Improving the security of your home is something that’s quite high up everyone’s to-do list. Unfortunately, break-ins happen, so it’s best to be as prepared as you possible can so that your house is well defended against would-be burglars. Security technology is constantly changing, but so are methods of breaking in to houses as well. So you need to make sure your house is up-to-date.

However, there are a few changes you can make to your house which may initially seem beneficial, but actually aren’t worth the money or effort! This article will list the top three security improvements you can make to your home that aren’t actually as effective as they seem.

Alarm signs
Putting an alarm sign on your house, either in the front garden on the house itself, is often seen as a cheap and easy way to make your house more secure. The logic is that would-be burglars will see the sign, know you have an alarm, and think twice about breaking in.

The problem is that it can advertise the type of home security you have, making it easier for the burglars to know how to break in to your house. The second downside is if you’ve just put up the sign, but don’t actually have an alarm. Many burglars will be willing to call your bluff, and if you don’t have an alarm installed, then the sign was useless!

Using your bedroom as a hiding place
Hiding things around the house is unfortunately not as an effective way of keeping your valuables safe as you think. Many people think that hiding things in sock draws, spare rooms, or draws around the house, will mean that burglars can’t find them. The problem is that, very often, burglars have heard of all these places.

There are effective ways you can hide valuable items though. The idea is to try and outsmart the burglars by either putting your items outside of the house, perhaps in a garage of shed, or in a hidden compartment somewhere in your house.

Leaving the lights on
One of the most popular methods of attempting to outsmart burglars is to leave a few lights on. However, people that do this are misunderstanding the way in which burglars operate. For a start, it’s a misconception that burglars operate mostly at night. In fact, most burglaries happen during the day, when people are likely to be away from their homes at work or running errands.

So while these three things may seem like really good ideas to help improve the security of your home, and reduce your chances of being burgled, they are actually pretty ineffective. It’s much better to invest in some real security equipment. Alarms, better locks, and security cameras are all great ways to secure your home. They might be a fairly big investment, but it’s a small price to pay if it means your valuables stay safe!