you want to save electricity.
Any talk program or podcast can do the job. Turn on a playlist to keep it going all night and strategically place the device so you can lightly hear it outside your door without it disturbing your sleep. Ideally, you won’t be able to see any light from the device when looking in your home to keep thieves guessing whether it’s a device or a person talking. Turn the brightness to the lowest setting if you can’t get it out of sight.
- Post Unhinged Signs
This may seem silly, but having some strange postings around your property could make a burglar decide it’s not worth the time to figure out if you’re being serious. There are many ones to choose from “Beware of Dog” to “Hippity, Hoppity, Get Off My Property.” You can get pre-made ones or make your own. You might also involve your neighbors to assure them your home is safe and see who can come up with the best sign.
- Have Multiple Deadbolts
Picture this — a thief comes up to your door and tries to pick your deadbolt. Then, they realize a few extra surprises blocked them.
You can stop a skilled thief from easily accessing your home by adding internal deadbolts to your door. If a burglar cannot quickly get in and out, they aren’t likely to spend the time figuring out how many locks you have and how to get through them all.
You can purchase extra deadbolts online or at a local hardware store. Investing in different versions of the locks can give you even more security.
- Disguise Your Items
One of the best ways to deter a burglar is to confuse them. Keep a thief from entering by not hiding as many items in your home as you can.
You can store everyday things in discrete, opaque containers, such as solid cabinets, drawers and undercovers. When you don’t let thieves know what you have in your home, they won’t know where to go, wasting their precious time. They’re more likely to leave your property for an easier target.
If you can’t cover all your items, hiding your expensive ones still helps. Place laptops in unsuspecting drawers, cover televisions with canvases and place furniture in front of routers or cable boxes. When high-value items aren’t obvious, they won’t want to spend time looking for them.
- Leave Out Halloween Decorations
Some spooky season items have uses outside of creating a fun atmosphere. These scary items could catch a thief off-guard and make them avoid entering your home.
Motion-activated ghosts and ghouls you can hide near your entryway are excellent for this. Glowing eyes and loud noises can throw them off their game enough to leave, especially with other security measures, like lights and cameras. This freak-out could be the thing that makes them decide it’s not worth it. Another way to incorporate this strategy is to place realistic-looking snakes and spiders along your walkway at night to make them think there’s danger ahead.
Scaring Thieves Away
Everyone wants to live in a safe place, but burglaries can happen anywhere. Taking conventional and unique precautions can scare away anyone who wants to invade your property.
