Discouraging Break-Ins at Your Houston Home or Business

Here are some potential safeguards you may want to consider implementing to dissuade ne’er-do-wells from burglarizing you.

Burglars are much less likely to break into a home that contains an indoor dog. There’s a reason junkyards and other places with large outdoor facilities often employ guard dogs – they’re intimidating, loud and difficult to avoid. Some dog senses are superior to humans, giving them a leg up on detecting people approaching a home or business. The barking itself can alert residents that the dog notices someone approaching.

Similar to a security-system alarm, the noise of a perturbed barking dog may convince a burglar that they’ve been caught and book it before they’ve even gotten inside. There’s also the threat of being bitten, which, depending on the type of dog, can be a pretty big motivator to find another burglary target.

That may seem like an obvious one but some people’s homes and businesses have a lot of windows and doors, some of which can be easily missed. During the fall months especially, many people leave doors and windows open with just a screen separating the interior or their home or business from the outside world. If you’re leaving your home or going to bed make sure your windows and doors are closed and locked. If you want to leave windows or sliding glass doors cracked consider cutting wooden dowels or broom handles to an appropriate length and putting them in your sliders. Cut them so the window or door can only open a few inches, which allows airflow but is too small for a person to fit through.

Make closing and locking doors and windows part of your ritual when you leave your home for the day or go to bed. If you do it enough times to form a habit it will be as natural as brushing your teeth.

Rose bushes are beautiful, but if you’ve ever pruned them you also know how painful they can be thanks to those big, woody thorns. Put cactuses, roses or aloe plants below windows to make it a very unattractive entrance point for would-be burglars. They won’t want to climb through a window or use it as a quick getaway if they know it will result in days of pulling out cacti spines.

There’s not much you can do to hide the 50-inch flat screen on your wall, but you can at least put away laptops, tablets and other expensive electronics so they can’t be seen through a window. The same is true of jewelry or other valuables. Don’t leave them sitting out where the world can see. If a burglar does get into your place you want to make it as difficult as possible for them to find your valuables.

Double-key deadbolts require a key to get in or get out of the home. These are especially useful if you have doors on your home with windows in them. With a regular deadbolt, all a burglar has to do is break the window, reach inside and turn the deadbolt. If you have a double key deadbolt, breaking the window won’t do that much good, because they still won’t be able to turn the interior deadbolt without a key.

Even if they climb through the broken window it will take them longer, make a lot of noise and they won’t be able to open the door to carry anything big out with them.

Home and business security systems and alarms are maybe the best possible deterrent to protect the valuables in your home or office. There’s nothing like a blaring alarm to send burglars running for the hills. Your security system can be customized to meet your unique needs, including motion sensors, glass-break sensors, cameras and more. We offer a comprehensive array of electronic entry and access control systems, alarm systems and monitoring, CCTV and video surveillance and of course traditional locksmith services.

If you want to ensure your home or business is adopting all the latest security best practices, call our experts today at 713-643-5767.