Our home’s garage isn’t only a place to park and shelter our vehicle; for most, it’s an additional storage space, a toolshed, workshop, or even laundry area. As such, many valuables are stored in the garage. However, despite this, the garage is sometimes the least neglected part of the house when it comes to security. Garage doors are one of the main entry points of burglars, in fact, about 9% of burglars enter home through the garage. As such it’s important for you to safeguard your garage not only to protect the items stored and vehicle stored inside, but also to prevent them from potentially entering your home and burglarizing your property (or worse).
Maintain, Lock, and Secure Your Door
If poorly maintained, or if your garage door is poorly designed, a burglar can pry it open to gain entrance. Also, if the door isn’t locked with a deadbolt from within, a burglar can also open it using a hanger or tool to reach and open the emergency handle. You can use a zip tie to secure your door’s emergency latch to prevent these types of break-ins. There are businesses and companies in Lehi, Utah that offer garage door upgrades, installation, repair, and maintenance that you can take advantage of in order to have a secure and convenient garage.
Use Modern or Smart Door Openers
More modern garage openers have more updated security features and provide additional layers of security for your garage such as requiring a “rolling” (procedurally and randomly generated) code. Smart garage doors allow you to use your smartphone to open and close your garage and these smart systems oftentimes include security cameras whose feed you can access remotely as well.
Never Leave Your Garage Open Unnecessarily or Unattended
In hotter days of the year, it’s better to keep your garage door open to prevent it from turning into an oven and potentially damaging your car and the items stored within it. However, if you keep your garage door open for long period of time unsupervised, it becomes somewhat of an invitation for thieves and trespassers. It’s also possible that your garage is open due to some malfunction with its door or you simply forgot to close it after parking your car. It’s best to invest in smart garage technology that notifies you if your garage is open, and can allow you to remotely close it whenever and wherever while using an app on your smartphone and other devices. Alternatively, you can use a timer that automatically closes your door after a set amount of time after it’s opened.
Cover or Frost/Tint Your Garage Windows
Garage windows are there as a means of ventilation and lighting, however, it also allows burglars to look into your garage and scope for any valuables, or check if anyone’s inside. As such, it’s important for you to cover (and lock) your garage windows, or use frosted glass or heavily tint your window to obscure the view from the outside.
Lights, Camera
One way to help deter burglars are installing exterior lighting around your garage; burglars are less likely to enter a well-lit property where they can be easily spotted. Installing a camera and leaving no blind spots, particularly at entry-points, can also help keep your garage safe. In fact, some homeowners use a “fake” or non-functional security camera as a cheap and low-maintenance means to add security to their homes and garages.
Conclusion
A home is just as safe as its weakest spot, as such, it’s important to secure every single part of your home, and that includes the oftentimes-neglected garage. So the next time you’re free, try to look around your garage and see how you can improve its safety to improve not only the security of your garage but your home as a whole.
