You buy a home security system to defend against thieves, but there are more threats than just masked robbers outside your home. Garages, sheds, other outside buildings, and vehicles parked long-term can be just as much of a draw to crooks as your main house. To fully protect your home, you’ll need to know some of the best-hidden home security secrets.
Does your security system cover those? Probably not. What about a snooping guest, curious child or even someone working in your home, like a contractor, getting into places they shouldn’t? You won’t know until it’s too late.
Fortunately, the security system protecting your home’s exterior can also protect essential things on the inside.
One of my top home security secrets
A staple of any security system is the entry sensor. This uses two pieces — a sensor and a magnet — to tell if a window or door has been opened. You can attach an entry sensor to more than just a door or window. It helps to have a security system that lets you set silent alerts for individual sensors.
Instead of triggering a full-blown alarm, you’ll get a silent notification. It also helps if the sensors are wireless, so you don’t have to run easy-to-see and easy-to-cut cables everywhere. For this, we recommend our sponsor, SimpliSafe.
Now, let’s jump into three ways to monitor more than doors and windows.
1. Medicine and liquor cabinets
Are you worried about a party guest, someone working in your home or even a grandchild snooping in your medicine cabinet or stealing prescription drugs? Attach an entry sensor to your medicine cabinet. You’ll get an alert as soon as someone opens it.
This is also a good idea for liquor cabinets if teens are in the house. You can decide whether or not to tell them it’s there.
2. Safes and gun cabinets
You want to know the minute someone opens your safe. An entry sensor inside the door can do that, and the snooper won’t even know it’s there. Yes, a good safe will keep out snoops and thieves, but someone close to you — like a family member — might know the combination.
If you have a gun cabinet, it should always be locked when you aren’t around, period. If you have children in the house or even grandchildren who occasionally visit, an extra level of protection is never bad.
Put the entry sensor on the gun cabinet door so you know when someone opens it. You can set this to trigger an alarm so you can be there in seconds.
3. Outside buildings and parked vehicles
A detached shed, garage, or other outdoor building is a tempting target for thieves, especially if they don’t want to test your home’s security. You’ll definitely want to put some sensors on those.
If you have an RV or trailer parked on your land, thieves also like to target those. Who knows what stuff you’ve left inside? Again, a wireless entry sensor is perfect for these situations. You don’t have to run wires everywhere, and they’re inexpensive and simple to install.
If you don’t have a security system, or your current system won’t do what I’ve just described, then we want to tell you about SimpliSafe.
Best home security system
If you have 30 minutes to spare, you can set it up yourself — no drills or holes necessary. It’s inexpensive, and no-contract monitoring saves you money while giving you complete peace of mind that the pros are there if you ever need help. You can control everything from your smartphone or tablet.
SimpliSafe offers wireless entry sensors you can set up individually to fully control. The Secret Alerts setting is excellent. With this, you get private notifications from specific sensors you designate on an “alert-only” setting. These sensors won’t trigger a system alarm but send a discreet notification directly to you.
A single base station from SimpliSafe can have up to 100 devices programmed into it, including sensors, keypads and sirens. That’s enough to outfit your entire property. Add sensors for motion, smoke, carbon monoxide, water and frozen pipes, and you have everything you need.
