A Practical Exterior Home Security Checklist

Before you drop a ton of money on a home security system, you should walk around your property and identify your security needs. In reality, there are many things you can do to make your home and family safer even without an expensive alarm system. Of course, having a home security system is highly desirable, but you should also make the following changes around your home to make your family as safe as it can be.

In the front yard:

• Make sure your street numbers can be seen easily from the street
• Trim bushes, trees and shrubs away from your driveway, sidewalks, gates, windows and doors
• Instead of concrete or blacktop, put small-gauge granite rock on the ground so it will make noise when someone steps on it. Do not use river rock
• Limit places where your yard can be accessed. Consider putting up a fence so visitors can only enter from a single point
• If you have gates, make sure they can be locked
• Ensure that your yard is adequately lit with motion-activated security lighting. There should be no dark places in your yard or near your house

In the side yards:

• Ensure that each side of your home is adequately lit with motion-activated lighting
• Trim any bushes, trees or shrubs away from windows and doors
• If there is a gate that allows access to a side yard, make sure it is locked

In the back yard:

• Ensure that your back yard is adequately lit with motion-activated lighting
• Trim any bushes, trees or shrubs away from windows and doors
• If there is a gate that allows access to your back yard, make sure it is locked

In your detached buildings:

• Ensure that all doors and windows are locked at all times
• Install motion-activated lighting that illuminates each entrance to your detached buildings, which would include garages, sheds, barns and storage structures

In your attached garage:

• Do not leave your garage door open if you are not using it
• Make sure your garage door is properly maintained and works correctly
• Install an internal lock on your garage door if there isn’t one already
• The door to your garage should be constructed of metal or have a solid core
• The deadbolt lock on your door should have a minimum 1-inch throw
• Install security strike plates on the door to the garage
• Install reinforced door jambs on the door to the garage
• Make sure the molding is not loose
• Install hinges on the inside of the door
• If you have a window in your garage, which is not recommended, be sure that they are locked with heavy duty locks

These are the areas around a home that are often vulnerable to would-be burglars. Make these repairs and installations and criminals will find it very hard to get into your home.