Below are 10 great tips for making your home more secure and less likely to be targeted by burglars.

1. Invest in a burglar alarm

Burglar alarms are an extremely effective deterrent. Noise and light are the two biggest enemies of burglars so often merely the presence of a security alarm is enough to put off any opportunist burglars that are in your area. You can get either a audible-only security alarm, which will sound when triggered but the police will not come unless someone calls them; or you can get a Remote Signalling Alarm, which needs to be professionally installed and will alert the police as soon as it’s triggered.

2. Invest in security lighting 

Outdoor security lighting is an excellent way to deter burglars. You can either get motion-sensitive lights that come on when they detect movement; or alternatively you can get lights that come on automatically when it goes dark.

3. Leave lights on when you’re going out

Leaving lights on in your house will make it look lived in and therefore put off any burglars in most cases. Be sure to leave a few lights on upstairs and downstairs rather than just the hall light, which can look obvious.

4. Make garages and sheds secure

Garages and sheds are often targeted by burglars so you should also take steps to make them more secure too. Covering any valuables with a sheet and installing an alarm and security lighting are all good ways to make your garage/shed more secure.

5. Never leave valuables on display

The reason burglars break into a home is because they want to extract as many valuables as possible. Therefore you should ensure that no valuables are left on display if you don’t want to attract burglars.

6. Never leave car keys near your letterbox

Burglars will very often fish car keys through a letterbox in order to steal cars so you should never leave your car keys anywhere near your letterbox.

7. Don’t post on social media if you’re going on holiday

If you’re going on holiday then you should never share this on social media. A lot of burglars now search social media for posts from people going on holiday so they know exactly which houses to target.

8. Make sure your back/side gate is locked

Burglars often look for vulnerabilities in order to gain access to a property and a big one is unlocked back or side gates.

9. Invest in double glazed windows

Double glazed windows are much more secure than single glazed windows simply because they’re much more difficult to break. This is one of the best things you can do to make your home more secure.

10. Invest in a solid front door 

If you have a weak front door than could easily be pried open then this is something you need to address immediately. A good front door should be made from solid wood and have a multi locking system in place. It should also have a very solid frame and good quality hinges.