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What have you done to secure your home?

tcecil88

.30-06
Elite Member
I was wondering what my fellow readers do to secure their homes when they are not there and to prevent an actual home invasion.
My home sits back behind a row of houses, surrounded by fields. It is difficult to see in the summer. We have had several instances of people we do not know come down the driveway. I intercept as many as I can. Most turn around and leave, but some sit and look for a couple seconds until I can get out to them. One I intercepted said they were wondering what was back the long drive. I politely informed that person that they were trespassing and to leave, which they did. Another saw me come out and whipped a turn through my yard, leaving part of their bumper behind.
The way my house is situated, I feel that it is only a matter of time before we are broken into. I have removed all the shrubs and other items people can use as cover from beside the house and the closest cover to the house are trees about 20 yds from the house. Good solid exterior doors with deadbolts were also installed. We installed double pane windows at the same time. Windows can be broken obviously, but these are pretty tough. The blinds are pulled at night and also whenever we are not home to prevent prying eyes as well. The next item is an alarm system.
Other than the steps I have taken and possibly a good dog, I do not know what else to do to secure the house.
I also have good neighbors who watch over my house while I am overseas working. They have told me about running people off too.
 
Just off the top of my head...

Get that dog...and put some kind of gate and sign stating " Private Property" and / or " No Outlet"..."Guard Dog on Duty" ( even if you don't have one ! )

Motion sensor with lights... and they also have a silent driveway alarm when the gate is open.

Fiber Optic Cameras that broadcast a signal to your wireless pc for visual security...

The more visual your security, meaning...the place looks guarded...the more the perps will move along to a "softer" target.
 
No trespass signage(a must), remote cameras, alarm system with motion sensors(they have ones that ignore pets), contacts, glass breaks & cellular backup, steel doors with reinforced frames, long hinge screws and dead bolts. Video surveillance signage, casement windows.....I personally am more concerned with home invasion as it's on the rise here and I am rural.
 
I am rural too, but Lawrence, a suburb of Indianapolis is 10 miles away. That is where the trouble typically stems from. Home invasions have not become an issue yet, but I feel if you secure your home from robbery and the physical preparations (windows, doors, good locks, good dog, motion lights) you make for that are in use while you are home, and common sense is used, a home invasion will be far less likely.
 
Sometimes I "forget" and leave silhoutte targets that are shot all to pieces on the front porch as a subtle hint to anyone that would be inclined to cause trouble.

It accessorizes well with the shot up no trespassing sign too. :lol:
 
I've seen several pretty funny signs while out working.

One that has a few holes in it that says:

If you can read this
You're in range

and another that says:

Trespassers will be shot
Survivors will be shot again

For the dog lovers, there's a few different signs that says:

I can make it to the fence in 1.2 seconds
Can you?
 
I have armed security linked to the alarm system.
Burglar bars in front of each opening window. They are all locked at night.
Spot Lights with movement cencors.
Low energy lights burning the entire night all round the house.
3 Belgian sheppards.
A firearm within arms reach at night.
Six foot walls around the property and barbed wire on top of that.

This starts to sound like a pison?..
 
Hammer of Thor said:
I have armed security linked to the alarm system.
Burglar bars in front of each opening window. They are all locked at night.
Spot Lights with movement cencors.
Low energy light burning the entire night.
3 Belgain sheppards.
A firearm within arms reach at night.
Six foot walls around the property and barbed wire on top of that.

This starts to sound like a pison?..


All you need is a moat! :D
 
No jokes, I've thought about it, but my wife will kill me if I do that. (-;

Our home invasions mostly happen between 2am and 3:30am, when most people are fast asleep.
 
Hammer of Thor said:
No jokes, I've thought about it, but my wife will kill me if I do that. (-;

Our home invasions mostly happen between 2am and 3:30am, when most people are fast asleep.

Home invasions have been on the rise in my area as well.

The house next door to me was broken into during the daylight hours a few weeks ago. Luckly no one was living there as it was being remodeled (foreclosure) and another neighbor saw the person snooping around and called the police.

In some of the home invasions it was reported that the invaders announced themselves as police upon entry. That puts the homeowner in a particularly sticky situation in terms of defending the property. If it really is the police due to some screw up, it's not going to end well for the homeowner

We have a few small dogs that sound more vicious than they are but will alert us to anyone (or squirrels, or cats other dogs....) even coming close to the house
 
MikeD said:
Hammer of Thor said:
I have armed security linked to the alarm system.
Burglar bars in front of each opening window. They are all locked at night.
Spot Lights with movement cencors.
Low energy light burning the entire night.
3 Belgain sheppards.
A firearm within arms reach at night.
Six foot walls around the property and barbed wire on top of that.

This starts to sound like a pison?..


All you need is a moat! :D

This sounds alot like the houses over here in Saudi Arabia. Bars over all the windows, 6-8 ft. wall w/ barbed wire. All poured concrete, rebar, and concrete block construction. No 2x4's here!
I have not seen any moats yet, though. :D
 
we are in rural area and have open field behind and in front of our house.
i save our targets when done at the range. we staple them to 4 target stands we have across the back of the property.
there have been footprints out by the targets, but no problems as of yet.
 
After the neighbor got attacked I've been putting more thought in to this.

I can't afford high tech security doors so I bought some Strike Master door jam reinforcement bars to make it harder to kick in the doors. It's not the best option but it does fix a weak link.

I'm also looking into some additional outside lighting. The streetlight at the end of my drive burned out and the Twp does not seem to be in any hurry to replace it.
 
When I told my dad that I was buying a Shotgun for security he told me to move out, he then preceded to tell me that I would have a better chance using "that sword in your room" so I spend time thinking about was to defend my house when dads not there without putting myself within arms reach of the person. Personally i think all of your ideas are great ideas and very effective, but has anyone considered putting 2X4's over their doors? Install bracket mounts on the sides and secure the doors with the 2X4's at night.
 
2x4's only work for doors that open in.
 
The 2x4's would work if your doors open inward but then you have those big ugly brackets sticking out all the time.
 
Thats very true Mike and John but for the doors that do open inward (all the doors that lead into every house ive lived in) it is a simple and (relatively) cheap way to reinforce your doors against someone trying to break it down. true though they could go through the window.
 
My Mom has a room that adjoins the garage on the far end of her house that she keeps barricaded. It has a lock on it, but she sleeps better with the 2x6 across it.
 
Sometimes I "forget" and leave silhoutte targets that are shot all to pieces on the front porch as a subtle hint to anyone that would be inclined to cause trouble.

Good one!

I'll plus pne on the dog and after that it's how far do you want to go and how much do you want to spend. Motion detectors are fairly inexpensive and can be installed easliy enough.

We're lucky that the neighbors on 3 sides are retired and home a lot. Usually when I hear of robberies in the area it's someone stealing for drug money and they usually them quickly. We did recently have an a-hole try and talk an 8th grade girl into a van after she got off the school bus.
 
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