When I said I never lock the house, that is because I would forget where even one keybox was placed, let alone several.
Even during the night the back door is open for the dogs to come and go, and, as long as I have got Jules, his howling would wake the dead, so no worries about invasion.
Dogs are very useful from that point of view. Now we don’t travel as much, we’ve been thinking about getting one… (It would also keep the 30-odd feral cats at bay )
Don’t bank on that they are very crafty, and cheeky daft.
Our beloved Greyhound, Lira, was a cat killer, she was faster than them and as a result they would taunt her from the other side of the fence but none ever came back in.
Since then cats have always been faster than our dogs so still come in but keep a wary eye out.
Depends if it’s a British or French house
AH! Rather like a Crit’air sticker then…
Obviously to prevent the hack @porridge linked to, it should be horizontal on the bottom of a poutre or branch two metres from the ground. Try sticking slivers of paper in from that angle
BTW @porridge is this going to be a part of a “burglary for beginners” series of posts
Or a cheap Blink camera focussed on them You could even yell at them through the camera’s speaker.
You could just remove “Yale” locks and only have doors that need locking with a key.
Doesn’t stop you losing keys but it makes locking yourself out impossible.
You might well say so - I couldn’t possibly comment…
Came here to post that.
Anything made by Master can be opened very quickly. I’ve personally opened dozens of their 4 digit combination padlocks in 30 seconds without tools. Not because I’m a thief, but the idiots I used to work with were always forgetting their combinations.
Those Master key safes are particularly dire as they’re made from the finest Chinese pot metal and one swing from a 14lb sledgehammer will wreck them.
One swing from a 14lb sledgehammer would allow access to our house no problem!
I think we are in danger of missing the point. A discretely located keysafe is great when you have forgotten/lost your keys, for aide workers and carers, and for your neighbour from time to time. But not if you feel that where you live has a lot of potential thieves with the chutzpah to kneel in your garden fiddling with a box, or that the contents of your house are so super attractive that they would mount a commando raid at the dead of night to do so.
With 9 entrances to our house anyone who really wants to break in has many other - easier - options.
We call it Chinesium
Although a reprogrammable keysafe is not a silver bullet in terms of security (as others have said) one big advantage is that you can grant someone access by giving them the code, then change the code once that need goes away. That’s ideal to allow, say, a service engineer to visit.
Totally right, Jane! I haven’t locked our house in 20 years in Dordogne. Most people have, for example, a terrace door that they lock from the inside (and leave the key in, for convenience); all of us have glass windows everywhere; if a burglar wants to gain entry, they won’t be put off by a locked door. They just create more damage. My top tips are 1] Have a dog 2] Buy a house at the end of an ‘Impasse’ - no burglar will risk having to meet you returning to your house. 3] Sensor lights directed right in the face of anyone approaching the house - don’t use them to illuminate their way.
Plus cheap Blink cameras all over the place.
As in “blink and you’ll miss it”
This is a great idea. Simple and, as you say, it makes it impossible to lock oneself out. Then having a key in a tupperware box hidden in the garden, covers the other eventuality of losing ones keys whilst out.
Two other points:
(1) One thing that occurs to me, on the subject of losing keys, is never to have one of those keyrings with your address on it attached to your house or car keys. Makes it too easy for a dishonest person to access your property if you do lose your keys.
(2) For those who say they leave doors/windows open overnight etc., would the fact that you failed to secure your property affect or even nullify your insurance in the event of a burglary?
I think that if you look at your insurance policy, not locking your door will void your insurance policy.
A few years ago there was a series of burglaries in one night in a nearby village.
Thirteen houses were burgled in one night when the occupants slept.
Our friend, who did not lock her door, had her handbag and laptop stolen.
The thieves then used her card to pay for the toll on the motorway. How they knew her pin I don’t know, but, of course, a photo was taken of the thief and their car number plate.
When she got her statement she told the gendarmerie and they traced the known gang to a Romanian
Camp south of Lyon.
We fitted a rolling door to our then vulnerable door to our sous sol.
We no longer have a dog.
Yes I expect you are right but my valuables rest alongside me in the bedroom and travel with me wherever I go so, with my howling banshee of a canine I am happy to take the risk.
You haven’t covered the situation where you lose your car keys and house keys while away from home, so can’t get home to find the garden keys.
I think that’s when the “trusted neighbour” situation comes into play