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As a home owner, home defense is something you have to always be concerned about. As hard times increase, so does the chance of burglary or home invasion. You can’t just assume that you will never become the victim of such an invasion, which is why you must take the proper steps to become prepared for it.
Home defense isn’t just about defending your home from intruders. It’s also about protecting your possessions, yourself, and your family. This is why knowing even basic home defense techniques is essential.
Here are the top five tips for home defense:
Fortify Your Doors and Windows
Your doors and windows are the most obvious points of entry into your home, which is why they need to be fortified first.
The first thing you need to change out on your doors, at least on your doors that lead outside, are the locks and hinges. Have all of your hinges and locks on your outside doors removed. Replace them with heavy duty variations that are more difficult to break into.
Most doors on Americans homes, are made out of wood or some other easily breakable material. So even if a burglar fails to break your locks or hinges, they could still beat down the door itself first with little more than a sledgehammer or even a rifle stock. All of your doors that lead outside should be constructed out of metal so they cannot be easily broken down.
If an intruder fails to break through your doors, the windows will be their next target. In fact, a burglar may actually go for your windows before the doors.
Your windows should also be replaced with alternatives that are not so easily broken down. The best material for windows is acrylic glass, which you will find under names such as Plexiglas, Lucite, and Acrylite. Acrylic glass looks just like normal glass, but is far more difficult to break through.
Keep Your Home Defense Gun(s) Within Easy Reach
You have a variety of different tools available at your disposal to home defense, but easily the most effective of those tools is a firearm.
Regardless of which specific firearm you opt to use for home defense two things need to be done . Your firearm needs to be secured, and within easy reach of you.
The best solution here is to purchase a fingerprint identification safe that you keep right next to your bed or nightstand. This way, your home defense gun is kept out of the hands of children or visitors in your home, but it’s also easily accessible by you.
Some would even recommend that you should carry a pistol on you at all times in your home, because even if you have a shotgun in a closet you may not be able to get to it in time or could be blocked off from the intruder depending on where they entered.
Have A Guard Dog
Not only are guard dogs highly intimidating to intruders, they be able to sense danger before you do and will alert you to it. You could then grab your gun and run to investigate instead of being caught off guard.
The moment an intruder hears your dog barking, they may turn around and run for fear of being caught. This is why even small dogs don’t make horrible guard dogs; even though they’re not intimidating, they are equally alert as larger breeds.
If you can’t have a guard dog for whatever reason or just don’t want one, at the very least you could set up a “Beware of Dog” sign on your property. It’s amazing how effective these kinds of signs and posters are at deterring criminals.
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Have A Safe Room
A safe room is any room where you and your family can retreat to in the event of a home invasion. Your safe room needs to fulfill several criteria. It should be hidden and not so obvious. The door must be locked so no one from the outside can get in easily even if they do find it. Be sure the room is well stocked with supplies such as food, water, ammunition, and first aid equipment.
In a disaster scenario, your safe room could be where your family retreats to stay clear of the danger where you. In a simple home invasion, it could be where you send your children while you go to confront the danger.
Never Make It Seem Like No One Is Home
This is perhaps the most overlooked home defense tip of all. Experienced burglars are always on the lookout for homes they know are empty.
There are multiple steps you can take to make it seem like someone is home. Don’t announce your vacation plans on social media. Load up your car for vacation in your garage rather than out in your driveway. Be sure to keep the lights and TV on even when you’re not around.
