Having an attached garage can make your home a prime target for a burglar. Garages are one of the easiest targets and a favorite method for thieves to gain entry into your household. When casing out potential targets, a burglar will look for ones with the easiest access, and in most cases, garages are pretty much a golden gate into your home.

When looking at the security of your home as a whole, the biggest vulnerability to your home security is the garage. Think about it: A burglar can gain access into your garage, go unnoticed, and once inside can easily gain entry into the rest of your home. One of the reasons why burglars love your garage is due to all the re-sellable items you may have inside, such as power tools, cars, lawnmowers, and other high valued items. Also, a garage is usually unoccupied most of the time, giving burglars the perfect opportunity to strike.

Here are 9 tips on how you can improve the security of your garage and avoid someone making off with your lawnmower.

1. Lock it up! – Sounds like common sense right? It’s amazing to hear all the stories of burglars never having to break into a property; they simply just walk through an unlocked front door or garage. This tip is really easy: lock it up! For added security, install a high quality door lock and deadbolt.
2. Garage door windows – Burglars are known to look into windows to see if there are any high value items in plain sight. Don’t do burglars any favors by letting them see what items you may have in your garage. Replace your garage door with one that doesn’t have windows. If this isn’t an option, you can frost or cover your garage windows for the same result.
3. Don’t flaunt your stuff – Leaving your garage open can allow anyone driving or walking by a full view of all of your stuff. Keep your garage door closed at all times. Even if you’re driving down the street for gas. A burglar just needs a couple minutes to take what he needs from your garage, don’t give them that chance!
4. Fortify that door – The door from your garage into your house should be as secure as your front door. Once a burglar is done ransacking your garage, what do you think is next? Your home! Make sure your door is made out of solid-core wood or reinforced steel. This will slow a burglar down, and eventually deter him from gaining entry.
5. Spotlight your garage area – Installing a bright light near your garage can keep burglars at bay. Installing one with a motion sensor is ideal but not necessary. Be sure to install lighting somewhere out of reach from a burglar.
6. Car keys – This is probably the biggest security mistake everyone makes. After parking your car in the garage, most people have a tendency to leave the keys in their car. This is a big no no! Most people have the office, home, or storage keys on their key ring. You might as well sign the house over to the burglar if you’re making this mistake.
7. Automatic garage door opener – Automatic garage door openers make life a whole lot easier when getting home from work, but it’s not all that great for garage security. Burglars are commonly known to use an electronic device called “code grabbers.” Basically what it does is record the radio signal from your remote to the opener giving them the same access as you do into your garage. Modern garage door openers utilize “rolling code” technology which means your remote transmits a brand new security code each time you press your remote making it virtually impossible for a “code grabber” to detect.
8. Mark your property – It’s your stuff, so mark it! Engraving your name on all your high value items in your garage can save you in the long run. Burglars have a hard time pawning items with someone else’s name on it. Also, if your items are ever stolen and found later on, it’s a good way for the police to get your stuff back to you. Proving that it’s yours is really easy too!
9. Install a burglar alarm – Installing a wireless security system in your house is Home Security 101. In the event your home is ever burglarized, a siren blares loudly and the police are sent to your home. Not only is there a benefit to catching the burglar in the act, but you are also eligible for a homeowner’s insurance discount.

A lot of homeowners don’t realize the amount of valuables that are stored away in their garage until everything is gone. Most items found in a typical garage can be big bucks for burglars and very expensive for the homeowner to replace. All of the tips provided are simple ways to boost your garage security and protect your belongings.