Learn all about why garage safety matters for your home security and how to have a safe garage. With sensors and remote openers, your home will be safe!

When people think about home security, they consider several products and services that center on their front doors and windows. From doorbell cameras to glass break sensors, these products often lead in home security.

This is not without reason, either. A vast majority of home break-ins begin at the front door of one’s home. However, this emphasis on the front door leaves a huge hole in your home security. That hole is your garage.

Garage safety is of tremendous importance to your home security. While you may often think of your valuables as being jewelry or electronics, the things you store in your garage are also valuable.

Lawncare equipment, vehicles, and other similar equipment and materials are all expensive. If a burglar were to take these items from you, they could easily turn a profit.

Unfortunately, a doorbell camera may not be enough to prevent a break-in through your garage. Depending on your camera radius, a thief could easily slip past it.

If this makes you nervous, don’t worry! We’ve got five tips on how to preserve your garage door safety and make your home even safer.

1. Install Motion-Sensor Floodlights

Many thieves and burglars operate under the cover of darkness. In many cases, if you can take away that cover, you can deter a break-in. To do that, all you need are motion-sensor floodlights.

When choosing a set of floodlights, there are many important considerations. The first thing to decide is how far away you want the sensor to detect movement. The typical range a sensor can detect is 20-100 feet away.

The second thing you need to decide is how bright you want the lights to be. Many lights now use LED lights, since they give off a radiant glow that is sure to illuminate the area. They also stay cool and use less energy.

The final consideration is how powerful you want your lights to be. The brightest lights on the market tend to be wired directly into your home’s electrical system.

However, solar-powered systems or battery-operated ones are easier to install. If you don’t want to have super bright lights and like an easier installation, these could be more convenient choices.

2. Garage Door Openers

A garage door opener can be a helpful tool in ensuring your garage’s security. These openers usually lock the garage door when it’s down, making it difficult to break into.

Unfortunately, there are determined and experienced burglars who may be able to get past your garage door lock. While this may seem extreme, it’s best to be on the safe side.

One useful way to do this is to upgrade your garage door opener to a smart model. These allow you to monitor your garage door’s status and receive an alert on your smartphone if someone opens the door.

You can also install a monitor outside the garage that connects your smartphone. These monitors will notify you if somebody opens the garage door regardless of whether you have an opener.

If you opt to use a smart opener, avoid leaving it in your car. Cars are easy to break into. While it’s convenient to leave your garage door opener in the car so as not to lose it, it’s safer to keep it in the house.

The best place you can store your car keys and garage door opener is in your bedroom. That way, they stay close to you and are easy to find when you need them. Keeping them close to your person makes them harder to steal.

3. Install Security Cameras

You can decide for yourself how many cameras to install at your house. Some people may feel more comfortable having their entire perimeter covered; others may only want their doors and entry points monitored.

Whatever you decide, having a camera or two monitoring your garage door is always a good idea. A burglar is far less likely to break into a house knowing that a camera could record his face or clothing.

However, some places trust this security boost too much. Because they know cameras act as a crime deterrent, they sometimes don’t run the cameras.

Don’t trust too much in the look of a security camera. If you get one, make sure it’s one that you can install easily. Some models are straightforward to install and record all footage onto an SD card for your convenience.

There are also motion-activated cameras that only record if their sensors detect movement, so it’s not constant footage.

4. Obscure Your Garage Windows

Burglars often look through the windows of a garage door before attempting their break-in. By looking through the windows, they can check to see if any cars are in the garage or locate valuable equipment.

You can prevent them from getting that insight by obscuring your windows. There are a few ways to do this, but the simplest option is to put up a layer of frosted film.

This way, you retain the comfort of natural lighting coming through the windows. However, you also make it much harder for a criminal to scope out your garage.

5. Our Final Tip for Garage Safety: Check Your Landscaping

A crucial component of your garage safety is maintaining visibility. You may have gotten cameras and motion-sensor floodlights installed, and that’s great. However, shrubs and trees can still provide cover for an intruder.

For maximum security, it’s best to keep your yard visibility in mind. Can your neighbors see what’s happening in your yard through their windows? Do you have high shrubs or trees blocking your camera’s visibility?

If there are visual impediments near your garage, it’s best to remove them. It’s also a good idea to plant some thorny shrubs near potential entry points, as this can be a deterrent to an intruder as well.

Check Out Our Services

We hope this list was helpful! We take your garage safety seriously, and we offer a variety of services in Oregon, Washington, and Texas. If you need any repairs or installations to your garage door, contact us today or call 855-427-2434.