A garage can be much more than a place to park your car. For millions of Americans, the garage is a workshop, studio, storage space, or refuge from the world. The overhead garage door is a potential weak point in home security. The Garage Door Medics are offering these garage door security tips so that you have the peace of mind of knowing that your garage and your home have protection from theft and vandalism.
Don’t let any unauthorized person gain access to your garage and the important items within it. Protect them with these simple garage door security steps by professional garage door installers in Palm Desert from Garage Door Medics.
1) Make Sure Your Remote Has Security Features to Prevent Hacking
Garage door openers have been around for quite a long time. If you live in an older home and your garage door opener is a decade or more old, it might not have the security features you need to prevent 21st-century hackers from spoofing your garage door remote signal.
Modern garage door remotes use a rolling code, which means that the electronic signal that opens your garage door constantly changes. If a thief were to intercept your remote control signal on one occasion, they would not be able to use that same code again to open your garage.
Naturally, having a top-of-the-line garage door opener only provides security if you protect the garage door opener itself. Avoid leaving your remote control in your car, so thieves can’t steal it. Do not leave your garage door open and unattended, because thieves could seize the opportunity to tamper with your garage door opener and disable its security features.
2) Install Lighting Around Your Garage
Lighting around your garage can deter thieves because it forces them to work where they are visible. When used together with motion-activated sensors and cameras, lighting makes it difficult for thieves to gain access to your garage without leaving evidence behind.
If you have privacy fencing, shrubbery, and other landscaping features, make sure that they do not hide your garage from view. If a thief is present, you want to be able to see them, and you want your neighbors to be able to see them as well.
Windows and even the garage wall can be a point of attack. Be sure that your garage does not offer thieves any hidden places. Installing a garage lighting system around the perimeter of the garage and focusing on likely entry points will deter thieves and make them easier to spot.
3) Install a Motion Activated Security Camera
In addition to alerting you to intruders, a robust security system including a security camera keeps a record of who has been in the vicinity of your garage. If the lights go on around your garage, it helps to have a clear image of anyone hanging around. Some electronic doorbell systems allow you to communicate with a potential intruder. You can also turn photographic evidence over to the police.
4) Keep Valuable Objects Out of Sight in Your Garage
If a thief has not hacked your remote or had a chance to snoop around, your garage should be a mystery to them. Don’t leave tools, collectibles, or other valuables where the thief can see them, either by looking through the windows or watching from the street when the door is open. Use frosted glass windows and keep valuables hidden in the back of the garage.
5) Use a Fence to Keep Thieves Out of Your Yard
Having a gate across your driveway and around the perimeter of your yard presents an additional deterrent for would-be thieves. Not only will thieves have to risk a neighbor spotting them jumping the fence, but it also means the thief will have to climb back over the fence with your valuables in hand. Many thieves will pick a less well-defended target instead.
A wrought iron fence and gate is hard to climb and allows you and your neighbors to see through it, denying a thief privacy while they are trying to get into your garage. For added security, install cameras and lights on and around the fence.
6) Ask the Neighbors to Keep an Eye on Your Property
If you have a good relationship with your neighbors, ask them to keep an eye out for intruders or anyone acting suspiciously around your garage. A thief who wants to swipe anything heavy will probably park out front of your house, where their vehicle and license plate are visible. Eyewitness accounts will come in handy.
Neighborhood associations on social media and home security apps allow you to share video instantaneously with hundreds of security-conscious neighbors. If a thief is prowling the neighborhood, they might have the information you need to track the culprit down.
7) Check Your Locks
Reinforce all potential entry points into the garage. Check that the side exterior door to the garage has a sturdy lock and that you leave it locked whenever you’re not using it. Don’t leave spare keys anywhere a thief might stumble upon them.
If your garage and home are connected, install a sturdy, reinforced door between them with a deadbolt. Be sure that the door is locked when you are not using it. Keep a camera in your garage so that you can watch what the thief is doing and call the police before they can get into your house through the adjoining door.
8) Reinforce Your Garage Door
Install a lock or security bar on your main garage door so that someone can’t open it even if they have the remote. Reinforce the panels of your garage door so that a thief will not be able to kick them in. Installing struts and other reinforcements on your garage door has the added benefit of protecting your garage from storm damage and accidents.
For businesses and home garages with higher security needs, a security grille that rolls down over your garage door is another option. We partner with the best manufacturers of garage door security equipment to give you dependable protection.
Other Actions You Can Take to Protect Yourself from Theft
Even the most stringent garage door security won’t stop a determined thief. You can minimize your risk of losses from theft by taking other security measures.
Upgrade Your Homeowners Insurance Policy
Be sure that your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance covers objects within the garage and keep current on your premium payments. Take pictures of the items that you store in your garage so that you can tell if something is missing.
Don’t Keep Valuables in the Garage
If you are worried about your garage door security, move valuable items to the basement or a wall safe. Avoid talking about valuables in your garage or posting pictures of them on publicly accessible social media sites. Thieves will be unlikely to risk jail time or injury unless they believe there is something valuable inside.
Keep your Garage Safe with the Garage Door Medics
Palm Springs, CA is a great place to live in many ways, but it is hardly crime-free. Don’t let yourself become a victim of theft in your home or garage. At the Garage Door Medics, our technicians understand garage door security.
Call 888-997-2423 for a security audit of your current garage door opener and an estimate for a garage door security upgrade. We’ll do everything we can to provide you with the garage door system you need at a price that fits your budget. Ask about our commercial rolling security grilles for your establishment.
