To burglar-proof your apartment, you need to be security conscious. Most apartment break-ins happen because of neglect from the tenant. Let’s face it, most of us don’t think about someone breaking in, but this is the mindset who burglars tend to target.
For you to not be targeted, you need to be proactive and let potential burglars know that your apartment is not the one they want to go into. To accomplish this, you must act in protecting your home by doing your part. Therefore, I’ve compiled a list of actions you should take to make sure no one targets your home.
Do the following to burglar-proof your apartment:
- Always lock the doors
- Use door stops, door jams, or barricades
- Add locks on windows
- Keep exterior obstructions away from windows
- Add inexpensive door and window alarms
- Keep jewelry or expensive items out of plain view
- Add security home system
- Add solar motion activation lights
- Lock exterior electrical box
For you to be safe, you need to take these actions. Most of them are inexpensive and easy to do and can be accomplished in just a few minutes.
Always lock the doors
About 20% of homeowners and renters do not lock their doors. This is a high number of unsecured properties that can easily be burglarized since nothing is securing it.
The door handle lock is very easy to bypass by even a novice burglar. You should add a deadbolt lock system on all doors in the property to make it more difficult to break in.
Additionally, you should add door reinforcement locks to make it more resistant on forced break ins. These are inexpensive and easy to install and can be found in most local hardware stores. They will secure your doors and would require more force for anyone to break in. It would make so much noise to bypass these that your neighbor would be able to hear and make a burglar think otherwise.
If you live in an apartment, always speak with your landlord before replacing or adding door locks. They need to know and be able to have access in case of an emergency.
Use door stops, door jams, or barricades
One of the best ways to stop a burglar from opening a door is to use some sort of barricade or door jam to restrict the door from opening.
Using a simple door stopper would stop the door from opening all the way. This simple issue can deter someone from going in further knowing the element of surprise is now gone and they haven’t fully entered.
Additionally, you can use a door security bar. These inexpensive bars can stop the door from opening all together and would make it very difficult to open.
Making your door harder to break in is crucial to buy you time to seek shelter or call the police. Therefore, it’s important to have some sort of door stopper, jams, or barricade to buy you this time.
Add locks on windows
Most break-ins occur through an open or unsecured window. Windows are targeted because they are usually outside of plain view from bystanders.
Therefore, you should add locks to your windows to burglar-proof your apartment. Most windows already have lock, but a lot of people don’t tend to use them. Get in the habit of locking your windows when they are closed. There is no reason to have them unlocked while they are closed.
Additionally, you can replace your windows with double pane glass to make it harder to break in. The point of this is to make it difficult for a burglar to get in so it buys you time. It also would make more noise that would attract attention.
If you’re an apartment, you probably wouldn’t be able to do this. Although, you can put furniture or big objects partially covering windows, so it makes it hard to crawl through the window.
Keep exterior obstructions away from windows
Besides keeping your windows secure, you should keep windows clear and visible from the outside. Burglars like to break into windows when they are obstructed from outside view.
A huge bush or tree in front of a window would eliminate the capability to see a burglar breaking into your apartment. This is the ideal situation for a burglar from having a bystander witness what they are up too.
Therefore, you should make sure any obstruction is out of the way. Cut and maintain the brush under window height. Remove any unneeded objects in front of it.
Additionally, remove any loose bricks or any potential tools that a burglar can use to break your windows. You don’t want to assist the burglar with breaking in from simple neglect.
Add inexpensive door and window alarms
If you can’t afford to have a security home system, you can add simple audible doors alarms on your door and windows. These are easy to install and are very affordable.
The purpose of the audible alarm is to stop a burglar from entering once they open a door or window. Additionally, the alarm would make you aware if someone is forcing their way into your apartment.
Keep jewelry or expensive items out of view
More often than none, people tend to leave their valuable items in plain view. If you own jewelry or have an expensive collection of some sort, don’t have it visible or near a window.
Keep your apartment from being targeted by keeping your valuable items tucked away or in a closet. Additionally, if a burglar were to get into your apartment, you don’t want them to easily see where your valuable items are.
Add security home system
If you can afford it, add a security home system to burglar-proof your apartment. Now adays, a simple Ring door bell would be enough to cover this.
You can also add a fake security sticker on your window and make it appear that your home is protected. This a cheap and easy way to deter a potential break in.
Add solar motion activation lights
The apartments that burglars like to target are ones where it’s hard to see them go in. Therefore, they tend to go for units that are dark or hard to see by anyone.
Adding a simple solar motion activation light makes them aware that they are under the spotlight. This keeps them visible and attracts attention if they were to try to break in.
Additionally, you can get a solar motion activation light that has a camera so you can see outside as well.
Lock exterior electrical box
Another way to burglar-proof an apartment is to make sure your electrical box is locked. This is where your lights are getting power from. So, it would make sense for a burglar to break in and turn of your power so they can break in the dark. This can also kill power to your security alarm system.
Most electrical boxes have locks on them, but some will have loops for a pad lock. Make sure the electrical box is secured an unavailable to unwanted access.