You hear footsteps outside the lounge window late one night while watching television. You immediately think: home invasion! Shooting out of your chair with one adrenaline-fuelled pounce, you come to the horrifying realisation that you haven’t locked the back door yet. It’s too late – there’s goes the squeaking hinge you were supposed to oil last weekend…
An alarming number of home robberies take place in South Africa each year – see Know Your Home’s Security Weak Points. But, with forward planning and common sense, you can deflect calamity, and prevent home invasions, or keep your family safe during an attempted invasion. Here’s how…
Keep Pets Close
Keeping big dogs on your property can deter potential home invaders, but consider letting them sleep inside. Dogs are regularly poisoned or seriously injured by burglars, and this happens more often than not when dogs are left outside at night. Letting your dogs sleep in your bedroom or lounge will ensure that, should a band of brazen law-breakers try gain entry to your home, you will be alerted to their entry when your dogs bark.
Get a Security Gate
We know what you’re thinking: ‘But we have lots of gates already!’ While having gates on your front and back doors is a no-brainer, consider installing an internal gate to separate your sleeping rooms from the rest of your home. This gate can be locked at night and will go a long way to protecting your loved ones while they sleep. Keep only one key for this gate, and make sure you know where it is before turning in for the night.
Check Entry Points
Take some time and assess the state of your doors and their hinges, gates and their hinges, windows, sliding doors and any other places that will allow someone entry to your home. Consider replacing all hinge screws with longer screws, ensuring that someone trying to kick your door or gate down leaves with nothing but a sore foot. Also, consider installing burglar bars onto ALL your windows – you never know how small a potential home invader is going to be. For all your burglar bar requirements, give us a shout and we will advise you on the most appropriate security solutions for your situation and budget.
Invest in Self-Defence
Your last line of defence against home invaders is you – so consider a self-defence course. These courses teach you how to defend yourself in a variety of scenarios, including how to keep calm under pressure, disarm an attacker, and how best to plot an escape. These classes will also keep you in tip-top shape so that you can hold your own in any threatening situation.
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