Posted on 01/20/2021 5:52:36 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
Sometimes the costs associated with home security can be daunting. When you buy a monitored home security system, you’re looking at a monthly monitoring fee, plus an installation fee, plus any equipment charges. Considering the financial commitment, buying a home security system may not be the right home security tactic for everyone.
Although a home security system is a great asset for those who can afford it, there are lots of ways you can fortify your home without breaking the bank. Here are some low cost home security tactics for making your home a safer place.
1. Neighbors
Your neighbors don’t have to be your best friends, but it’s a good idea to reach out to them, since your neighbors can be your first line of defense against burglars.
If you have a tight-knit neighborhood, it’s easier to spot strangers lurking around and to alert the other neighbors of suspicious activity. If a neighbor hears you calling for help or if they hear a suspicious noise coming from your house, they’re more likely to check on you if you have a rapport with them.
So, if you haven’t already, head on over to your neighbor’s with a plate of cookies and introduce yourself.
2. Outdoor Motion-Sensor Lights
Burglars prefer to work without being seen. Make it difficult for potential intruders to lurk around your home at night with motion sensor lights.
When someone approaches the perimeter of your home, bright lights will turn on. If anyone nears your doors or windows, the bright lights will come on, startling potential intruders and encouraging them to leave.
Aside from scaring away intruders, these motion sensor lights can also save you money on your electricity bill, since you don’t have to worry about leaving a porch or driveway light on all night.
3. Yard Signs and Window Stickers
A sign or window sticker warning that your home is armed by a security system may deter burglars, even if your home doesn’t really have a security system.
However, some signs and stickers look more believable than others, and if you have a fake company logo on your yard sign, it’s pretty easy nowadays for a determined thief to whip out their smartphone, Google the brand, and see if it’s a legitimate company or not.
4. A Trimmed Yard
Untamed bushes and shrubs can be an ideal hiding place for burglars. When burglars look for homes to target for a break-in, they look for tall trees and untrimmed greenery that can help conceal them while they break in through a door or window.
A simple and very cheap way that you can help deter burglars is to keep up on your yard work. When a burglar looks at your home and yard, you want them to see that there’s nowhere to hide.
5. A Real or Fake Dog
Intruders hate dealing with noisy dogs because they attract attention. However, there are risks associated with using a dog as a security measure, since burglars sometimes hurt dogs in order to keep them from barking.
An alternative is a fake barking dog. A fake barking dog includes a few different pieces of equipment. You place a sensor outside your home, and when it detects motion, a speaker inside your home plays dog barking noises.
Typically, noisy dogs are not a burglar’s friend, and it may make a burglar think twice about breaking into your home.
6. Timed Indoor Lights
You can set timed indoor lights to make it look like you’re home, even when you’re miles away.
Burglars prefer to break into homes when the occupants are nowhere to be seen. It’s less of a hassle.
If you have timed lights, you can set your lights to turn on or off at certain times of day or night. So, when you’re on vacation or getting home late at night, it will appear that someone is home, which can make potential intruders think twice.
7. FakeTV
The FakeTV Burglar Deterrent gives the impression that you’re home and watching TV in your dark or dimly lit home. It’s a small box that emits light to mimic the color and scene transitions of a television program. When someone sees the television-like glow from the outside of your home, it seems that someone is home watching TV.
Since burglars prefer to steer clear of homes when occupants are there, a FakeTV can possibly deter burglars from targeting your home.
All of the above suggestions are much cheaper than a home security system. If you’re financially strapped, these cost-efficient safety tactics should help deter intruders from your home. However, a home security system may provide the real peace of mind that other security measures can’t, so it may be a good idea to start saving your pennies and looking into getting one.
The flood gates at the Southern Border will be open by the end of the week, I'm sure. Plan accordingly. :(
Also:
A Burglar Reveals 15 Trade Secrets
https://www.thedollarstretcher.com/home/burglar-reveals-trade-secrets/
Go to a pound and buy the first medium or large dog that barks at you like crazy, but then warms up to you after a bit.
We have a rescue mutt, and she will literally chase down and bite anyone that threatens her, and she can sense people walking the street 20 feet away. She’s got another 10 years of life in her, and is an excellent investment for the $100 we paid.
She also loves us.
DIY home security systems are very easy to set up these days and cost-effective. You DO need to pay the monthly fee, though, but you save the installer’s fee. I really like the Honeywell Total Connect system. It has a panel that looks like a large tablet that you can put on a counter somewhere. It is all secure wireless, so you don’t need to run wires throughout the house. It is also a Samsung SmartThings hub, too, so you can control SmartThings devices such as light switches and plug-in sockets as well. It also connects to Honeywell sirens/sounders and to their smoke alarms.
There’s a similar system from a company called “2Gig,” but I liked going with the Honeywell brand (although they DID spin that business off to a new company called Resideo).
Also, 3M makes a film that can harden your windows, so that the Molotov cocktail is more likely to set your porch on fire, rather than your living room.
LOL...that’s good!
Make sure to get lots of mud on the boots before putting them on the porch. Maybe scatter some used big brass around, too.
This isn't fool-proof. My oldest son knew a kid who was as dumb as a box of bricks but he knew how to jumper out alarm systems and never got caught.
Btw, my oldest quit hanging out with him pretty quickly.
Home Alone booby traps for inspiration... : )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZj8QT6iLHg
The only difference is, I added a vented barrel shroud and a shell holder on the stock. It makes noise and bites, too.
I was thinking the same thing about the border.
Motion sensor lights may not be all that effective when you consider that more burglaries happen during the day than at night.
The couple next to us have a sign with an AR-15 on it that says, “We don’t call 911”
No, no, no, no!!!!
30 years ago, when lights were expensive to run, this made sense, but now that LED's make lighting up your house cheap, it's just stupid advice.
What you want is: dusk to dawn lights.
You need to make your house to look like a hard target FROM A DISTANCE, so the bad guys decide to pass your house by and go for an easier target.
If you keep your exterior lights on all the time (dusk to dawn), that's exactly what they'll do.
But, if you use motion detector lights, the bad guys will approach your home and the lights won't come on till after they have mentally committed to robbing your house.
The cost to running an outdoor LED floodlight dusk to dawn is less than $5 a year. So, the cost of keeping your house lit up with multiple floodlights is what? $40-$60 a year. Cheap insurance.
Dogs definitely!
Years ago a neighbor of mine was broken into. An officer came to our door and checked on our place is how we found out.
The officer said we probably wasn’t hit because of the dogs they heard going nuts.
Of course, if the dogs didn’t get the intruders my Pop would have certainly had a surprise for anyone who got in.
Bkmk. Thanks!
LOL! Love it! :)
The goal is to make your house look like a more difficult target than your neighbors, so the bad guys will skip your house and go to the neighbors.
Specifically, you want it to look more difficult FROM THE STREET.
Dusk to dawn lights are the best long distance deterrent at night (you can see my opinion on the stupidity of motion detection lights above).
The best daytime deterrents are signs. Security signs posted where they can be read from the road indicating you have a security system AND a camera system.
Again, the goal is to make the burglars decide to pass you by while they are still on the street.
We have a ‘House Beagle’ and twelve outside/kenneled hunting dogs. We also live in a spot that if you don’t KNOW where we live, you don’t KNOW where we live. ;)
When I lived alone on my other farm, I did purchase a number of the ‘fake’ home alarm stickers for lower level windows, and I always had very bright motion sensor lights on the house (front and back) and on the out-buildings as well.
Also, two dogs. No problems. ;)
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