A Locksmith’s Guide to Protecting Your Home

If you lock yourself out of your home or you need to replace a key or the lock to your front door is broken, then you would automatically think to call a locksmith. But what about if you needed a security check of your home?

Locksmiths know exactly how burglars would break into a home. They have all of the tips and tricks that intruders use to get inside quickly and discreetly. So locksmiths are the perfect people to security asses your home and help you to make sure it is burglar proof.

If asked, most people would say that looking after their home and family would be a number one priority for them, but very few know how to really protect their home from criminals. Here are some top tips to help you do just that.

Make sure you have the correct lock fitted to your doors and windows. It is really common for the wrong locks to be fitted to a door, which makes it easier to break in.

If you want things to be particularly secure, then add a bolt to your door. Alarms themselves are not necessarily a deterrent on their own. By having the correctly locks in place you can stop them getting in before the alarm actually goes off. For example, if someone actually wants to steal your car and your car keys are located just inside the front door. By the time the alarm has gone off and you are downstairs to protect your property, or you have called the police, the thieves are long gone in your car.

Keep bins and ladders stored away for your home. These are perfect tools for intruders to gain access via the first-floor window, which are often less secure than the downstairs doors and windows. Keep them locked away in a shed or a garage or use a special bin storage unit that burglars can’t access.

According to the expert locksmith Peterborough UK, you must fit a spy hole and door chain so you can vet people as they arrive at your front door and only let in the ones that you know. Don’t give access to people you don’t know or who can’t provide official accreditation.

If you have dogs and cats, make sure you buy one that only opens for your pets.

Don’t post holiday plans on social media as this is an advert for burglars to break in.

Ask a neighbor to keep an eye on your home when you are away and get them to check everything is secure a couple of times when you are away.

Don’t leave your valuables on show and in view of the window. This is like providing a shop window for burglars. Have a particular safe place away from the windows that you store valuable items or invest in a safe so you can lock items away securely.

Having lights on in the house and creating the feeling that someone is in is a great deterrent. Lights with timers are excellent, particular as the nights get darker earlier. It can also mean you are coming home to a lit home rather than a dark home. You can also buy timer plugs if the lights you have don’t have a timer built in. If you want to be really clever, but use a simple piece of kit you can get online, you can use a TV simulator. These create different colors and light patterns to it appears that someone is in the house and watching television.

Do you have a local neighborhood watch program? If you do then you can inform a trusted neighbor when you are out of town.

Get all of your locks for the front doors, backdoors, patio doors, windows, garages and sheds checked by a professional locksmith. Replace or upgrade any locks that are faulty.

If you are away for a long time, arrange for the local postal service to be stopped temporarily. This means you do not have a build up of mail in your post box or on the front door mat. This is a tell-tale sign to a burglar that you are not in. Or if you have a trusted neighbor who goes into feed the cat or water the plants, then ask them to move the mail out of view of the front door and the letter box.

Install an outdoor light with sensors. If a light comes on as people approach the house, they are less likely to hang around if they were intending to break in.

Have you considered converting your front driveway to a gravel drive? Gravel driveways are very noisy when people walk up them as they are approaching your house. A burglar will not want to be heard as they are making their way towards the house to break in.

Finally, make sure all of your doors and windows are all locked properly, and the alarm systems are turned on. One of the most common ways for burglars to break into a property is an unopened door or window.

Make sure you place house and car keys away from the front door. This is where intruders will expect them to be kept and can easily access keys if they are in a pot next to the front door. Some experts even advise wrapping your car key in a piece of aluminum foil to prevent thieves from using special equipment to intercept the signal from the key to the car and stealing the car. If the key is at the front door and the car is on the drive, this is easily done.

Don’t leave keys under a rock or a plant pot. This is the first place thieves will look to gain access to the house as quickly, quietly and easily as possible.

If you are unfortunate enough to experience a break in, make sure your belongings are marked with a UV pen. This means they are much easier to recover.