My family and I are just about to close on our first home. It is a double wide on almost 3 rural acres with no neighbors for about an 1/8 mile. I would like everyone's opinions on how to make my home more secure to theft. I am planning on putting thorny shrubs below the windows and changing dead bolts out to new ones. I read about putting longer screws in the doorframe. I will be looking at putting in motion lights.

I will also be building a gun range in my back yard so the sound of gunfire may deter thieves.

A couple dogs might help, if you know what you are doing.

You can escalate security measures right up to fort knox level. Ultimately, it is going to depend on what resources (money) you have to work with. There's tons of information on the web. If you have the money, you can even hire a consultant.

I would fence! the expense here is the "T" posts. Using Field fencing is the cheapest way to go. A 330' roll will vary in price but runs from $78.00 - $150.00. Some tractor supplies carry it, fencing companies carry it, and from time to time you can find a hardware store with it.

I prefer to purchase the 48" high (the highest it comes in) and use 8" "T" posts.

I place fencing right on the ground. It will stay there! later I will come back with a shovel and dig out a shovelfull of dirt from under the edge on both sides and then throw it right on top so the edge gets burried. WHY? because no dog, coyote or wolf can dig in! and my dogs can't dig out!

I place the "T" posts in the ground right in the middle of the fencing laying on the ground so there is 2 feet on either side.

I am ready to put up the fence. make sure you have the "T" posts in the right way so you can come back and put up a hot wire... later.

At this point you have a couple of choices. Your fence is only 4 feet tall. You can run 3 strands of hot wire on top and one at the bottom, one in the middle if you want too (but use the 6 inch extensions to keep the livestock and dogs off the fence) or 3 strands of barbed wire and hot wire later.

I personally come back with another row of field fencing and over lay it 2 feet so I end up with a 6 foot fence and a 3 rows of hot wire.. top.middle.bottom with the 6 inch extensions to keep the dogs off.

Dogs, Coyotes, Wolves won't come over a 6 foot fence.
They can clear a 4 foot fence grab a small goat, chicken, dog, cat, baby and jump back over.
They can clear a 5 foot fence but can't get back over with something in their mouths.
They won't even attempt a 6 foot fence.

Digging at the bottom of a fence to get under. It has been my experience that dogs, coyotes and wolves go right to the fence and start to dig. If there is fencing down, they give up, if they see the edge.. they will start to dig at the edge.

I have also found that they 'usually' dig down about 18 inches and give up but have had some do down 24". this is why laying down fence on the ground works so well. I would love it if my fencing on the ground was wider but too had to fence mountains and valleys and keep the edge burried.

Those solar lights with a motion detector works great stationed in several locations along the fence line..hopefully you live where there is some sun each day and not all dark and dreary!

If you have dogs, they will go to the location of the attempted breach and depending on where you have your motion detector, the dogs can have it set off or you can have the predator set it off. this will depend on the terrain and plants. I have lots of sage brush, elderberry trees, pines, and etc.. the predator stays in the brush and I never see them, though the dogs do. I have my lights set to go off with my dogs but angles the light into the brush.

My dogs will take on anything.. and my fencing will stop most predators.. but bears go through the fence.. over actually as does the mountain lions, raccoons and small varmints. The light on and dogs barking and usually that is enough to cause the predators to mosey down the road.

I do have wireless cameras. I went with the X10.com system. Motion detector causes the videos to record. Having dogs... not needed <evil grin>

The fencing is my first line of defense, my dogs are my second line of defense... I am the last line! when the dogs bark, I am up and ready to investigate. Of course I have learned to read my dogs bark.

Is my plan perfect? no, but so far it has worked for us. I am protecting my livestock as I back up to 1000's of acres of National Forest as well as my home.

Saucy Rose

Dogs and coyotes WILL go over an unelectrified 6-ft fence, I've seen them do it.

If you get dogs, keep them where the valuables are. This is obvious to me, but not to many others. They refuse to fence even a portion of the property near the house, and tie the dogs out on a chain. So they bark if someone comes near, big deal. I can walk right past them and get into your house, the dogs are no threat. Dogs loose in a fenced yard are a problem to an intruder; not an insurmountable problem, but might make the difference to a casual intruder.

And don't bother with those underground fences. If your dogs are good enough to be watchdogs, their prey drive will be high enough that they WILL eventually blow right past it and get out of the yard, esp if chasing something, like an intruder. Then the collar won't let him back in the yard, once the excitement of the chase is past. Once they know they can blow through it, it's useless.

Consider an inner fence and a perimeter fence. I've found mine very useful. My home fencing surrounds my house, where I usually keep my dogs, esp when I'm not home. This helps to eliminate poison tossed over the back fence (at one point, my immediate neighborhood had at least six drug houses in it). I can confine the dogs to the immediate back yard, the front yard, or let them run in both. When they're loose, NO ONE comes past the front gate unless the dogs know them. They're not mean, but they put on a good act. I've never been burgled here, even with a meth lab next door, and nearly all the neighbors have had burglaries or stuff stolen from their garages or yards.

Sue

I would offer one suggestion from a cop's perspective. Be careful how you aim the lights. When I patrolled on the midnight shift, many homes had flood lights mounted above the overhead garage door and aimed down the driveway, toward the road. Every time a vehicle approached, the light popped on. Now, this isn't bad if you plan to sit up all night and look out your windows but if you expect help from the cops, it puts them at a severe disadvantage. First, someone could be standing near the activated light and go undetected because the cop has been temporarily blinded. Second, if the cops were called to investigate a prowler, they would instantly be lit up on their arrival. It isn't a good feeling.



It might also tempt them to come and steal your guns when they don't hear gunfire. A heavy gun safe would be a good idea even if you don't build the range.

Let me offer a second, slightly opposite view. Make sure any security lights aim away from the house. This allows you, while inside the house, to see your property. Many folks use lights to highlight their house - "Gee, look how pretty our house is!" This just puts the lights into your eyes, allowing others to look into your house, while you're blinded to what's outside the window.

Perhaps aiming lights "down" instead of "out" might be a good compromise?

Motion lights around the building(s), and I'll add this to the aiming discussion - light up the foundation of your house so you, or the cops, can see if someone is lurking underneath your windows. Illuminate an area around your house. Don't bother illuminating the street like so many people do.

The idea of putting fencing on the ground to discourage digging is tried and true, but don't think you need to get the same expensive fencing that you used to go around your house - a decent grade chicken wire works just fine. See if you can bury it an inch or two so the animals won't see the edge and realize it stops.

Ground hogs won't fall for it though.

I think up or down would be much better than straight into the eyes of someone who is watching/guarding your place while you sleep. Parallel to the exterior walls might also be a viable option. I just want people to think about it a bit and consider more than just one view.

A good security plan is in layers, like we dress for the cold. No single layer will, for sure, stop a determined intruder. What you want is to keep presenting them with a new layer to slow them down and decide its too much trouble/risk.

Most home robbers are not doing much more than looking for something quick and easy to grab to sell for drugs thing like DVD's/players/TV's/computers and, the mother load, guns. To them, time and being noticed is the enemy.

So, the above comments are all good advice. You may also want to consider:

-Making sure the windows are as secure as you are making the door.
-Inside the house motion sensors tied to a very very loud alarm either inside or outside the house.
-A "panic button" for the alarm.
-secure storage for your weapons. Don't rely on "hiding places"--the bad guys have seen them all.

As Benjammin said, the sky's the limit on what you can do, but you can do a lot by yourself a little at a time; Radio Shack used to carry a good line of home security products, although I haven't checked them since we did our house several years ago. There also are some good on-line vendors of home security products.

I don't have any experience with the various services that will install and monitor a system for you for a "low monthly fee." We can't afford all the "low" monthly fees.

Congrats on the new home!

I'll second the lights and angle thing, but my experince is a little different.

I'm just glad my folks use sliding doors made out of planks on the garage, rather than some fancy roll up thing. At least I could fix that...