Ways to Prevent a Garage Door Break-Ins

In ancient days castles where kept safe with the use of large walls and deep moats, archer towers and standing armies. Your home may be your castle but it's now impossible to rely on these old measures. Just about every modern home is susceptible to a break in if the proper precautions aren’t taken, with one of the most overlooked areas being the garage. These areas are often left unlocked, but even if they aren’t there's a range of different ways burglars can get in. Thankfully these methods are easily overcome with a combination of mindfulness, maintenance, and tricks. Below you'll find ways to prevent a garage door break-in.

Good Habits

The best way to fix any weaknesses in a garage door is to completely prevent them in the first place; in order to do this, you must have certain mindfulness. To put it in perspective, imagine leaving your front door unlocked. This is practically inviting evildoers to barge right into your home and steal your stuff. With older garages, you need to engage the locking mechanisms when the garage isn’t being used. Those that are fortunate to have an automatic opener means only hitting a button is necessary. One of the easiest ways burglars break into a garage is through this very same opener. Many openers come outfitted with some sort remote that people mindlessly leave in their cars. Not only does this make the potential of a thief getting into your home more likely, but gives them more of an incentive to break into your car if they so desire. It doesn’t matter how well you keep everything locked down and hide the remotes if your garage door isn’t properly maintained. A rusted and rattled up door will fold easily, so spending some time to keep it in working order is not only an aesthetic choice but a safety choice as well. Spend at least once a season checking for any erosion and battering of the gears and rails inside. Look to see that your opener is also in working order. Springs, chains, and straps should be properly replaced as needed by a professional. While it may seem small in the scheme of things, any weak point can be exploited and often will.

Solutions to Prevent Garage Door Break-Ins

Garage Maintenance and mindful practices are key, but there are many simple measures you can take that won’t put stress on your pocketbook. Automatic garage doors can be reinforced to protect against exploits in their design. A zip tie can be used to block a person from manipulating the emergency release handle with a coat hanger. Merely connect the zip tie around the emergency latch. A step above this is the garage shield. This piece of metal attaches to the release bar and stops any attack on it. A more extreme method involves removing the emergency latch all together. While this solves the problem, it does mean that in case of an emergency your garage door will be more difficult to open. Attaching a latch and padlock onto a shed to keep it secure is a common-sense solution. Why isn't it the same for a garage? If you’re leaving for vacation, think about getting a good lock to make sure that door is practically impossible to open. For extra protection try attaching the lock on the inside of the track. This will stop the door from being opened completely while you're away. Sliding bar locks are specific products built to attach to these tracks. They're inexpensive and easy to install.



One of the least expensive solutions involves merely tricking a would-be thief. Just like it's recommended to keep your lights on in your home when you're away so it looks like someone's home, there's a similar process for your garage. Burglars thrive in silence, so when they hear a sound they flee. Try turning on the radio. This gives the impression to outsiders that there's someone in the garage, demotivating them to go inside.

Hi-Tech Security

While all the above will do wonders to repel invaders, there are many technology solutions to securing your garage from break-in. Some of these involve ways that particularly target the door itself, while others are attachments that go around the garage.

Smart-Phone Incorporated Systems and Apps

The 21st-century solution to garage security is incorporating wireless smart technology, allowing users to keep track of their garage even from a distance. Notifications can be sent directly to your phone and you can open your garage with it as well. Integration can go even further with other home security and smart technology systems. These systems can be found in most modern day garage door openers along with other sensors and security products.

Keychain Openers

For those that want a portable opener but don’t want to risk the possibility of leaving it lying around or don’t have the money for higher-brow solutions, there are inexpensive keychain openers. As the name suggests, these openers attach to your keychain and are simple to use. They typically have anywhere from 3 to 4 buttons so you don’t have to worry about messing with any complicated apps.

Motion-Sensor Lights

Staying to the shadows is what robbers do best so shine some light on them to let everyone know they are there. Motion sensor lights typically come with two bulbs jutted out at a 90-degree angle of one another. This allows the driveway to be completely lit up with just the smallest bit of movement. For those that live in an area of consistent rain, make sure to get a model that's waterproof. Those in sunny areas should take advantage of a motion sensor light that's solar powered.

Alarms

Another way to draw attention to a thief is a loud-pitched alarm sound that lets everyone in the vicinity know that someone has either activated or broken into a garage without consent. Often found in most security systems around windows and door, garages are overlooked for some reason. There's a multitude of sensors and systems on the market today specifically tailored for garage doors.

Final Thoughts

Safety should be a priority for every homeowner and protecting against intruders is one way to ensure that. Stopping a home invasion from happening usually goes hand in hand with most basic maintenance procedures. With garage doors, this means to check them out at least once a season to see if they are working correctly, along with making sure you aren’t leaving them unlocked when away. You can stop clever robbers with a combination of simple tools and 21-century solutions. Things like zip ties and padlocks are all that's needed to keep your garage door from being pulled open. Electronic items like smart-technology operated openers, an integrated home security system, remote keychains, and motion-sensor lights can all be invested into your security system as well.

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