Ever wanted to know how to burglar-proof your home? These are our 44 Unique burglary prevention tips from a convicted thief that actually works. The reason we say they are unique tips is that we’ve already heard some of them, but might not know how to implement them correctly to make them an actual deterrent for thieves breaking into your home.

The best way to protect yourself from becoming a victim of a home burglary is to get “Inside the Mind of a Thief.” When a thief is casing a neighborhood, there are certain things they look for that makes specific homes more appealing to break into. In this article, we are going to give you 44 Tips on how to prevent a burglar or home invader from targeting your home.

The usefulness of the strategy to prevent home invasions or a burglary and secure the home that I will discuss with you in this article is, for the most part, going to be universally applicable. However, there’s always going to be unique sets of circumstances where these strategies might not be as effective as in others.

Within this Article, I’m not going to be talking too much about firearms other than that you should use them to the maximum extent that the law will permit to protect yourself and your family. I have many subscribers that are either overseas or in countries like Canada; for instance where the laws are a bit more restrictive concerning how you can use firearms to defend yourself. So for that reason Im not going to be giving firearms tips.

You should always be alert and take a more aggressive stance when it comes to home defense and securing your home. In everyday life, many people including myself become very complacent when it comes to home security and home defense.

Home Burglary Statistic

Let’s first start out with some burglary and home invasion statistics and then we’ll do an in-depth overview of how you can safeguard your home against these infringements. These statistics are for the United States and should give you some insight regarding home defense.

Perhaps not surprisingly most burglaries are going to happen at the beginning of the week from Monday to Wednesday.

Burglaries, for the majority, happens between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.

The least amount of burglaries, of course, are going to happen on Saturdays and Sundays when people are typically home.

The last fact should not inspire too much confidence because in three out of ten burglaries occurs when somebody is home. In such case, there might be an assault or somebody getting seriously injured or worse.

The summer months are when burglaries are most likely to happen. Robberies are least likely to occur in the colder winter months, especial where there is snow.

The average burglar is going to fit the demographic of a male who is under 25 years old.

More than likely drugs and alcohol is going to be a factor in these types of crimes. Most burglars these days are on drugs, or loot homes so they can sell items to get more of the substance of their addiction.

One-third of all burglars enter homes through the front door, and while that may seem odd, we’re going to talk about some reasons as to why that happens and how you can prevent that from happening.

Around 22 percent of burglars are entering through the back door.

23% are entering through a first-floor window.

10% are entering through the garage.

It is doubtful that a burglar will access your home in any way asides those just listed.

Interview With Convicted Thief

I was watching an interview with a convicted burglar by the name of Michael Durden (The video of the full interview is available at the end of this article), and he gave some unique robbery prevention tips that most list I’ve found online fails to mention. Of course, some of these tips are things you’ve heard, and that should be common sense by now. So let’s dive into our top 44 tips on how to prevent burglars from targeting your house.

Michael Durden went on to explain how he would go about while casing a neighborhood.

“I’m a personal trainer. That’s what I did besides crime. I jog a lot, so it would be nothing for me to go through a neighborhood and not be noticed. I mean, I have tattoos, but I wear long sleeve shirts that wick moisture. So with that being said, I would case a neighboorhood by foot, jogging and walking and look at homes. The homes Im looking for specifically have mail, specifically, have a newspaper and unkept yards.”

How To Burglar Proof-Your Home? 44 Tips will show you how!

What Micheal just stated would lead to our first robbery prevention tip;

1- Situation Awareness

What I mean by situational awareness is that you need to be aware of your surroundings. If you see a jogger that you’ve never seen before looking at every house, it might mean that they are casing out the neighborhood. One big red flag will be if you see the same person that was jogging, slowly drive around in a car. If you see someone doing this, make sure they know that you saw them. An intelligent burglar wants to minimize the chance of being caught. If he knows that you saw him, then he would also see that you might be able to identify him if he robbed your house. Keep that in mind.

2 – Trash Pick-Up Day

If you’re on vacation for a few days and trash pick up day happens to be when you’re away, have a neighbor place your garbage bin by the curb for you. Some criminals, when casing out a neighborhood, they notice right away which house didn’t put their trash cans out on garbage pick up day. This indicates to burglars that you’re most likely not home. Make sure also to tell your neighbor to place the trash can by your house at the end of the day to make it appear that someone is home.

3 – Dog Dish

Even if you don’t have a dog, buy yourself a large food or water dog dish, and place it by your front door. A dog dish will indicate to a potential burglar that you own a dog. This would be enough for most criminals to keep on going to their next target. Make sure you buy a large dog dish and not a small one, we want to make it clear that there might be a big dog inside the house. Small dogs are most likely not much of a deterrent. Placing a dog dish by the front and back door is a cheap trick that I’ve done and would certainly recommend.

4 – “Beware of Dog” Sign

This one im sure you’ve heard before because its something a lot of people already does. Place a beware of dog sign either in front of your house or on the backyard fence.

5 – Try not to show off your disposable income

When burglars are casing out neighborhoods, they look for homes where they not only have a beautiful house but also a lot of extras and expensive decorations. These types of dwellings indicate to a robber they have a lot of disposable income. And they probably have jewelry and cash inside the house. In the eyes of a criminal, if you can afford a ten thousand dollar fence, you probably have a lot of expensive things inside the house.

6 – Instal a Wireless Alarm System

Micheal Durden had this to say about alarm systems. A wireless security alarm is sure to burglar proof your home!

“A lot of alarm systems these days have the availability of being wireless. The reason they do that is because it’s easy for an individual to walk to the outside of a person’s home and pull the wires out from the box that goes to the alarm system, that’s wired to the telephone system. Even if you cut the wires and you trigger the alarm system, it’s not going to send a message to the company, so you don’t have to worry about it. But with a cellular system, it’s hard to get things to defeat the system. Finding anybody selling a cell phone signal blocker is tough. So just the threat of someone having a wireless alarm system is enough to have me step away from home.”

Click here for a complete wireless alarm system under $100 on Amazon!

7 – neighborhood watch and VIP Programs

Neighborhood watch programs work extremely well, even if you’ve heard the contrary. Listening to criminals like Micheal talking about how neighborhood watches are a great deterrent makes me believe that they work. Micheal said, “There have been so many times that I’ve gone and cased a neighborhood and stayed away from that neighborhood because it was obvious to me that there were people out walking and that they had a VIP Program.” VIP Program stands for “Volunteers in patrol”

So there you have it, take full advantages of these programs because criminals do not want to be seen by someone that could later identify them. If you make eye contact with a potential burglar that casing out your neighborhood, it’s often enough for them to move on to another community.

Click here if you want information on how to start a neighborhood watch in your neighborhood.

8 – Have someone pick up the mail and newspaper

When you’re on vacation, have your neighbor, or someone you trust to pick up your mail and your newspaper. This burglar prevention tip is one of those tips that most people should already know. But it’s also an important tip because when the mail is piling up, it’s letting a robber understand that no one’s been home for days.

9 – Manicure Your Lawn When You’re Away

Convicted burglar Micheal Durden had this to say about yards that are not well kept, in certain circumstances.

“If I go in a nice neighborhood with a median income of 250 000 between the spouses a year and the yard is not well manicured, I just think they’re on vacation, and I will go to that house.”

An unkempt lawn in a nice neighborhood will stick out compared to the rest of the houses, keep that in mind. If you’re only gone a few days, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to mow your lawn just before you leave, so it doesn’t look overgrown while you’re away. Mowing the lawn a tad shorter than usual before going on vacation couldn’t hurt.

10 – Be aware of Privacy walls and fences

If you installed a privacy wall or fence, then it’s safe to say that you value your privacy. It’s also safe to say that you’re giving a potential burglar the privacy they need as well to burglarize your home. The more privacy there is in the back or front yard, the better it is for potential burglars to successfully rob you of your belongings.

A good burglar prevention tip is to trim your hedges, and not let them become overgrown to the extent that you can no longer see your front door from the street.

11 – Keep some Specific Lights on

One of the most popular pieces of advice regarding home invader prevention tips you hear most often is to leave some lights on when you’re not home. Micheal Durdam had some interesting information about precisely what lights you should keep on, and also the ones you should have off when you’re not home.

“neighborhood watch tells people to keep a light on in your home when you’re not there, and that’s a true deterrent BUT don’t put the light on in the front room right by the window. Put the light on in the center of your home where it’s not easily seen; because you may be a person occupies with the internet or television or movie or headphones, and if I cant see shadows from that light, it makes me wary of going into that home. So that’s a good deterrent.”

“Don’t turn on your lights in the front because if you’re in the front and I can look and see your light source and I can look at the light, knock on your door, and nobody comes, I know they just turned a light on because they’re not home. makes sense right?”

12 – Park your vehicle in the driveway

Micheal said this about cars in driveways. “If I see a vehicle parked in the driveway or in front of the home, Im certainly not going there. Its a waste of my time.”

So if you’re not home, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep a vehicle in the driveway and not in the garage. Do this especially if you live in a neighborhood that been targeted by theft. This is an easy burglary prevention tip that won’t cost you a penny unless you have to buy a second car that is.

13 – Burglar proof electronic devices

What we mean by burglar proof electronic devices are the types that turn your lights on automatically by a timer. You can also buy some tools that turn the tv or stereo on and off by timer. These items are inexpensive and are a significant burglar deterrent because they’ll just think that someone’s home and keep moving.

Another great burglar proof electronic device is an ultrasonic detector. These ultrasonic detectors can have a pre-recording of your voice that activates at the moment someone knocks on the door. You could have it say “Just a sec, Il be right there!”. When a burglar hears your “recorded voice,” they will most likely run away.

14 – Alarm company stickers

You can easily go online and purchase some alarm company logo stickers that would have “protected by …” to fool the burglar that you have an alarm system. Make sure to stick these stickers on the front door window, and most importantly to your backyard windows.

15 – Know your neighbors

If possible, get together and form a neighborhood watch program and pass out flyers. Get to know each other at meetings or the park. Being acquainted with each other as a society, so you know who doesn’t belong on your street when you notice someone suspicious.

Knowing the people around you is not only crucial in preventing robberies. Getting to know everyone is essential in keeping your child safe from pedophiles that would be casing a neighborhood for unattended children. This is why it’s much more difficult for criminals to successfully commit crimes in small, close-knit communities where everyone knows each other or at least know of each other. You don’t need to be friends with everyone but its good to know whos always around and whos not.

16 – UPS Package Pirates

If you’re home and you notice someone knocking on a neighbors door a few minutes after the UPS guy dropped off a package, that could be the first step of a burglary in progress. If the UPS guy knocks and there’s no answer and leaves a package at the door, it appears to thieves that no ones home. This burglary prevention tip comes back to situational awareness, keep this in mind when you notice delivery trucks passing through your neighborhood.

This example is not only for your neighbors but also for yourself and your safety. A lot of people don’t answer the door when receiving a delivery. The package is most often left at the door. If you hear someone knocking on your door a few minutes after the package was dropped off, that could be a sign of trouble.

17 – Separate Your electronic devices from their power cords

If a burglar is already inside your house, one thing you can do to limit the amount of stuff they steal is by disconnecting your electronic devices and hiding the charging cords in a cabinet. It’s more challenging to sell a PS4 without the TV hookup or a laptop without its charger, so a thief may just leave the electronic device behind due to frustration.

I know it’s inconvenient to do this every day before you leave for work but it’s a good burglary prevention tip to do this if you’re away on vacation for a week.

18 – Don’t Leave Your House Keys Outside

Even if you think you’re smart, don’t leave keys under mats, under a fake plastic rock, on top of door frames or in one of those $3 magnetic key carrier that fit under the framework of your car. Thieves know about these places and are more creative than you might think when it comes to locating a spare house key.

At my house, we secured a spare key in a push button wall mounted key safe, similar to the type real estate agents use. We also hide the key box to make it a bit harder for the burglars to gain access to it.

19 – Keep Your Front and Back Yar Well Lit

Having sufficient lighting in your front and backyard is a deterrent for criminals that would commit a robbery after dark. If you don’t want to leave the lights on all night, simply buy an outdoor light equipped with a motion detection sensor.

20 – Don’t leave out Expensive Items Box Outside After Christmas

After the holidays, all those empty electronic boxes should be brought to a recycling bin. Don’t leave them out by the curb` where everyone knows you have a brand new 65″ TV inside your house. If you don’t have any recycling bins in your area, you should cut the box into smaller pieces and place them in a garbage bag, so they’re out of sight.

21 – Pretend You’re On The Telephone

If you’re home alone and someones aggressively knocking at the door, pretend yours on the phone. Micheal had this to say about this burglary prevention tip.

“If it’s a woman and they’re worried about a home invader, and they’re trying to stay in the shadows, grab the telephone pretending you’re talking to someone and come to the door and say (just a minute im on the telephone). To me, that’s a deterrent. Two reasons, number one you’re home and number two, you have communication with someone else. So if something happens to you, they have access to the police. It’s just a smart way around that predicament.”

He’s saying not to ignore the door but to make verbal contact, so the burglar moves along. If you ignore the door, the thief will think no one’s home and proceed to break into the house.

22 – Don’t hide your cash and jewelry in the master bedroom

The first place a burglar will go to in a home is the master bedroom. They know that most people leave money and Jewry in the master bedroom.

Another one of our burglary prevention tips is to hide your cash in a child’s bedroom because burglars typically don’t waste too much time in those areas. Hide jewelry there also if it’s not the type of jewelry you wear on a daily basis. You don’t need to have your expensive jewelry in the master bedroom if you’re only going to wear it a few times a year.

23 – Get rid of your doggy door

If you think a thief cant get through a doggy door, think again. Get rid of them now.

24 – Buy an Outside Horn For Your Alarm System

Most people are a bit cheap when it comes to home security, even if they do purchase an elaborate alarm system. If the alarm makes noise within the house only, it’s effortless for an intruder to go straight to the alarm horn and break it. If the alarm horns/speakers are outside, the intruder will probably run away, because everyone in the neighborhood can now hear the alarm blasting.

25 – Cover Your Windows

You should always close the blinds and cover your windows when your not home. If a thief can see through the window, they can also see that no ones inside the house.

26 – Hide The Alarm System Key Pad

If you decide to install a security alarm system, make sure you cant see the keypad from the outside windows. It’s surprising how many people are too lazy to turn on their alarm system every day. If your security alarm system is off, the keypad will indicate “ready,” meaning the alarm is ready to be activated. If an intruder sees the green “ready” screen from an outside window, your house will probably become their next target.

27 – Know where to place a security camera

Micheal Dudan had a clever robbery prevention tip on where to set your outdoor security camera, something most people, including myself, never thought about.

“If you get a security camera, don’t mount the camera up in the corner pointing down. I can wear a baseball cap and sunglasses and look down and still case your home. And you’ll never know who was at your front door. That’s not going to deter me because the security camera is not going to see me so its no big deal. Place the security camera right at par with the average height, at about 5’8 tall; pointing straight out with led lights that are lit up. That’s going to be a deterrent. People are going to be walking up to your home and see that, and they’re going to be turning around fairly quickly and move on.”

28 – Install a kicker plate

A steal kicker plate wrapped around the front or back door is almost impossible to defeat. A kicker plate will make it hard for a robber to pry the door open by wedging something on the door. Coupled with a great set of locks, an intruder will have to kick the door many times, and that noise will undoubtedly draw attention.

Make sure to look for a security kicker plate like the one in the photo, and not a decorative one.



29 – Install Solid Steel Doors

We all know that beautiful big glass doors are nice to look at, but they also give burglars a great line of sight on the inside of your home. If a burglar is casing your house, the less they see of the inside of the house, the better.

30 – Install bogus security Cameras

If you’re not able to afford security cameras, then you should install fake ones. Placing phony security cameras will deter burglars because they shouldn’t be able to tell if the camera is real or not. Fake security cameras can be found online for cheap.

31 – Do Not Put Your Address Or Name On Your Key Ring

Yes, Some people actually do this, put their name and/or address on their key rings. Why would someone do such a thing? I have no idea, I just know enough to not do that. I think we can all imagine why.

32 – Have Your Pepper Spray Ready

You should have a small bottle of pepper spray tucked away somewhere near your front and back door. Hide it in an easily accessible place if you need to grab it quickly. If a stranger knocks on your door, you’ll be ready in case they turn out being a criminal.

33 – Surround Your Property With Thorns

If you’re going to plant a hedge around your backyard, you should look into hedges with sharp thorns. If your yard is not easily accessible and someone notices thorns all over the hedge, they will most likely keep walking. A robber probably doesn’t want to draw blood and take the risk of leaving a drop of blood in or around your home. Think of it like an all natural barb wire.

34 – Arrange A House Sitter

If you’re going to be away for an extended period of time, arrange a house sitter. You can either hire a professional home caretaker or have a trustworthy friend look after your place. If the house sitter is coming and going or stays in the home fulltime, it doesn’t give the thieves a chance to predict when someone is home or not. The main reason a robber cases a house is to make sure no one is home when the robbery is committed.

35 – Build yourself a Safe Room / Panic Room

Building yourself a safe room so you and your family have a place to hide in case someone unexpected enters your home could be the difference between life and death. You don’t have to be a millionaire to have a secret room inside your house. Check out this article to learn more about safe rooms / Panic Rooms, and how to build one. How To Build A Safe Room / Panic Room DIY

36 – Don’t Brag On Social Media

A good burglary prevention tips we have is to not brag about expensive electronics or jewelry you have inside your home. Some people just can’t help themselves to flaunt their riches but that could surely backfire if the wrong person gets hold of that information. This is especially important to be mindful as to what you post on social media. Before posting a picture from inside your home on social media, be mindful of what’s in the picture and what you’re showing to the outside world. Social media post is something thieves take advantage of these days when casing homes.

37 – Wireless Driveway Security Alarm

Installing a Wireless Driveway Security Alarm could be a great option, especially for country homes where your closest neighbor lives a mile away. They are simple to install and you can buy one for under 100 dollars.

TheBest DIY Security Alert System for your driveway that we would recommend is the “Amazon Choice” Guardline Wireless Driveway Alarm- Top Rated Outdoor Weatherproof Motion Sensor & Detector. Click here for current Amazon price.

38 – Beware Of Advertising Items For Sale Online

Advertising on Kijiji, Craigslist, Facebook, or any other place gives criminals information that you might not want to share. An excellent burglary prevention tip is not to indicate your specific location when posting an item for sale. Some people post their home address shown on a map; I would recommend against t doing such a thing. Telling people what city you live in is enough information. When meeting a potential buyer, meet them somewhere away from your home in a public area.

39 – Buy And Hide An Indoor Safe

Buying a safe to place your most treasured belongings is only half the battle, you need to secure the safe in a location where a robber won’t find it. You can place it in a safe room, or you can even build a hidden compartment inside your home. An attic is also a great place to hide a safe. A robber might open the attic door and look around, so make sure the safe is not close to the door or somewhere that you can see from that location.

40 – Learn Basic Self Defence

If a criminal does enter your home, it certainly won’t hurt to learn some self-defense techniques. You don’t need to have a black belt in martial arts but learning the necessary self-defense skills could become your saving grace.

41 – How To Prevent Package Pirates

Package Pirates are thieves that steal packages that companies like UPS drop at the front door of peoples homes. Package Pirate Theft is more common than it should be. UPS is one carrier that allows you to set up a delivery time window if you aren’t home when the package is supposed to be dropped off. If you’re not home during the day, you can ask them to hold it at the nearest UPS office for a later pick up.

42 – Know Who The Neighborhoods Troublemakers Are

Knowing who the neighborhood troublemakers are is another excellent situational awareness tip. Learn who the neighborhood troublemakers are and make sure you know what they look like. If you know who these hooligans are, and notice them suspiciously roaming around homes, you’ll know to call the authorities and probably prevent a burglary.

43 – Don’t Hide All Your Cash In The Same Spot

Many preppers make it a point to leave some cash inside the house in case ATM’s and credit cards are none functional due to a disaster of sorts. Split your money into a few bundles and hide it in a few different places. Chances are if a robber finds one stack of cash, they will most likely think they found all of it since most people leave all their cash in the same spot.

44 – Get A Dog

Yup, You should get yourself a dog, a big dog. Need I say more?

Conclusion

Disruptive events like a home robbery can happen anytime and anywhere. We hope that these home robbery prevention tips help in ensuring that your home doesn’t become a thief’s next target.

I have selected some great items that will help you secure your home from a robbery.

These are items we talk about in this article.

Master Lock Key Box; This key safe is similar to mine and holds five keys. The best thing about it is if you or your children are accidentally locked out of your home, this will allow you to get back inside. Click here for current Amazon price.

Keypad Pushbutton Deadbolt : Here is another good security option, With keypad pushbutton deadbolt, you will never

have to worry about locking yourself out, plus, you can secure the deadbolt from inside the house. Click here for current Amazon price.

Motion Sensor Outdoor Lights; This a cheap burglary prevention product that you can install yourself in a matter of minutes. I have two of these, one in the front of the house and one by my back door. Click here to check it out on Amazon.

GE Personal Security Window/Door Alarm (2 pack) : These are fantastic at a reasonable price point. They have 120-decibel alarms, loud enough to make a would-be intruder think twice about entering through your doors or windows. Plus, you do not need to be a technical wizard to use them; very intuitive. Click here for current Amazon price.

Sabre Compact Pepper Spray with Key Ring : The portability of this pepper spray adds to its appeal since it can be easily carried on a key ring or in a handbag or backpack. You can also easily hide it close to the door for quick and easy access. Click here for current Amazon Price.

Sabre Family Home & Property Protection Pepper Spray: This small fire extinguisher-style pepper spray delivers a strong blast covering an entire doorway. Offering efficient protection, SABRE provides distance from your threat with its 30-foot range. It even includes a wall mount. Click here to check it out on Amazon.

Fortress Security Store Wireless Home Security Alarm System; First off, I was amazed to find this complete wireless alarm system for under $100 on Amazon. It’s also currently an “Amazon Choice” product. It’s not connected to the police department but you can program it to call a phone number of your choice if someone trips the alarm.

Click here for current Amazon price.

Here is the full interview with Micheal Durden “Inside The Mind Of A Thief / Burglar Confessions”