We, humans, are lazy beings. We prefer to be in our comfort zone all the time. That is just how it is! So whenever someone asked me about my house’s security, I would shrug it off. But I got a buck up call recently when my laptop got stolen. I was devastated and obviously motivated to protect my belongings. So here is my blog on how you can protect your house from theft. Learn it from my mistakes, because you will realize its importance only when something valuable actually gets stolen from you. Here, we are going to explore the various ways to protect your home from theft.
We will be covering all the aspects of house security in this blog as I present to you my research. I will talk about how even fake alarms and cameras can save you. In that scenario, you would not have to spend much. We will also discuss authentic methods to secure the house. There will be a product list mentioned below where I will link all kinds of products related to house security. If you go through that list, you will definitely find something suitable for your house.
Our Recommended Best Products In India:
Product Name | Product Image | Product Buy Link |
Fake sprinkler for key |  | |
Fake stone for storing key |  | |
Solar LED sensor light |  | |
CCTV Camera |  | |
Dummy cctv camera |  |
The Simple things that you can do
Let us start with the basic steps. The things you can do, the simple steps that will come a long way.
Lock the doors and windows properly
It does not matter whether you are inside the house or out, the cause of most burglaries is open windows and doors. This is the simplest and most obvious step that I can give you. Lock everything when you go out. Do not leave even a single window or door unattended.
How to hide a key
Where do you hide your key if you have to? Under the mat? On top of the light? In a brick? Under a brick? In a plant pot nearby? If I can guess these, then any regular thief can. Especially if you live in India, you must be very careful about where you hide your key if you have to in an emergency. Another precaution is that you must in any condition, protect the secrecy of it. If you see someone passing by, do not hide your key in front of them in any condition. Do not hide your key in front of any stranger, not even when they are passing by or they are in some distant. Doubt everyone when it comes to security.
The best thing you could do is to trust your key with a neighbour. Only give it to your neighbour if they can really be trusted. Otherwise, do not hide it in plain sight. If you have a birdhouse in your garden or near the door, hide the key in the straw or hay which lies in the box. You could slip it into a specifically camouflaged wall hole or something like that. You could tape it inside your mcb box but only in a place where it is not obviously visible.
If your house is surrounded by trees, nailing it to one of them is not a pretty bad idea either. Obviously, be careful about the camouflage.
There are fake sprinklers available in the market that look exactly like sprinklers but are actually meant to hide your keys. We will link them down below.
Window seal
Are your windows secure enough? Or can they be opened easily by someone who is standing out of your house?
Another way a burglar could break into your house is through windows. Make sure that your windows are locked properly before you leave the house.
Locks on the doors
Many people do have locks but most of them have clumsy locks. An expert thief will be able to break in without any difficulty. So make sure that you invest in good quality locks. Replace them if they are clumsy.
Dog signs
Even if you do not have a dog, try putting up a “ beware of dog ” sign. Make sure the sign looks scary for the effect. No robber would like to be attacked and mauled by a furious dog. Just by putting up a fake sign, you might lead the robber into another direction.
Light up the house
Burglars prefer dark houses. Put motion sensor lights in your yard. You can refer to our article about solar lights in which you may visit the garden section to see that there are many affordable lights that you just need to install. No wires, nothing. They will charge on their own and work very well at night.
We will also link such lights in the product section down below. You may check them there too.
Precaution on vacation
Do not let newspaper or mail get built up in front of your house. That will be the perfect sign for a thief to know that you are on a vacation. Know your neighbours well and tell them to collect your newspaper and mail so that it does not pile up in front of the yard. You do not want to worry about your house when you are relaxing on holiday.
Be attentive
Any burglar would like to examine your neighbourhood’s and your pattern and time table before robbing you. Most of them will roam around the house trying to figure it all out. It will be best to spot them in this stage only. Keep your ears and eyes open. Be careful about which people are lurking around.
Social media
I want to share a story with you guys. There was a lady whose daughter was kidnapped on the first day of school. She was very worried obviously and hurriedly went to the police station. To her dismay, she found out that the reason of her daughter’s kidnap was she herself ! the woman had posted about her daughter going to school for the first time on Facebook and she had written the post in such a way that the kidnapper could easily make out which place her daughter went to.
What I am trying to say is that you do not need to post everything online! maybe you can brag about your vacation when you are back home ? or maybe you do not need to post about every little thing happening in your life. Predators can be found anywhere. You little harmless seeming post could give more than enough information to a criminal.
Clear it all
Make sure that there is no proper hiding place around your house. Cut off any excess branches or unnecessary hiding spots. Any thief would avoid a house which does not have any hiding spot in the first place
Fence
Building a fence can be a great idea too. But obviously, if you are going to build a fence, do not build a flimsy one. A good fence will be a lot more helpful too.
Show off less
Keep your house covered and curtained, keep the vehicles in the garage and locked too. It does depend on you after all. What do you want to choose? Show off or loss ? so make sure that your valuables are not on a show.
Security without an alarm
For whatever reasons that you do not want to install and alarm, here is what other things you should do. House alarms are obviously not very popular in India; especially because there is no way that the police will reach within a few minutes to a place which is informing them of a burglary. First of all, follow the above points carefully. Get a guard dog if you can. You could even install a device that makes a dog’s barking noise when it senses someone intruding. You could put up a sign of the fact that you do have an alarm installed. Or just simply install a fake system that goes wild with sirens when someone enters your home.
Cctv
The most obvious and best advice that anyone can give you is to install cameras ! Install them on the outside of your house but keep them subtle. The burglar might want to block its vision before breaking in if you have it in a place which is too obvious. Then again, it will be far better if the burglar notices the camera and does not enter in the first place.
Keep valuables in a safe
There should be no way that your valuables are lying around in your house. Obviously you must have kept them in a proper almirah but just an Almira would not go. Install a proper safe with a security code. Those are very hard to break into. But the cue here is that you should attach it to a wall in any case. This is so because many thieves nowadays just pick up the whole safe and run instead of trying to open it there. This is why an alarm system ( or fake one is necessary ) so that as soon as someone enters, the siren starts blasting and so that the thief can not last for long in there.
Products
This section includes products that you may use to prevent robberies. If you are not going to install a proper alarm system, at least buy some things among the ones below so that your security is ensured. These products include many innovative things. My personal favourite is the solar sensor lights. Not only are they a one-time investment, but they also save electricity along with using a clean source of energy. There are many other useful products on the list too.
Fake sprinkler for key
We talked about this in the “how to hide a key section”. It looks like a proper sprinkler but the actual purpose is to hide a key.
Solar LED sensor light
These I have mentioned many times in this article and I can’t stop talking about them. They are cheap, one time investment, not only are they a tool to protect your house, it also adds to the usual décor and lighting. They work entirely on solar panels and we have mentioned them in our solar lights blog too.
There are about 20 LEDs which provide a good brightness level. Of up to 160 lumens. The light is automatic with sensors of motion. It automatically turns on at dusk and off at dawn. It will remain dim at night but will increase its brightness automatically if people come near. There is a 120-degree angle with a range of 10 feet. It is waterproof and heatproof.
It uses a new technology called COB which stands for chips on board. It is also automatic. It turns on at dusk and off at dawn. It can sense up to 26 feet under 24-degree celsius. No wiring required. Just mount it to the wall which receives good sunlight. There are also 3 lighting modes.
There are 20 LEDs in this device too. Automatic on and off at dusk and dawn. The sensor is largets for this device. It ranges up to 32 feet and gets brighter on sensing people coming. It is waterproof and dustproof which makes it rainproof. Again as all others, very easy installation and no wires needed. The screws are also provided in the pack.
cratos 30 LED solar motion sensor light and LCD wrist watch (click to check current price on Amazon)
It can be used for up to 12 hours once charged well. Automatically charges and spreads lights at dusk and dawn. Also, it has 30 LED lights and the sensor capacity is not mentioned.
There is a 120-degree sensor angle with a range of 1 to 2 metres. The life span is of around 5000 hours for the solar panel and the LEDs.
CCTV Camera
The best part is that it is indeed wireless. You have to register yourself on sricam app and make an account. Then you can watch live CCTV footage. It comes with a motion detector. It will send you a message when it detects any movement. It has an IR lens too that helps you see at night. It is water proof too. It can support up to 128 GB SD card storage too.
Dummy cctv camera
You would need to put a 3AA battery in it for the LED to work.
Alarm
It supports 10 remote controls, 50 wireless sensors and 50 RFID tags are included. You can store 5 phone numbers and one-speed dial number. There is also the option of saving one RFID SMS notification number. There is an SMS alert for a low battery of two-way accessories. There is a built-in speaker for siren and two way talking available. There is a 1-year warranty with 5 hour standby system.