Top 24 DIY Home Security Tips and Tricks You Need to Defeat Master Burglars

You, a home owner or a renter, must love the idea that your home is safe and secure.

BUT, peace of mind should never cost a fortune or come with a monthly price.

Here we collect the top 24 easy and simple DIY home security tips and tricks without the need to shell out big bucks. And you are welcomed to add more DIY home security tips that we may miss out.

Note: We've summed up the other 21 ways to help you burglar-proof your home. Check them out!

10 Things Burglars Don’t Want You to Know

Before we get down to the DIY home security tips, it is important to know what your enemy -- the burglars, are thinking about in their minds.

Now let’s look through the top 10 things burglars won' want you to know and you may conclude more best DIY home security tips from master burglars.

• 60% burglars weigh the presence of your home security cameras systems and more than 40% would choose a softer target.

• 90% convicted burglars would avoid targeting at your home if you have alarm systems installed.

• Burglars like to break into homes during daytime hours when you and your family are away at work or school.

• Trash cans, recycling bins, newspapers and an overgrown lawn are the signs a burglar will look for to tell whether your home is occupied.

• Over 30% burglars entered a home through an unlocked door, window and other opening without force.

• If you home has big fences and overgrown trees or bushes, burglars would prefer to use them as cover-up.

• Burglars would knock on your front door before breaking in. If someone answers the door they will just come up with some bogus stories.

• Most burglars fear you might be home if they hear a radio or TV.

• Burglars would go straight to the master bedroom and rarely go to a kid’s bedroom.

• Two things burglars hate most: your loud dogs and nosy neighbors.

Top 24 DIY Home Security Tips & Tricks

To avoid your home becoming the low-hanging fruit, follow the DIY home security tips and tricks below and see what DIY home security improvements can work for you.

1. Install DIY Home Security Cameras

Mounting security cameras is one of the most effective home security tips and tricks, as the homes with security systems are 300% less likely to be broken into.

If you prefer the DIY home security cameras and systems with simple installation and low cost, check out the best recommendations in 2021 as well as the unsecured IP camera list.
The front doors, windows, basements and garages are the common places where burglars break in. So follow this DIY home security tip to place your security cameras at the most critical places.

Watch the video below to see how a home security camera prevents an attempted break-in (captured by Reolink RLC-410 ).

Pro Tip: Should you resort to a fake/dummy security camera if you are on a tight budget? Read this before you make your choice.

2. Put Up Yard Signs & Security Stickers

Putting up yard signs and security stickers is an easy and cheap DIY home security tip you may use, but will the fake security signs really ward off would-be intruders?

Probably NOT!

Though the fake security signs will make an opportunistic burglar think twice about breaking into your property, they may fail to fool the experienced tech burglars.

So it is a safer choice to actually install a security system and have your home monitored.

Pro Tip: Don’t display the brand of your security camera on the yard sign because the burglars might look for possible ways to hack into your security system.

3. Hide Your Home’s Exterior Wirings

To avoid burglars cutting off your home power supply to disable your home security systems or alarms, an effective DIY home security tip is to hide all the wirings hanging on the exterior of your home, rendering no opportunity for burglars to disconnect the wires.

4. Put Away Ladders, Hammers and Other Tools

Make sure your ladders, pry bars, big screwdrivers, hammers and the like are chained and placed properly where they should be.

This easy home security tip can prevent the tools falling into the wrong hands of burglars and being used against you as burglar tools.

5. Prevent Package Boxes from Leaking Info

Leaving the electric boxes on your porch delivers the message to criminals that you have valuable things in your house. An improvised home security idea you can adopt is to tear down the boxes or haul them to the dump right away.

6. Keep Your Landscape Neat

Tall and thick shrubs or trees around your windows and doors are the perfect places for burglars to hide themselves.

A simple DIY home security tip you can apply is to regularly keep your lawn mowed and bushes trimmed, leaving the burglars nowhere to conceal.

Besides, you can plant some inhospitable or offensive plants, such as thorny bushes, cactus, bougainviilleas, etc. Even a small scratch can provide you with DNA evidence when needed.

7.Place Car Keys Near Your Bed

Keeping your car keys near your bed while you sleep is also one of the top home security tips that prove to be useful.

In case you hear any abnormal sound in your garage, you can press the car alarm panic button to scare away the potential thief who tries to break into your car.

8. Keep Your Garden Furniture & Decorations Out of Sight

Don’t leave your garden furniture, lawn decorations, bikes and other valuable items unattended or in plain sight, since they might be the targets of the opportunist thieves. (Watch the news of lawn decorations being stolen in Springettsbury Township.)

When the yard and garden items are not in use, storing them properly in your garage or sheds is a simple way to improve your home security.

9. Enhance Door Security

Improving your door security is never an out-of-date home security idea with 34% burglars entering through the front door and 22% home burglars using the back door.

You can consider adding some DIY home security gadgets, such as fitting London or Birmingham bars to the door frame, or installing a strike plate with a stronger box strike model with longer screws and a full metal enclosure to prevent the doors being kicked in.

Editor's Tip: Learn more home security tips and tricks to secure your doors.

10. Install a Peephole

This is an inexpensive home security idea to add a peephole to your home security lineup. So you can see who’s at your door before you open it.

And no matter what kind of doors you have, it’s quite easy and budget-accessible to install a peephole.

11. Secure Home Windows

It is reported that 23% burglars get access to the home through a first floor window. Remember to keep all windows of your home closed and locked when you are out.

Besides the window locks, this is also a cheap DIY home security strategy to outfit your windows with window alarm sensors. Iron bars on your windows can also make your home burglar resistant. And there are companies specializing in decorative window bars that are beautiful and artistic.

Bonus: Read more easy DIY ways to secure your home windows.

12. Close Your Blinds and Curtains

This DIY home security tip and trick will make it hard to prowlers to tell if there is anything worth stealing inside your home and if your house is unoccupied. So get yourself into the habit of closing your blinds, especially when you are not at home.

13. Invest in Home Security Alarms

Installing home security alarms is also an inexpensive DIY home security idea that can scare the burglars away.

Besides being vandal-proof, there are also other types of home security alarms, such as carbon-monoxide alarms and smoke alarms to improve your home security in an all-round manner.

14. Create an Inventory of Your Valuables

It is an easy home security tip to keep a record of your valuable items with models and serial numbers (pictures and videos are even better).

In the unfortunate case that your belongings get stolen, your inventory list can help lodge claims and recover your possessions if the thieves are caught.

15. Store Away Important Files to Avoid Identity Thefts

Mind that your identity information is also valuable. If you have social security cards, bank and credit cards or other sensitive documents at home, make sure they are placed in the secure places.

And this is also an important DIY home security tip to shred the hard copies of files you no longer need to reduce the likelihood of identity thefts.

16. Be Smart in Hide-and-Seek Games

The burglars now are smart enough to check the freezers, pillows and closets looking for valuables, but there are still some hidden places they can never think of, such as the your kid’s room, bathtub, wall art, air vents, etc (check more secret hiding places that will fool the smartest burglars).

17. Install Light Timers

Mounting lights timer is an also expensive DIY home security idea, which can turn on your lights automatically at a certain time every evening. It is especially suitable for you if you come back home late every day or you are going to be away from home for long periods.

18. Teamwork Makes for Improved Home Security

Burglars love neighborhoods where the neighbors do not talk to one another.

Partnering with your neighbors and joining the neighborhood watch are the simple ways to improve home security by observing and reporting suspicious activities in your community.

19. Carry Non-Lethal Protection Tools with You

Whether you have the right to own guns in your residence, there are multiple of other handy non-lethal self-protection tools you can take advantage of to improve home security, such as pepper-spray, stun guns, kubotans, self-defense batons, knives, etc.

Trivial as this home security tip and trick sounds, it can make a great difference in emergencies.

20. Be a Smart Traveler

When you need to be away for a long time, the best DIY home security tip you should bear in mind is to be a smart traveler and leave a false impression that someone is at home.

For example, you can ask a neighbor to pick up your mail every day while you are away or ask the post office to hold your mail until you return. Invite your friends to stay over and turn on your TV or radio loudly.

21. Never Reveal Your Whereabouts on Social Media

Keep in a low profile if you are away for a vacation. It is much easier than you think for the burglars to find your place, so broadcasting your updates on the social media is equal to inviting the burglars to your home.

A feasible DIY home security tip you can employ is to share your experience until you come back home.

22. Get a Safe

Getting a safe in your home is a budget-friendly DIY home security tip and great for keeping your valuables secure from burglars as well as fires.

Depending on the size of the safe and what you're going to protect, you can hide the safe in the wall, under the bed or somewhere that is not easily accessible to the burglars.

The absolute worst place to keep your safe is in the garage, which is at a high risk for burglary.

23. Hide Spare Keys in Reliable Places

Burglars would search for the spare keys at places like under a rock, under the door mat, in a plant, near the door and etc before they break into your house.

If the burglars see you repeatedly reaching in the same place before you enter your home, they’ll grasp the fact that you’ve hidden a key there. A more useful DIY home security tip to give your spare key to a neighbor you trust.

24. Get a Barking Guard Dog

The dogs are not only your best companions but also the great deterrents to burglars. Some dogs, however, are happy to greet almost anyone. Therefore, it is an essential DIY home security tip to properly train a dog to guard your home.

First of all, you should select a breed that is not only trainable, but is bright enough to sustain the training you give him, such as a German Shepherd or a Belgian Malinois. Teach your dog basic obedience and keep practicing every day. When the training is complete, allow your dog to roam freely around.

Conclusion

The ultimate aim of these DIY home security tips and tricks is NOT to make your home absolutely burglar-roof, but to improve your home security and reduce the likelihood of your home becoming the softest target.