How to make my place more secure at night

Hi all,
I'm about to move into a new 2 storey townhouse and I have serious anxiety about someone braking in...mainly at night (have experienced 3 day-time break-ins in the past at other places). Goodluck if they want to break in during the day if I'm not there - I don't have a lot of valuables they'd want to take.

So I'm hoping someone can offer advice about the most cost effective way to secure the place. These are the vulnerable spots I believe:

DOWNSTAIRS

2 automatic garage doors (I haven't even moved in yet and the corner of the garage door was kicked in about 20cm two days ago!)
Internal screen and sliding door from the garage door into the property
Back sliding door has a diamond screen door on one side and the glass slider does have a bolt on it.
Small kitchen window on ground level with a wind out window section.
Front door has a diamond screen door and the wooden door has a deadbolt on it.
Large front window has white rubber stripes all over it (a feature all the townhouses have) - I don't know if this would be a deterrant?
Small backyard surrounded by fence separting from neighbouring unit blocks on 2 sides - so anxious I'm considering putting barbed wire along the top

I have a sensor light near front door but is there a good battery operated sensor light I can put out the back and sides and should I put a motion activated alarm outside (but I'd have a heart attack if it went off so I might be better off with an alarm that goes off if they tamper with doors and windows)

UPSTAIRS
Manhole - I guess I could bolt it closed?
2 bedroom windows - both have diamond security screens on one side only.
Tiny bathroom and toilet windows.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

http://www.mrbeams.com.au - battery operated movement sensor spotlights. Excellent light up of your yard and they're cheap and don't need a sparky to install.

I've got them on each corner of the house

D cell batteries generally last 8-9 months and ours are on and off a lot

If you're THAT worried (sounds like a big deal!) then why not get a home alarm system and have downstairs alarmed while you're asleep? If your downstairs doors all have locks and security screens on them not sure what more you could do? Where on earth do you live?!

Thanks for the tip Althom. I'll check those lights out.

EmyN, there's no doubt that I'm possibly a little paranoid about it. We're not going to be living in a bad area but not great either (found out recently that break-ins in the suburb are a little high). And I'd rather have peace of mind and get a good night's sleep.

Does anyone have roller shutters as a security measure?

If you tend to feel uneasy, get a guard dog. I'm totally paranoid, but my dog gives me 100% peace of mind.
My husband is forever leaving our garage door open though and that worries me all day long. I almost wish we'd get broken into so he can learn a lesson.

after living in rentals alone for a couple years i know the feeling well!! Im paranoid as well!!

have you got the bolts at top/bottom of the doors so no one can enter through them even if they pick the lock? highly suggest an alarm that you can set at night for the bottom floor.

most importantly...get to know your neighbours!

I have an alarm that can be set at night (ie everything except the master bedroom) in our house. I also suggest leaving your car keys on the kitchen table/bench somewhere obvious when at home at night since a lot of the time houses are now being broken into so the car keys can be obtained to steal vehicles now.

Really?!?! Surely most burglars have a look around a place/through windows before they break in and seeing keys on the table in plain view would surely encourage them to go ahead and break in??

yep its happening a lot now...make the keys easy to find so they don't come and find you!

Most of them couldn't care if there is someone home or not when they come in unfortunately.

There was a study released, I think late last year, that said one of the few things that really deterred burglars was a dog.

Though for your house I'd go with others suggestions and have an alarm system installed. Then at night you can activate downstairs so you'll be alerted if someone does try and get in. When I lived in the USA we did just that. Though it would only arm the sensors on the doors and windows do people could still go down stairs. Not sure if similar systems exist here. But basically as soon as soneone tried to open a door or window it went off. I actually used it a lot when I was home alone during the day.

That's nuts! And scary!

also depends what kind of car you have so don't be too worried we are actually selling my bfs car at the moment as his is one that was targeted last year and we just don't want the worry in the new house...

We have little battery operated alarms on all the external doors - these were to keep my toddler inside - but also great to scare off burglars. I think they cost about $10 from bunnings and are battery operated. One small bit goes on the top of the door or window and the other side (magnet) is attached to the (door or window) frame - when the magnet if broken, the alarm sounds. Very easy to switch off and on if you know it is there ... but extremely loud (my neighbour can hear mine)

+1 agape
Also very handy when travelling, for those do-dgy motels or hotels. Fix temporarily with BluTack.
even cheaper at dx.com, but get more than you need, 20% may not work!!

Install a panic alarm to where you want to monitor. If your system detects a motion, then it will alarm you immediately.

Yes I'm with slickthreads3. We have 2 rottweilers for our home security. But studies have shown that any kind of dog tends to deter burglars because they make so much noise. Well that's if they bark at strange things I guess haha


My build viewtopic.php?t=76386

the best way is don't live alone anymore!!

seriously you need prepare something with you at night ! i mean in case you met bad situation at least you need protect yourself !!
and the lock is also very important .

Manhole - no point bolting it down, you can easily break the cieling with little force at any point you like. If you don't want them to get inside easily, get a metal roof and not tile.

There's some terrible advice here, especially leaving car keys out so they CAN find them easily.

Get outdoor sensor lights, alarm system that does perimeter (windows and doors), CCTV cameras and/or a dog.. If criminals want it bad enough they will get it, the best you can do is deter as many of them as possible and hope a real desperate one doesn't come by. If you hear a noise turn your outside lights on and 99% of them will do a runner because they don't necessarily know who/what is inside either.