Garage Door Security and Safety Tips: How to Prevent Garage Door Break-Ins

You may be great at keeping your windows and doors locked, but thieves like to get creative. If a burglar has been eyeing your home for a break-in, your garage door could make you vulnerable. Garage door security is an important part of your overall approach to home security, as well as to other aspects of safety. In this post, we’ll break down our expert garage door tips to help keep your household safe. Here are the 4 things you should do:

1. Install Motion Sensor Lights

Motion sensor lights are mounted above your garage door on your home, and they’re triggered to light up when they detect motion from a car, person or animal. They help scare off potential burglars, because they suspect someone inside has seen them get close to the house. Motion sensor lights can also help you detect animals around your home so you can identify the source of noise or pest damage.

2. Perform Safety Tests Regularly

Garage doors are designed to be safe for household members, but you need to check them regularly to ensure they’re working. Test the auto-reverse feature and make sure you’re able to open the garage door manually using the emergency release in case there’s no power.

3. Break-In-Proof Your Garage Door

Your garage door make look like it’s difficult to break into without the “clicker” you use to open it. 

Unfortunately, burglars only need a block of wood and a piece of a wire coat hanger to break into your home through your garage door. They’re known to force a gap between the door and its seal using the block of wood, and then they use a coat hanger wire to pull the emergency release and open the garage door. 

Thankfully, there’s a cheap DIY fix to prevent this type of break in using a power drill and a cable tie. First, drill a hole in the shuttle plate of your garage door, which is next to the red emergency release cord. Then, run a cable tie through the hole you drilled and the hole that attaches to the emergency cord. This way, the emergency cord can’t be pulled without the cable tie being cut, which can’t be done from outside the garage.

4. Put Your Garage Door Opener on Your Keychain

Keep your garage door opener clicker on your keychain instead of in your car, where it’s more vulnerable. This way, it’s always with you when you leave the house, but it also comes back inside with you when you get home. 

Keeping Your Home Safe with Proper Garage Door Practices

Implementing these practices is sure to help keep trespassers out and your family members safe. Of course, a broken garage door quickly becomes a security (and safety) threat you need to address. If you need a repair performed, give iQ Garage Door a call and we’ll be glad to help you.