A garage door left open can make you a more likely target for common crime, and good habits or an automated system can help reduce that risk.

Open Garage Doors May Make Homeowners Likelier Targets

If you own a home garage in Orange County, then you should be aware that open garage doors at night make you a more likely crime target. Doors and locks keep honest people honest, and leaving a door wide open with valuable equipment out is just enough temptation to lure someone who wouldn’t otherwise burglarize a home.

Closing and Locking the Garage and Pedestrian Doors

Get in the habit of closing and locking your garage doors at night. Don’t forget side and front pedestrian doors, which aren’t as likely targets but still a cause for concern. If your system has the option to close automatically upon driving a vehicle in, consider taking advantage of that.

A Remote That Works From Inside

An option for convenience is to have a remote control for your garage doors that can be activated from inside the home. This way, if you forget, correcting the mistake is convenient. Be mindful that many openers now support mobile apps, so you might not actually need a new remote.

A Better Lock

Basic garage door locks are simple in design. They’re effective but not designed for abuse. Higher-grade locks are available. It’s also a good idea to opt for an automatic locking mechanism, which can be activated whenever the door is closed remotely or automatically.

A Smart Garage

If you’d like to go a step beyond garage doors that automatically close once you’ve driven in, smart garage doors are an intriguing option. Your garage door opener can be connected to your smart home, and the system can automatically close the door at a certain time of day, automatically close the door when it’s interfering with temperature control or energy efficiency and even alert you when the doors cannot be automatically closed due to obstruction or malfunction.