A garage is a place that many homeowners use as storage. Many people store valuable items inside their garage or use it as a space to get creative with home renovation projects, making it a gold mine for thieves. While many homeowners spend tons of money on keeping their front door and windows secure they often neglect the garage door. With the right garage door and appropriate security measures, you can reduce the risk of potential break-ins and keep your belongings and your family safe. Below, we’ll go through five garage door security tips to protect your belongings and prevent burglars from breaking in.
1. Keep Your Garage Door Closed and Your Belongings Concealed
This may seem like a no-brainer, but forgetting to close the garage door is more common than you think. Many people forget to close their garage door after they arrive home or finish work inside their garage. If this sounds like something you might do, you can always consider using a garage door monitor. The monitor will come with a sensor that will alert you when your door is open.
If you have windows on your garage door and want to maintain natural light inside your garage, you can use a translucent window film that will allow light to come through but will heavily distort the view of your belongings. Interior curtains or blinds can also help shield your belongings from wandering eyes while still allowing natural light into your garage.
2. Keep Your Clicker on a Key Chain
Don’t keep your automatic garage door remote clipped to your visor or anywhere inside your vehicle, instead use a keyring that you can attach to your car keys. Thieves know that a garage door opener remote is basically like another key into your home and leaving it inside your car leaves you vulnerable to a break-in. If they can find the clicker inside your car, they’ll use it to gain access. By keeping your garage door remote on a keychain, you’ll still be able to use the clicker to open your door when you come and go, but the device will stay inside with you where burglars can’t get to it. Another option is to get a smart garage door opener to open and close your garage door from anywhere via your smartphone.
3. Motion Activated Lights
A well-lit home is always less likely to be broken into. Burglars like the cover of night and many of them rely on the dark shadows around your garage to hide their shady attempts to get into your home. Installing motion-activated floodlights near the garage windows and doors will make burglars think twice about attempting a nighttime break-in. Choose lights that can detect movement from a significant distance so a person can’t even make it up your driveway before being bathed in light.
4. Sheild Your Lock/Lock the Track
Thanks to YouTube, we now know how easy it is for a thief with a coat hanger to open your garage door in under a minute. While some people recommend using a zip tie to secure the garage door lock or cutting the emergency release cord, these methods can reduce your garage door’s safety. Instead, consider using a garage door shield to cover the emergency release cord. A Garage Shield covers your garage door’s emergency release cord, making it impossible for a thief to use it to break in. It’s inexpensive and easy to install, but it increases your garage door security while still keeping the release cord accessible in case of emergencies.
Another way to make sure your garage door is locked is to secure a padlock just above the roller, preventing the garage door from opening. It will be impossible for a burglar to open the door without unlocking the padlock, which they could only do if they were already inside.
5. Consider Investing in a Smart Opener
Many homeowners are starting to use doorbell cameras to monitor their front door and receive notifications each time someone approaches the door. You can use similar security cameras with motion sensors for your garage door. With a smart garage door opener, you get added safety features such as a monitor, self-closing and locking system, lighting controls, and smartphone connection. Some of these cameras even allow you to use your smartphone to speak with the person outside. Even if someone can force your garage door open, you’ll get an alert on your phone, allowing you to contact the authorities immediately.
The best option for securing your garage door with a smart opener would be to purchase a model that works with an automatic smart lock. We recommend Lift Master’s 8500W garage door opener. Its built-in Wi-Fi allows for smartphone control with the myQ® app and its Automatic Garage Door Lock feature deadbolts your door after closing. You can even enable secure in-garage delivery for Amazon Prime packages.
If you’re interested in upgrading your garage door opener, or if you have some concerns about the security of your garage, you should consider getting in contact with Haney Door Service. Our team of highly skilled professionals can guide you through the process of selecting the garage door opener that best fits your needs. You can schedule an appointment for a free estimate with us online or reach out to us at (916) 534-4538.