Expert Tips to Secure Your Home Before Traveling Abroad

According to the FBI a burglary happens once every 30 seconds. Stand alone homes are the most likely victim too, which is why, when you travel abroad, you should adhere to these expert tips to keep your home secure. 

How do I Burglar-Proof My Home?

Burglar-proofing your home it’s not something you should do only when you go on vacation but it is certainly something you should do before traveling abroad. Expert tips tell you to start with your windows, your doors, and any locks because these are the most common point of entry for burglars. 

• You should replace the screws that hold the metal plate on your door frame with 3 in stainless steel screws. This will increase the strength and make it much harder for someone to break down the door.
• If you are going to be gone for an extended length of time, you can replace your existing doors with strong wood doors or steel doors which are the most durable you can choose.
• Consider using electronic smart locks so that you can lock and unlock your home remotely. In the event that something does go wrong while you are traveling abroad, smart locks like these will let you secure everything again without having to rush home.
• Invest in additional reinforcements for your windows and your sliding glass doors.

Any Other Structures?

Don’t just focus on the house. Focus on other structures even if they are attached to your house or detached. Most people focus on their front doors and their back doors but they leave the garage door which, for modern homes, has a direct access point to the house. Given that the average burglary results in just shy of $3,000 in losses, locking the interior and the exterior doors associated with your garage can save you a great deal of money. You might also consider investing in smart locks for these doors, locks that you can control from your phone and regularly check up on with video feed. This will make it easier for you to relax while abroad.  

Does Light Matter?

Most people travel overseas or go abroad in the summer. That is why there is typically a 10% increase in burglaries between June and August.  But that shouldn’t stop you from using summertime to your advantage and going on vacation. It just means you have to consider lighting.  Lighting extends to the inside and the outside of your home. You can get lights with timers and schedule them to turn on in different rooms for various lengths of time. This idea paints a picture of indoor activity especially in the evenings so that people believe you are still home.  

• You might, for example, have lights that turn on in the bedroom from around 9 until 11 every night.
• You might consider turning on indoor lights in the kitchen or the living room 2 or 3 times per day.
• You should also consider having outdoor lights that either turn on every night to leave your home well-lit or are motion activated.

When it comes to outside your home, the more lighting you have, the more effective a deterrent the lighting will be. 

Securing Your Home Perimeter – Motion Sensors or Cameras? 

The best home locksmith service can help you whether you decide on cameras or motion sensors, but which is the better investment before you head out on vacation?  Security cameras are a great way to secure your home and gather evidence on the off chance that someone is snooping around. When you travel abroad, you can invest in security cameras that link directly to your smartphone and give you a dedicated app on your phone that allows you to check the goings-on around your property no matter how far away you are. These cameras can be placed outside your front door, your back door, over your garage, or around the perimeter. Similarly, you can consider a video doorbell that has a camera and can record everything that’s happening when someone visits your house.

Motion sensors however are a slightly different investment and really shouldn’t be considered as an alternative to cameras but rather an addition to cameras. Motion sensors are very important when coupled with light, as mentioned above. Motion sensors can trigger a camera to activate or a floodlight to turn on. This can actually make it easier if associated with your lights to catch clear footage no matter the time of day or night.