\nIn many cases, all it takes to keep a burglar out is a locked door. But some burglars are a bit craftier and may use one of these more creative methods to break into your home.\n
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\u201cMost burglars aren\u2019t using ladders or ropes or digging holes to get into your home,\u201d says Emily Patterson, a home security expert for ASecureLife.com. According to her research, an overwhelming majority of burglars enter homes through the doors and windows. Thirty-four percent use the front door, while 22 percent get in through the back door. Twenty-three percent use first-floor windows. And oftentimes, those doors and windows aren\u2019t even locked. \u201cThe overwhelming number of burglars are unskilled people who go through open or unlocked windows and doors,\u201d says Leonard Sipes, the former director of information services for the National Crime Prevention Council. \u201cSimply locking windows and doors will prevent most burglaries.\u201d\n
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A secluded backyard is a burglar\u2019s dream\u2026 and can be a homeowner\u2019s nightmare, as it was in the case of Brian Shell. Burglars broke into his home in January 2017. \u201cIt was done via my back window, which faced a lake, so [there were] no backyard neighbors bordering it,\u201d Shell told Reader\u2019s Digest. One of the burglars threw a moldy tree log through the window to keep their fingerprints off of it and climbed into the house through the broken window\u2014so burglars are willing to use whatever\u2019s around to break in and maintain secrecy. \u201cMy backyard is pretty secluded,\u201d Shell said. \u201cThat\u2019s what helped them.\u201d\n
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Seclusion was also the problem for Arizona resident Nancy Gretzinger. At her former home, which was broken into multiple times, \u201cthere was an empty lot and cemetery behind the house.\u201d Several houses in her neighborhood had fenced in the backyard with wooden slats, which burglars were easily able to climb to access her property. They broke a window leading to her kitchen and climbed in.\n
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When burglars can\u2019t get in through human entrances to your house, they may try to get in through the animal entrances. Robert Sollars, the security expert, knows this all too well. \u201cThere are innumerable instances of doors being secured but the burglar coming in through the kitty door,\u201d he advises. \u201cNot all burglars are six-foot-two and 200 pounds. They can slither through those openings as well as a snake.\u201d One of the burglaries Nancy Gretzinger experienced was committed in this very way. \u201cThey came in a medium-small doggie door,\u201d she said. So, pet owners, keep your pet doors secure as well.\n
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\u201cA lot of people believe that you need to have a really sturdy front door to prevent burglars from breaking in,\u201d says home security expert Aaron Hall. \u201cWhile this is a good idea, [many] burglars actually break in through back doors and windows.\u201d If your front door seems impenetrable, a burglar might move on to the other doors, which tend to be weaker than the front one. \u201cMost people\u2019s back doors are the ones that are the least sturdy, and a burglar can kick the door open with one well-placed kick,\u201d warns Hall. Make sure your back door is as sturdy as possible, with a deadbolt in place. Windows, too, can provide an easy entry for a burglar foiled by the front door. \u201cAluminum window sills are easily breakable, so you should think about replacing those if you have them,\u201d Hall suggests.\n
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Front and back doors aren\u2019t the only ones burglars can use to access your home and its valuables. \u201cPeople\u2026 forget to protect side doors, back doors, garage doors, and doors that lead into the house from the garage,\u201d says Liz Martinez, a former investigator and criminal justice instructor at Carrington College. She adds that these entrances can also be more beneficial to would-be burglars because they\u2019re better hidden. \u201cMake sure these secondary entrance doors are metal and have appropriate locks,\u201d Martinez advises. \u201cAlso, be sure that any other types of entrances are protected, such as skylights.\u201d\n
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\u201cBreaking in\u201d is never a more fitting term than when a burglar encounters a locked door and decides to bust open the door anyway. This is a fairly unlikely method of burglary since it\u2019s more likely to attract suspicion, but a skilled burglar may be able to do it. Some bring tools specifically with the intention of bypassing locks and bolts. \u201cBurglars will often use tools like crowbars or credit cards to slip through locks or pry open entryways,\u201d Hall says. Bruce Ailion, a realtor and attorney, adds, \u201cFor [houses] with a standard lock and no other security, the easy way to [gain] access is with a pipe wrench.\u201d\n
Ailion warns that more skilled thieves may even have taken online locksmith courses, or acquired pick guns or bump keys, in hopes of getting past deadbolts. \u201cIf that fails, a power drill will get through a deadbolt in a few minutes,\u201d warns Ailion.\n
Skilled burglars may also have tools specifically for getting through windows: \u201cWindows with old-fashioned locks are easily accessed with a putty knife,\u201d Ailion says. Hall has some advice for foiling even tool-equipped burglars. \u201cThe best remedies\u2026 are strong doors, window sills, and deadbolt locks,\u201d he says.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In many cases, all it takes to keep a burglar out is a locked door. But some burglars are a bit craftier and may use one of these more creative methods to break into your home. 1. Most of the time, they\u2019re not \u201cbreaking\u201d in at all \u201cMost burglars aren\u2019t using ladders or ropes or\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12589,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"In many cases, all it takes to keep a burglar out is a locked door. But some burglars are a bit craftier and may use one of these more creative methods to break into your home.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[30,149,46,31],"class_list":{"0":"post-12536","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tie-life-style","8":"tag-household-hacks","9":"tag-household-problems","10":"tag-life-hacks","11":"tag-tips"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/legendstitch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/1.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legendstitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legendstitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legendstitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legendstitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legendstitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/legendstitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12536\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legendstitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legendstitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legendstitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legendstitch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}