We continue our weekly Tuesday series on simple ways you can increase your home’s security if “bugging out” is not an option for you, and your budget and resources are limited. This series will start out with the absolute basics and work from there. Each week, we will offer only 3 suggestions of things you may not have fully considered while developing your home security plan.
Last week we focused on points of entry – garage doors, entry doorways and windows. We will be returning to these items again with a follow up post addressing some of the questions and concerns sent to us by Readers.
Your perimeter is an important consideration. It is your psychological “line in the sand” – it defines your hearth and home from the external world. It is also the metes and bounds of what you own in this world, where you are your own border patrol. Unlike the actual border patrol, you can enforce your will on who is there or not. Usually a few words suffice, sometimes a court order does the trick. But not always.
The first thing to consider about your perimeter is if it will slow a criminal down or not and dissuade them from thinking that you have anything of value that is worth breaching your perimeter for.
Your perimeter can deter. As criminals like entering via ground level windows, back doors after their number one favorite point of entry, the front door (you did lock it, right?), you can take simple steps to make that unpleasant for them.
As readers around the globe read this, it is important to visit your local garden shop. There is no “one” plant that works in all plant hardiness zones. Your local Gardeners have deep local knowledge. Ask them for a durable plant that has thorns or spines aplenty. I used roses and a very barbed leaf holly shrub. You can achieve something that looks good AND acts as natural barbed wire without too much effort. You want these plants under windows and even as a way to channel traffic. Criminals will go elsewhere if they have to work too hard. Encourage them to go elsewhere.
Strategic Plantings can act as natural barbed wire to deter criminals
In addition to planting “natural barbed wire” under windows and to channel foot traffic the way you want to direct it, take a good scan of your home from the street. How close are the bushes and trees to your home? You don’t want to leave any areas that provide cover to a potential assailant when you come back to your home in the evenings. Make sure that hedges are cut back away from the physical borders of your home structure so not to provide a hiding spot close to an entry point (door or window).
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| Shrubs can act as natural barbed wire but make sure they are cut back around entry points so they don’t provide cover for a potential assailant to hide in or around |
Motion sensor security lights are an inexpensive way to encourage criminals to keep moving, and as well are a safety feature for you when you return home in the evening and at night. LED lights are energy efficient way to achieve this. They do not cost much to run on off of a photo eye switch so they are always on at night. Consider the cost you run if you get robbed, burgled or invaded. That electric bill is small potatoes in comparison, although there are many solar powered options on the market now, that store the power needed to run the lights at night from sun energy gathered during the day. Perimeter lights can even be incorporated into giving your home curb appeal… Can you say up lights? Stylish AND safe, an excellent combination. Many motion detection lights come in complete kits and are easy for the home handyman to install themselves. When shopping for motion detection lights, read the reviews by other users before committing to a purchase. Some are more difficult to adjust sensitivity wise than others. We had some issues with one area that was triggered by wind movement and we ended up replacing it with another type of kit.
The following link will take you to the type of lighting discussed in this article. We are not endorsing “this” particular light – it is provided as an example of the type of lighting you should be shopping for – bright LED, 180 * adjustable range of motion, sensitivity motion, dusk to dawn coverage, manual overrides. There are many products on the market; shop around, read the reviews and find a product that will meet your specific requirements.
Motion Sensor Lights are a Key Item for Perimeter Securit
yThe last item in this week’s discussion regarding perimeter security is to have at a minimum, a “peep hole” installed in your entry door. Never open the door for anyone, unless you know who they are and they have an appointment. The ideal step-up from this very basic security requirement would be to install cameras that allow you to view the entry points around your home from inside the home. Many self-install kits found in big box stores also allow you to view real time video of the entry points around your home from your phone or tablet, as well as make adjustments to heat, light, etc remotely. If you are not comfortable buying and installing a kit yourself, many cable and phone companies are offering a security-camera add-on feature that they will wire and provide the equipment, and bill you monthly. The monitoring usually also includes fire and water, so that should give you a significant discount in your home insurance policy as well. It’s something that should be given serious consideration for elderly or disabled home owners.
Wireless Self-Install Security Camera Kits have come down in price dramatically
This week’s post has briefly discussed plants and shrubberies as natural barbed wire, the importance of motion detection security lighting and finding a system that allows you to know who is at the door before you open it – whether that is something as simple as a retro-fitted peephole or a more advanced security camera kit with remote wireless access.
Remember, you don’t need to live in Fort Knox, just raise the bar for your local criminal underclass enough so that they move on to other, softer targets. In fact, the best way to
not draw attention to yourself as a home they would choose to target is to be as low-key as possible.
