According to the FBI, a burglary occurs somewhere in the United States every 15.4 seconds. No home is burglar-proof, but there are dozens of simple tips you can use to make your residence a harder target. After all, time is the enemy of a thief, who wants to work quickly. Make your house a less attractive target and the burglar may move on.
Tuesday tip: Secure your sliding-glass patio doors
That sliding glass door lets in lots of light, but it can let in a burglar, too. Here are some quick tips for securing it:
- That latch is not worth a lot—it’s easily forced open. Use a “charley bar” or two-by-four in the track to block it from being opened.
- Older sliding doors can actually be lifted up and off their track from the outside. To prevent this, keep the door rollers in good condition and well adjusted. Check out your local hardware store for an “anti-lift device;” it looks like a pin that goes through both the sliding and fixed portion of the door.
- Consider placing a Monitronics window decal on the sliding door to prove you’re protected 24 hours a day
- Place a monitored glass break, door sensor, or motion detector on that entry way
