Some say your home is your castle, but that doesn’t always necessarily mean it is the safest it could be. The truth is, even the coziest homes can have vulnerabilities which you might not have even realized.
After speaking directly with experts in home security and maintenance, we’ve gathered some invaluable insights to help you safeguard your home. With their advice, let’s see how you can turn your home into a real-world fortress.
1. Employ Strategic Landscaping
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Most of us tend to look at our landscaping and just want it to look nice, but did you know it’s a great way to help protect your home as well? Taking a step back and making sure our landscape is strategically placed can not only help boost your home’s curb appeal but also act as a sort of natural deterrent to keep out intruders.
How so? Bre Steele of RJ Living advises to choose the right plants and arrange them carefully. “Any tall plants and hedges can create hiding spots for intruders. Be sure to have layered landscaping with open sightlines to keep your privacy, but also limit the number of hiding spots.”
2. Optimize Home Security Camera Placement
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Knowing where to install your cameras on your house and optimizing their locations to catch every angle of your home and yard is another way to maximize your home security system’s performance. According to Laura Finson of home security system company, Brinks Home, “the placement of security cameras is crucial because it determines the effectiveness of your home security system.”
Take time to adjust your cameras’ angles to make sure they capture every important area of your property. Also, don’t just check their performance in bright daylight — review their effectiveness under various conditions, such as at night or during storms, to confirm they deliver reliable coverage in all scenarios. A well-placed camera setup is essential to achieving a secure, well-protected home.
3. Strengthen Your Home With Better Doors and Windows
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Securing your home “starts with the basics — strong physical security,” advises Jeff Ketelaars of Security Guards Only, North America’s leading security job database. Weak entry points can make it easy for intruders to break in, but luckily, all it takes is a few adjustments to your doors and windows to make a difference. Criminals often look for easy access, and when faced with reinforced doors and windows, they’re more likely to move on.
Solid-core or metal doors provide a strong first line of defense, while high-quality deadbolts and reinforced strike plates add extra resistance against forced entry. Windows, too, shouldn’t be overlooked — think about adding security film, window locks, or even shatter-resistant glass to keep potential threats at bay.
4. Install Doorbell Cameras to Prevent Package Theft
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Package theft is on the rise, and no one wants their Amazon deliveries or food drop-offs taken. That is why Sarah Harsbargar, also from Brinks Home, recommends installing doorbell cameras, which has become an important step in home defense for modern homeowners.
There are plenty of doorbell cameras to choose from, so you’ll want to do your research to find the one that works best for your needs. Place your camera at eye level near your front door for a clear view of visitors, deliveries, and potential threats. Keeping it visible is key — just the sight of a camera can deter thieves, making them think twice before approaching your home.
5. Improve Entryway Security with Porch and Motion Sensor Lights
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A quick and easy way to boost your home’s security is simple: light it up! Jonah Serie of Brinks Home says, “Leaving your porch light on all night can be a helpful deterrent, as a well-lit entryway can discourage would-be intruders from approaching your home.”
A well-lit entryway discourages unwanted visitors by eliminating dark corners where intruders might hide. Want even more protection? Combine continuous porch lighting with motion sensor lights to create a dynamic barrier that instantly exposes movement and keeps unwanted visitors at bay.
6. Install Horizontal Blinds for Added Security
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Your windows are probably going to be one of the biggest potential weak spots in your home’s defenses, which is why Julie Waite of Streetwise Defence, a self-defense training company, says that “a simple but effective tip is to install horizontal blinds to all windows and keep them down (but not closed).”
What does this do? Well, installing horizontal blinds can help obstruct the view from the outside while still allowing you at least some line of sight outwards. This makes it harder for would-be intruders to see into your house for easy items to steal, or, whether or not you are home, making your home look like less of a likely target.
7. Optimize Your House’s Layout
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If you get the chance to renovate or even build your own home, try to do so with security in mind. Steele explains, “If you’re renovating or building, I recommend considering placing bedrooms or high-value areas away from street-facing windows. A safe layout ensures sightlines to entry points and prevents easy access to valuables.”
8. Use Gravel On Pathways To Alert You to Intruders
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Gravel paths look great, but did you know they can actually serve a dual purpose? Waite advises homeowners to “use gravel on pathways near your home as that makes more of a noise.” That crunching sound as someone drives up to or walks near your home could be an easy way to protect yourself!
The benefit of gravel pathways is that, unlike high-tech security systems which may require significant financial investments and ongoing maintenance, gravel paths are an affordable and low-maintenance solution. Once installed, they function as a decorative landscaping element and an effective security tool with minimal upkeep.
9. Boost Exterior Lighting for Improved Surveillance
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This tip goes hand-in-hand with the motion sensor lights from before. One thing intruders hate to see when it comes to a home is having it be well-lit. A well-illuminated exterior eliminates dark corners and sends a very clear signal to would-be thieves that your home is well-protected.
Sergey Nikolin of Product Air Heating & Cooling LLC states, “Not just as a person offering electrical services but also as a homeowner myself, I know firsthand how important proper exterior lighting is for home security. My number one tip for making your home safer and more secure is to add exterior lights all around your property: along the driveway, near the garage, porch, by entryways, around windows, in the backyard, and by gates or fences.” It’s a good reminder that a little light can go a long way.
10. Implement Smart Home Automation to Simulate Occupancy
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How do you protect your home even when you might not be there? Turn to automation! Thanks to modern home automation technologies, protecting your home has never been easier or smarter. Simple routines set on your Alexa or other smart device can turn lights on or off or activate devices at random intervals to create the lived-in look of someone being home even if you’re miles away.
With smart automation, you can take the extra lighting recommended earlier one step further by programming an unpredictable on-off schedule that mimics natural human behavior. It is a small change but one that can have a huge impact on protecting your home and your family.
11. Conduct a Security Audit of Your Home and Property
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Take a walk around your property and ask yourself this: If you were an intruder, how would you break in? What weak points would you exploit? Where could someone hide? In other words, look at your house like someone who would break into it would!
Viewing your home through the eyes of an intruder is a great way to uncover vulnerabilities you may never have noticed. Waite emphasizes, “The smartest thing any homeowner can do is carefully survey their property from a trespasser’s perspective. Identify the hiding spots, access points, and potential weaknesses — then take action to strengthen those areas. Staying one step ahead is the key to keeping your home and loved ones safe.”
Upgrading these weak spots now could prevent a break-in later.
12. Get a Dog as a Natural Security System
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Last but certainly not least, there are few things quite as good as a natural alarm system, and by that, we mean a well-trained dog.
Waite states that “A well-trained dog is a great alarm and defense system” and one that can often warn you of danger long before any other of your defense systems even come into play.
