9 Tips to Secure the Most Vulnerable Room in Your Home: The Garage Having an attached garage can make your home a prime target for a burglar. Garages are one of the easiest targets and a favorite method for thieves to gain entry into your household. When casing out potential targets, a burglar will look for ones with the easiest access, and in most cases, garages are pretty much a golden gate into your home. When looking at the security of your home as a whole, the biggest vulnerability to your home security is the garage. Think about it: A burglar can gain access into your garage, go unnoticed, and once inside can easily gain entry into the rest of your home. One of the reasons why burglars love your garage is due to all the re-sellable items you may have inside, such as power tools, cars, lawnmowers, and other high valued items. Also, a garage is usually unoccupied most of the time, giving burglars the perfect opportunity to strike. Here are 9 tips on how you can improve the security of your garage and avoid someone making off with your lawnmower.
– Sounds like common sense right? It’s amazing to hear all the stories of burglars never having to break into a property; they simply just walk through an unlocked front door or garage. This tip is really easy: lock it up! For added security, install a high quality door lock and deadbolt. Garage door windows – Burglars are known to look into windows to see if there are any high value items in plain sight. Don’t do burglars any favors by letting them see what items you may have in your garage. Replace your garage door with one that doesn’t have windows. If this isn’t an option, you can frost or cover your garage windows for the same result. Don’t flaunt your stuff – Leaving your garage open can allow anyone driving or walking by a full view of all of your stuff. Keep your garage door closed at all times. Even if you’re driving down the street for gas. A burglar just needs a couple minutes to take what he needs from your garage, don’t give them that chance!
Fortify that door – The door from your garage into your house should be as secure as your front door. Once a burglar is done ransacking your garage, what do you think is next? Make sure your door is made out of solid-core wood or reinforced steel. This will slow a burglar down, and eventually deter him from gaining entry. Spotlight your garage area – Installing a bright light near your garage can keep burglars at bay. Installing one with a motion sensor is ideal but not necessary. Be sure to install lighting somewhere out of reach from a burglar. Car keys – This is probably the biggest security mistake everyone makes. After parking your car in the garage, most people have a tendency to leave the keys in their car. This is a big no no! Most people have the office, home, or storage keys on their key ring. You might as well sign the house over to the burglar if you’re making this mistake. Automatic garage door opener – Automatic garage door openers make life a whole lot easier when getting home from work, but it’s not all that great for garage security.
Burglars are commonly known to use an electronic device called “code grabbers.” Basically what it does is record the radio signal from your remote to the opener giving them the same access as you do into your garage. Modern garage door openers utilize “rolling code” technology which means your remote transmits a brand new security code each time you press your remote making it virtually impossible for a “code grabber” to detect. Mark your property – It’s your stuff, so mark it! Engraving your name on all your high value items in your garage can save you in the long run. Burglars have a hard time pawning items with someone else’s name on it. Also, if your items are ever stolen and found later on, it’s a good way for the police to get your stuff back to you. Proving that it’s yours is really easy too! Install a burglar alarm – Installing a wireless security system in your house is Home Security 101. In the event your home is ever burglarized, a siren blares loudly and the police are sent to your home.
Not only is there a benefit to catching the burglar in the act, but you are also eligible for a homeowner’s insurance discount. A lot of homeowners don’t realize the amount of valuables that are stored away in their garage until everything is gone. Most items found in a typical garage can be big bucks for burglars and very expensive for the homeowner to replace. All of the tips provided are simple ways to boost your garage security and protect your belongings. Murder Holes & Magnets: The History of Home Security Burglar Reveals 15 Trade Secrets - A Look Into The Mind of a Burglar Social Media: The Digital You & The Social Stalker “7 ways to stop burglars from choosing your home.” Get your FREE Report: 7 Ways to Stop I write for the SimpliSafe Home Security Blog to help people protect their home and valuables from burglars. One of my goals is to provide readers with the latest home security trends and tips available. When I'm not writing for SimpliSafe, I enjoy playing the drums, exercising, and spending time with my friends and family.
For more than 30 years, builders and homeowners across the country have relied on the experts at Clopay for garage doors that provide exceptional durability, safety and appearance. For a durable door that delivers low maintenance, safety components that assure peace of mind, and beautiful appearance to enhance any home, turn to Clopay, America’s #1 Garage Door Company. Clopay carries the “Good Housekeeping” seal of approval. Garage Door Openers by LiftMaster LiftMaster garage door openers are a new standard of convenience and protection. “Security+”™ is your defense against “code grabber” devices. The protector system® automatically reverses the door travel if its infrared light beam is obstructed. The 1/2 hp models carry a lifetime motor warranty.Thieves break into a house almost every hour in the US. This is a fact that every homeowner should live with. Everyone should keep their guard up at all times. Even the safest neighborhood will not be so safe with the smartest thieves.
Many of them get into the house through the garage. This is where there is least security. It is important to know how these thieves break into the garage to prevent this from happening. How they can get into your garageThis is a case of the forgetful ones. Don’t leave your garage door opener remotes anywhere, especially in the car. This is an easy way for thieves to break into your car and get easy access to your garage. Through the garage window. Some garages have their own windows for ventilation and light. However, these are also entry points for thieves. Most homeowners pay little attention to their garages, most especially the windows. However, it can be a point of entry that can mean serious trouble if it’s missed out. Using a wire hanger. This is the latest method that thieves have been using to get access to your garage in seconds. With a wire hanger, they will fish out the emergency release cord and pull it. Once this has been done, they can manually open your garage door and ransack your home.
Use a code grabber. The code grabber will work with those who have an older garage door opener. New ones already have some sort of security that changes the security code of the opener after every use. This is why older garage door openers might need an upgrade for security’s sake. However, there is now a new code grabber that can bypass this standard security feature. A radio hack can be used to intercept and record your wireless key’s command. The hacker can just return any time to open your garage door. When you forgot to close the door properly. Another common mistake the most homeowners make is that they forget to close their doors after driving off to work or get the kids to school. Even forgetting to close the garage door once is enough to let the wrong people into your home. Through an old and broken garage door. If you have an old garage door, chances are it might pose as a threat to your home’s security. A squeaky garage door instantly gives an idea to a thief that breaking into the home is a piece of cake.
With only little to no effort, it can be propped open especially if you have no other security feature to defend your home. How to prevent this from happening Now that you already know the various ways that thieves use in order to break into your garage, the next step is to beef up your security and prevent this. An old garage door opener might put your home at risk. There are already standard security features that come with the new openers. These help in keeping your home and your family safe and secure at all times. Install additional security features. Adding more security features, aside from the ones that come with your opener, is a good idea. This gives you control and access over your garage door opener whenever and wherever. Just having additional smartphone controls is already a way to know whether there has been an unauthorized entry. Close and put curtains on your windows. Since garage windows can be used as a point of entry for burglars, it might be best to secure them and add curtains.
This prevents thieves from window shopping and checking out the contents of your garage. Reprogram opener if you lose your remote. If you’ve lost your remote or if it was stolen from you, reprogram your opener when you get back. Reset the opener and delete all the stored information. This prevents anyone from using your garage remote in opening your garage door. Lock the release lever. Although the emergency release cord is an essential part of the garage door opener, it can be used by thieves to break into your home. Lock the release level to prevent them from fishing out the cord. Use a plastic tie wire to secure the lever. This makes it difficult for them to pull it out. However, you can still pull the lever from the inside in case there is such need. Secure the gap between the wall and the door. Aside from securing the lever, you can also cover the gap between the door and the wall with a wooden board. You can just screw the board and attach it nearest to the emergency release cord.