How to make a garage door more secure

Your garage and garage door are typically weak links in home security. According to ADT Security Services, as many as 9% of burglars come through the garage door. It’s easy to forget to lock the garage — and even easier to forget to lock the door leading from your home to the garage. The good news is that there are ways to keep your garage door safe and prevent garage door break-ins.

How to secure your garage door

You could also add security to your outside garage service door. Just as you protect your front and back doors with deadbolts, you should do the same to secure your garage door. For additional garage door protection, add a strike plate to reduce the chance of thieves kicking down the door and a deadbolt to make it more difficult to pick. Also, consider placing a security camera within your garage for added security.

Finally, consider placing shades on your garage windows. If a thief can’t see through the windows to scope out any prizes, it makes your home a less appealing target. Learn more about how homeowners insurance covers theft and other structures coverage.

Tips for preventing garage door break-ins

When securing a garage, most people focus their outdoor lighting on their homes and windows but not as much around their garages. Garages are viewed more for utility, where tools and holiday decorations are stored, and homeowners tend to neglect the landscaping areas. Follow these tips for garage door protection and preventing garage door break-ins.

Light it up

One of the easiest ways to protect your garage from break-ins is to light it up. You remove places a would-be thief could hide by lighting up the area and trimming back bushes. Installing motion-activated lights makes it harder for a thief to move around your home without attracting attention, too.

Use smart technology

The next step to prevent garage door break-ins is investing in a smart door opener. It’s easy to forget to close your garage, especially if you’re leaving the house in a hurry. Smart garage door openers can alert you if the door is left wide open and even allow you to close it remotely. Many can close it after 30 seconds if no motion is detected, meaning you don’t have to worry about whether it’s open or closed.

Install a garage shield

Look for the emergency release cord on your garage door. You can install a small garage shield that prevents it from being opened from outside the garage while retaining all the safety the emergency release brings to someone inside. You don’t want to disable it, as you might not be able to open the door in an emergency.