Lighting

Lighting! Burglars like the dark. Plain and Simple. You need to make sure there are no dark areas around your home. When a burglar is driving around a neighborhood trying to decide which home to break in to, his attention is caught when he sees a house with a door, window or sliding glass door with no bright lights shining on it.

He wants to have the extra 30 seconds or so that darkness will give him to work his way into your home. So, any door or sliding glass door should have a minimum 60 watt bulb illuminating the door and surrounding areas. You should definitely use the new fluorescent style bulbs as they will save you a lot of money, especially with such a high wattage bulb.

You should pay special attention to areas that aren’t visible from the street or a neighbor’s home. Any such areas, should be lit extremely well and any points of entry in these areas should be triple re-enforced. It’s actually quite simple, one night go outside, walk across the street and pretend you are a burglar. Where would you try to break in if you were a burglar? Make sure those areas are lit up.

Experts also recommend motion lighting. Lighting up your entire home like the state prison can get to be expensive over the long haul. You can opt for motion detectors in areas that don’t need constant lighting. (driveways, backyards, the side of your home with no doors) Also set the timer to the longest delay, that way, it appears to an outsider that when there was motion you saw it and turned the light on yourself, as opposed to a motion detector that is flashing on and off all night.

Also one other thing to remember is that indoor lighting is just as important as outdoor lighting. Interior timers are just as important as exterior timers. Making it look like you get up and look around throughout the night or when you are away can be an excellent deterrent to would be intruders.