I'm sure a lot of folks know these, but you never know if one or two of these may not be known.
1. Deadbolt locks on all exterior doors. Additionally, you can also get something like Deadbolt Secure to prevent one from bumping or picking the lock: http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Bolt-Secure-Prevent-Bumping/dp/B0030D2H1O
2. Reinforce door jambs. Simply replace the current screws with 3" long screws that go into the door frame. This one cheap step increases your door integrity by many factors.
3. Kickplates for exterior doors. These are great and are a great deterrent as well, as it signifies to a would be intruder that you are prepared for them. Make it even more formidable by adding a top and bottom bolt lock to your door, to make it even harder to kick in.
4. Replace inner doorknobs with exterior locking doorknobs. Mostly, this is really for bedrooms, but I also expanded this to any door that leads to a room that has an exterior door as well. I don't know about you, but I can open a standard interior door lock with a pair of scissors or a steak knife in about 3 seconds flat. They offer no security at all, so all of our bedrooms have exterior knobs instead. For convenience, they all take the same master key, so we bought these as a landlord would buy apartment locks.
5. Create a cheap, but effective panic room. Replace a walk-in closet door with a custom cut thick wood door. Add some of the exterior door measures mentioned above, and you basically have a cheap, but effective panic room. Put a pre-paid cell-phone in there (and even a weapon), along with a basic first aid kit, and some emergency food/water, and you and/or your loved ones well able to wait in safety.
6. Alarms. As it would be pretty easy for someone to cut power, I prefer alarms that are battery powered, with a scheduled battery replacement rotation. Also good for post SHTF. I like these, but any similar ones are great for doors and windows. After a while, engaging them at night becomes ritual routine. http://www.amazon.com/GE-Personal-S...7171198&sr=8-1&keywords=wireless+window+alarm
7. Motion-sensor exterior lighting. You can easily convert existing exterior lights to motion sensor ones. It can be a bit pricey if you want to make them decorative as well, but this is one very big deterrent to an intruder (and a good alert to your neighbors). Better yet, it deters an intruder so that they may just leave and never even pose a threat. There are tons of varieties here, but if none of the other steps here are done, this should be the ONE you do.
8. Use of thorny plants. Under our windows, we grow plants such as very thorny rosebushes, spike aloe vera, etc. Pretty much deters folks from wanting to access the house through the windows (and if they do, the alarms mentioned above are handy too). Additionally, the roses and aloe have SHTF applications as well.
9. Sliding glass doors, Door Guardian. While bars and other options are available, I like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Cardinal-Gate...71104&sr=8-3&keywords=sliding+glass+door+lock as it is just easier to use. Comes in black also.
10. Security film. This stuff is great, and fairly inexpensive. http://www.amazon.com/Security-Wind...47171666&sr=8-1&keywords=window+security+film The weakest spot in any home defense is generally glass windows. This quickly minimizes the risk from this entry point. It's great for storm protection too.
Those are my top 10, and inexpensive solutions (basically all are under $50, even the panic room door can just be self-cut wood), but there are some other ones as well.
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A home alarm system. This is great if you live in the city. For about $40 a month, you can have a pretty decent system. In rural areas, this can be a waste of money (would take the police about 10 to 20 minutes to get out to me, for example), but in a city, can be well worth it.
Dogs. What can I say? They are a deterrent, and even small dogs can make noise and raise the alarm of an intruder. Larger dogs may even tear into one. (though if they do, I'd recommend shooting to kill the intruder...so they don't then sue you for the dog attack. Sounds crazy, but it has happened before, and the crook has won). Dead people can't sue.
Metal exterior doors. This is pretty expensive, but it certainly is effective.
Iron security grills over windows. Again, expensive, but effective.
Cameras. Can be a bit paranoid, but if you have a good deal of land, it does make it pretty easy to check things out. Also, a bit expensive up front, but could be part of a paid security system too, vs. stand-alone. We plan to add this eventually, we just have to do a lot of running cable to make it work, for the distances involved.
Driveway alert. I personally like the Dakota series of these. Cheap options usually never live up to the range stated, so buyer beware (I've bought several I then had to return, as they didn't communicate even half their stated range, effectively).
1. Deadbolt locks on all exterior doors. Additionally, you can also get something like Deadbolt Secure to prevent one from bumping or picking the lock: http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Bolt-Secure-Prevent-Bumping/dp/B0030D2H1O
2. Reinforce door jambs. Simply replace the current screws with 3" long screws that go into the door frame. This one cheap step increases your door integrity by many factors.
3. Kickplates for exterior doors. These are great and are a great deterrent as well, as it signifies to a would be intruder that you are prepared for them. Make it even more formidable by adding a top and bottom bolt lock to your door, to make it even harder to kick in.
4. Replace inner doorknobs with exterior locking doorknobs. Mostly, this is really for bedrooms, but I also expanded this to any door that leads to a room that has an exterior door as well. I don't know about you, but I can open a standard interior door lock with a pair of scissors or a steak knife in about 3 seconds flat. They offer no security at all, so all of our bedrooms have exterior knobs instead. For convenience, they all take the same master key, so we bought these as a landlord would buy apartment locks.
5. Create a cheap, but effective panic room. Replace a walk-in closet door with a custom cut thick wood door. Add some of the exterior door measures mentioned above, and you basically have a cheap, but effective panic room. Put a pre-paid cell-phone in there (and even a weapon), along with a basic first aid kit, and some emergency food/water, and you and/or your loved ones well able to wait in safety.
6. Alarms. As it would be pretty easy for someone to cut power, I prefer alarms that are battery powered, with a scheduled battery replacement rotation. Also good for post SHTF. I like these, but any similar ones are great for doors and windows. After a while, engaging them at night becomes ritual routine. http://www.amazon.com/GE-Personal-S...7171198&sr=8-1&keywords=wireless+window+alarm
7. Motion-sensor exterior lighting. You can easily convert existing exterior lights to motion sensor ones. It can be a bit pricey if you want to make them decorative as well, but this is one very big deterrent to an intruder (and a good alert to your neighbors). Better yet, it deters an intruder so that they may just leave and never even pose a threat. There are tons of varieties here, but if none of the other steps here are done, this should be the ONE you do.
8. Use of thorny plants. Under our windows, we grow plants such as very thorny rosebushes, spike aloe vera, etc. Pretty much deters folks from wanting to access the house through the windows (and if they do, the alarms mentioned above are handy too). Additionally, the roses and aloe have SHTF applications as well.
9. Sliding glass doors, Door Guardian. While bars and other options are available, I like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Cardinal-Gate...71104&sr=8-3&keywords=sliding+glass+door+lock as it is just easier to use. Comes in black also.
10. Security film. This stuff is great, and fairly inexpensive. http://www.amazon.com/Security-Wind...47171666&sr=8-1&keywords=window+security+film The weakest spot in any home defense is generally glass windows. This quickly minimizes the risk from this entry point. It's great for storm protection too.
Those are my top 10, and inexpensive solutions (basically all are under $50, even the panic room door can just be self-cut wood), but there are some other ones as well.
_______________________________
A home alarm system. This is great if you live in the city. For about $40 a month, you can have a pretty decent system. In rural areas, this can be a waste of money (would take the police about 10 to 20 minutes to get out to me, for example), but in a city, can be well worth it.
Dogs. What can I say? They are a deterrent, and even small dogs can make noise and raise the alarm of an intruder. Larger dogs may even tear into one. (though if they do, I'd recommend shooting to kill the intruder...so they don't then sue you for the dog attack. Sounds crazy, but it has happened before, and the crook has won). Dead people can't sue.
Metal exterior doors. This is pretty expensive, but it certainly is effective.
Iron security grills over windows. Again, expensive, but effective.
Cameras. Can be a bit paranoid, but if you have a good deal of land, it does make it pretty easy to check things out. Also, a bit expensive up front, but could be part of a paid security system too, vs. stand-alone. We plan to add this eventually, we just have to do a lot of running cable to make it work, for the distances involved.
Driveway alert. I personally like the Dakota series of these. Cheap options usually never live up to the range stated, so buyer beware (I've bought several I then had to return, as they didn't communicate even half their stated range, effectively).
).
