Alarm System Alternative

Don't Advertise Your Goods

• Start by giving a burglar less incentive to break in. After dark, turn on all your lights, and walk completely around the outside of the house. Besides the obvious questions -- "Can you see your flat screen TV from the street?" -- ask yourself what an unobstructed view of the kitchen, bathroom or basement might also tell a would-be thief. (Don't forget any copper pipe that might be visible in the basement).

  Cover every view to the inside with curtains, blinds or other opaque material. Pay special attention to over-door transoms and basement windows.

  Frosted vinyl glass covering is a good solution for arched windows that are difficult to cover, as well as windows such as in the basement, where you want light coming in but don't care about a view to the outside. These vinyl coverings come in a variety of patterns and can be cut to fit. Many of them can be patched together on large windows or door openings with few noticeable seams.

Use Secure Locks and Barriers

• You know to use dead-bolt locks, right? But you also need extra security on:

  Sliding patio doors -- at minimum put a piece of wood or pipe in the bottom slot of the door to keep it closed. Use something rectangular and fitting, so it cannot be easily rolled out of the way.

  Back doors, doors between the attached garage and the house interior and other doors not visible from the street -- Install extra hardware on the door jamb to protect against kicking.

  Doors with windows -- Install a simple chain or bolt out of the reach of a hand reaching through the window.

  Basement doors -- Install a simple bar and holders across the basement door to supplement the deadbolt lock.

  Basement windows -- Consider putting a bar across each window, to make the opening too small for a child to wiggle through. Or install metal mesh across each opening. Attach the mesh with long, heavy-duty screws every 3-4 inches around the window frame -- sufficiently stable to withstand a heavy kick.

Make Your House Look Occupied Even When It's Not

• Install an exterior motion-detector light on your porch, deck or other vulnerable space.

  Install interior timers on one or more lamps or electrical switches, including a radio, stereo or TV. The best timers have a "variable" feature, that will turn on for unpredictable durations at unpredictable times -- the way real people turn on lights. Some ceiling fan/lights have such a "security" setting option built in.

Get Active with Neighborhood Watch

• If your neighborhood already has a Neighborhood Watch program, sponsored by the National Sheriff's Association, get involved with it. If not, call the nearest police station and ask about starting one or contact the program online at http://www.usaonwatch.org. Besides getting good tips about securing your house, you will be able to enlist support from your neighbors to watch your house and your street, and encourage would-be burglars to go elsewhere.

Special Tips for Vacant Property

• With the difficult real estate market, many regions have been victimized by teams of thieves cleaning out vacant homes, stripping them of copper pipe and gutters. Cover every window and install timers. For houses with utilities shut off, securing the basement is your best defense, as well as having a relationship with the nearest police station. If the copper is already gone, replace it with PEX, (cross-linked polyethylene) tubing, which costs about the same as copper, meets building codes and has no aftermarket. When installing the PEX tubing, leave a few remnants in the back yard to discourage thieves from making a return trip to strip the new stuff.