Having the sanctuary of your home invaded is a traumatic experience that can hurt as much psychologically as financially. There are some things a homeowner can do on their own to help protect themselves. For the installation of the most current alarms, locks, and other hardware and equipment your best bet is to consult with a North Carolina home security expert.

The most important step in preventing burglaries is to make your home just too difficult for a burglar to waste their time trying to enter. Most burglaries are not random. In reality, a burglar is looking for certain characteristics in choosing their victims. These characteristics are a residence with easy access, with nobody home, an easy way to escape, and some cover so they cannot be seen. You will deter a burglary by arranging things at your home that fail to meet these characteristics. Simply put, make your home just too much trouble to try to break into.

Most burglars enter through a garage door or a back door because these entry points have the most cover. It is common for thieves to steal from a car even when it is in a locked garage. Therefore, always lock your car doors and do not leave valuables in sight even when your car is parked in your garage. All doors should be a solid core or metal door with a heavy-duty deadbolt lock with a one-inch throw bolt. This includes the door between the inside of your house and your garage.

The most common way to open a locked door is to kick it open. Use a high security strike plate that takes four screws and install it with 3-inch wood screws. This alone will make a burglar move on to an easier victim. Patio doors can be problematic. Use a secondary blocking device on sliding glass doors. The latch mechanism and rollers used on sliding glass doors should be well maintained and properly adjusted. Install through-the-door pins or upper track screws. Burglars do not like seeing decals for alarms services, neighborhood watch, or beware of dog warnings. Display those decals.

Never leave windows unlocked or open. Open windows will attract burglars. All windows, including upper floor windows, should be secured using secondary blocking devices. Use a blocking device so that accessible windows cannot be opened more than six inches.

Neighborhood organization is an excellent anti-crime tool. Get to know your neighbors. Arrange to have everyone look out for each other. When someone is on vacation pick up their mail, mow their lawns, and park cars in their driveway. Never let your home have the appearance of being unoccupied. Have a neighbor keep a copy of your house key. Never hide your house key outside. Criminals already know that little trick.

Have the exterior of your house well lighted with infra-red motion sensor lights in the rear. Entryways and pathways should be well lighted. Criminals hate light because they do not want to be seen. Use timers to create the illusion that your home is occupied when you are away. Have the timers turn lights on and off in logical patterns. Timers can be used to turn on TV sets too.

The first rule of preventing home burglary is simply making your home an unattractive target. There are a lot of steps that you can do on your own. Locks, alarms and other devices must be installed properly in order for them to do the job they were designed to do. If you lack the do-it-yourself expertise, then there are many excellent North Carolina Home monitoring security companies who can help you. Find a Charlotte home security system expert today.

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