Garage Safety - Home Security Tips

When examining your home, there are a lot of vulnerable areas that may need more safety attention than you initially thought. We are starting a series to be able to investigate how to make each room in your home safer with tips to help give you the peace of mind for your home security.

9% of the time, burglars will enter the house through the garage. As you’re looking around your home and looking at protecting each form of entry, the garage is a great place to start. We have gathered our top tips to be able to protect your home and your garage.

1. Install a security camera

Have you thought about placing a wireless security camera in your garage? A garage security camera is a great way to know who and what is coming in and out of the garage, especially if you have cars parked inside. With a motion detection security camera like the Toucan Wireless Outdoor Camera, you can receive instant notifications to your phone to see when the garage door is being opened to track your garage activity, see when your family is coming home through the garage or if an unknown person is sneaking around your room. A great perk about home security cameras is being able to always pull up a live feed on your phone to check whenever you want and especially to have it readily available for easy access when you have a notification.

 

 

2. Keep your garage and outside area properly lit.

Burglars like to lurk and move against the dark shadows of your garage and side yard to avoid being seen and caught in their act. To prevent those dark pockets around your home to have someone hide in, make sure your home has bright and proper outdoor lighting. The more lighting around a home, the larger the threat to a burglar of being caught which could be enough for them to avoid your house altogether. Outdoor security cameras with strong night vision can help capture those dark spots to see when or if someone is using those spots to hide away in.

3. Close the garage door (always!)

Even if you’re coming in and out of the house and the garage, your garage is still a threat to potential theft. If you’re doing work around your house and move around the house, it’s still important to keep your garage closed as often. as you can. According to the FBI, a burglary on average was between 90 seconds and 12 minutes.  Just a 5 - 10 minute trip in the backyard can put your home in danger.

PRO TIP: Can’t remember if you closed your garage door? Install a security camera on the inside so you can pull up your camera live feed on your phone to see if the garage door is closed before driving back from work to check!

4. Cover your garage windows

The garage is typically the place to keep some of your special belongings but could also be one of the first places to look for some treasures. Thieves looking around homes typically go for a home that has loose security with expensive items displayed by the windows for easy access. The windows on your garage are no different. The best way to cover those windows is blinds, curtains, or a form of film over your window that prevents anyone from looking inside. A security camera outside your garage is a good way to see if anyone is looking through these windows and see if anyone is lurking around the area when you are not present. 

5. Rethink where you place your garage remote.

One of the most typical places to put your garage remote is the visor in the front passenger seat of your car. This garage door remote is the second key to your home! f you forget to lock your car and the garage remote is available in plain sight, it could be the reason a few belongings from your garage go missing. It’s best to place your garage remote in a different location that is hidden and harder to find or get in the habit of carrying it with you throughout the day with the rest of your keys.

6. Cover up your emergency garage door release cord

Did you know a burglar can use a coat hanger to open your garage door in under a minute? It’s common within the last few years for thieves to use a coat hanger through the top of your garage door to pull the emergency cord to gain access to the garage. To avoid this entry, it’s best to zip tie your release cord, cut it off completely, or use a garage shield to cover the area. 

Want to keep your emergency cord available for yourself in case you’re locked out? Placing a security camera facing toward your garage to see when it’s open and closed can help you monitor when it’s being opened by you or someone else. In case someone does try to break in through this way, you will receive a notification from your Toucan Wireless Outdoor Camera that motion has been detected and you can utilize a siren or an emergency call from where ever you are.

7. Keep your side door closed and locked

This one may be obvious but I’ve lived in a few different homes and sometimes this rule wasn’t always enforced. Nearly 1 in 5 people interviewed in 2019 said they don’t lock their doors.  Whether your garage side door is located behind a fence or in front of one, it’s important to go back and check this area throughout the day. If you have a garage connecting to your house, making sure the connecting door is locked too is also crucial to make the most of your home security.  Make sure to check the locks often and change them right when they feel slightly loose.

8. If your garage door remote is older, check to see if there is an updated version. 

Did you know garage door openers could be hacked? I didn’t! If available, check out your garage model and see if it’s possible to get the newest model of your remote. It takes less than 10 minutes to watch a Youtube video on how to hack into a garage remote if the burglars are aware of the model of your garage and access to the remote, this could be a higher threat than before. 

9. Lock up your tools

In case there is someone in your home and your garage, having your tools locked away is important for your everyday family safety incase someone unauthorized or untrained on how to safely handle tools open the cabinets and drawers open. In the situation that someone does break into your garage, having your tools always locked away keeps the chance of the burglar using a weapon to further invade your home much lower.

The best way to get serious about your garage safety and security is by installing security cameras inside and outside your garage like the Toucan Wireless Outdoor Camera to be able to monitor all the risks and make sure your garage door is closed and your belongings are kept safe.