Burglars often target homes looking for quick and valuable items they can easily sell. By knowing which areas in your home are most vulnerable, you can take steps to enhance your security and protect your possessions.
Here’s a look at the top 20 spots in your home that burglars check first, along with tips to safeguard these areas.
1. The Master Bedroom
Why Burglars Target It: The master bedroom is a treasure trove for burglars because it traditionally stores valuables like jewelry, cash, and sometimes even firearms.
Many people keep their most precious items in their bedroom for convenience, making it the first stop for thieves.
Protection Strategies: Consider using a high-quality safe bolted to the floor to store valuables. Additionally, installing a motion detector in the bedroom can alert you to any unexpected movement at night or when you’re away.
2. The Living Room
Why Burglars Target It: Living rooms are attractive to burglars because they contain high-value electronics such as TVs, sound systems, and gaming consoles.
Artwork and collectible items can also catch a burglar’s eye.
Protection Strategies: Draw curtains or blinds to prevent items from being visible from the outside. Using cable locks for larger electronics can deter thieves, who prefer items that are quick and easy to steal.
3. The Home Office
Why Burglars Target It: Home offices are gold mines for personal information, which can lead to identity theft. Electronics like laptops, tablets, checks, and credit cards are common targets.
Protection Strategies: Secure important documents in a locked cabinet and use password protection and encryption on all electronic devices.
Consider investing in a paper shredder to dispose of sensitive information properly.
4. The Garage
Why Burglars Target It: Garages often contain valuable tools, sports equipment, and, occasionally, vehicles. They also offer an additional entry point into your home, making them a key target for burglars.
Protection Strategies: Ensure that all doors, including the internal door leading to the house, are sturdy and well-secured with deadbolts.
Installing a garage door sensor can alert you if the door is opened unexpectedly.
5. The Backyard
Why Burglars Target It: Outdoor equipment, grills, and bicycles can be easily stolen from backyards.
Additionally, unsecured backyards provide a hidden approach for burglars to attempt entry into your home.
Protection Strategies: Use locks on gates and sheds, and consider chaining bicycles and grills to a secure point. Motion-sensor lights can deter burglars from entering your property under the cover of darkness.
6. The Kitchen
Why Burglars Target It: Kitchens might not hold the typical valuables like cash or jewelry, but modern kitchens are often equipped with high-end appliances, expensive cutlery, and sometimes hidden safes or emergency cash.
Burglars may rummage through kitchen drawers and cabinets, looking for anything of value that’s quickly sellable.
Protection Strategies: Use appliance locks for high-value items and keep an inventory of your kitchen’s contents for insurance purposes. Additionally, installing window locks and ensuring that any external doors are secure can help deter entry through the kitchen.
Consider smart home devices that alert you to movement in this area when you’re not home.
7. Medicine Cabinets
Why Burglars Target It: Prescription medication, especially narcotics or controlled substances, can be highly valuable on the black market. Thieves target medicine cabinets to find drugs to use or sell.
Protection Strategies: Keep only essential medications at home and store them in a secure location, possibly in a lockable medicine box. Dispose of outdated or unused medications properly at pharmacy take-back events or through mail-back programs to reduce theft risk.
8. Closets
Why Burglars Target It: Closets, especially in bedrooms and hallways, are prime spots for storing not just clothes but also hidden safes, valuable items, and personal documents. They offer a secluded space for burglars to search without immediate detection.
Protection Strategies: Reinforce closet doors with secure locks. For safes, choose models that can be bolted to the floor or wall and are not easily removed. Regularly declutter and inventory items in your closets to track what could be appealing to a thief.
9. The Attic
Why Burglars Target It: Attics are often overlooked by homeowners when it comes to security. They can store valuable heirlooms, collectibles, or memorabilia that can fetch a high price. Additionally, attics can provide access to other parts of the house if not properly secured.
Protection Strategies: Secure attic windows and access points with locks and alarms. Consider storing highly valuable items elsewhere and keeping the attic for less valuable, bulkier items that are not interesting to burglars.
If you have fluffy attic insulation you can bury the item under insulation so it is hidden from thieves.
10. Children’s Rooms
Why Burglars Target It: Children’s rooms may contain the latest gadgets, games, and sometimes even cash gifts. Thieves may also assume these rooms are less likely to be secured or monitored, making them an easier target.
Protection Strategies: Teach children the importance of safely securing and storing their valuables. Use window and door sensors to monitor entry and encourage children to keep their rooms tidy to notice if anything is amiss.
11. Laundry Room
Why Burglars Target It: Laundry rooms can inadvertently become a treasure trove for burglars due to forgotten cash or jewelry left in pockets. They also might contain high-value appliances.
Protection Strategies: Implement a routine to check all pockets before washing clothes. Secure the laundry room door, especially if it provides access to the house from the outside.
12. The Basement
Why Burglars Target It: Basements can be filled with expensive tools, sports equipment, wine collections, and sometimes, secondary electronics like old computers or televisions. Basements with external access points are particularly vulnerable.
Protection Strategies: Secure all windows and doors with high-quality locks and consider installing a basement-specific alarm system. Keep a detailed inventory of stored items for insurance purposes.
13. Guest Bedrooms
Why Burglars Target It: Guest bedrooms can be attractive for burglars because they are often used to store overflowing belongings or maybe less frequently occupied, allowing for undisturbed searching.
Protection Strategies: Maintain the same level of security in guest bedrooms as in the rest of the house. Avoid storing valuables here, and use window and door sensors to alert you of any unauthorized access.
14. Dining Room
Why Burglars Target It: Dining rooms might house valuable china, silverware, crystal, and other collectibles that can be easily sold. These items are especially targeted during burglaries during the day when homeowners are likely to be away.
Protection Strategies: Install cabinet locks for storing valuable items and use window treatments to keep potential burglars from peering inside. Document and photograph valuable collections for insurance purposes.
15. Entertainment Centers
Why Burglars Target It: Entertainment centers are attractive because they contain electronics such as gaming consoles, streaming devices, and sound systems. These items are typically ready to use and easy to sell.
Protection Strategies: Secure entertainment devices with cable locks and record all serial numbers for identification. Consider using a TV mount bolted to the wall to make it harder for thieves to take larger items.
16. The Library or Study
Why Burglars Target It: A well-stocked library or study can contain first editions, rare books, or manuscripts, which can be of significant value. In a home office setup, these rooms may also store sensitive personal information or valuable electronics.
Protection Strategies: Use locking bookcases for rare items and ensure computers and tablets are password-protected and encrypted. Secure windows with locks and consider an alarm sensor for these rooms.
17. Wine Cellars
Why Burglars Target It: Wine cellars can contain valuable collections that are not only of great personal value but can also be sold for a high price. Wine theft can be particularly heartbreaking for collectors.
Protection Strategies: Implement robust locking mechanisms on cellar doors and use climate monitoring systems that send alerts for unauthorized entry or environmental changes. Catalog your wine collection and keep records in a secure location.
18. Jewelry Boxes
Why Burglars Target It: Jewelry boxes are an obvious place for burglars to look for valuable items. They’re often not secured and can contain pieces of both monetary and sentimental value.
Protection Strategies: Invest in a small, bolted-down safe for valuable jewelry and use a decoy jewelry box for less valuable pieces. Regularly inventory and photograph your jewelry for insurance purposes.
19. Under Mattresses
Why Burglars Target It: Despite being a well-known hiding spot, some still hide cash, documents, or small valuables under their mattresses. Burglars are aware of this habit and will often check this spot.
Protection Strategies: Avoid hiding anything of value under the mattress. Use a safe or a more creative and secure hiding spot that is less likely to be discovered.
20. Freezers
Why Burglars Target It: Some believe hiding valuables inside freezer items or wrapped in foil in the freezer is clever. However, burglars have caught on to this trick and may check freezers for hidden goods.
Protection Strategies: Similar to the advice for mattresses, avoid well-known “hiding” places. Opt for secure, less predictable locations to store your valuables or invest in a safe.
By addressing these common targets with specific protection strategies, you can greatly enhance the security of your home and deter potential burglars.
It is crucial to stay one step ahead with both physical security measures and smart habits to protect your home and valuables from theft.
Davin is a jack-of-all-trades but has professional training and experience in various home and garden subjects. He leans on other experts when needed and edits and fact-checks all articles.