Your home is your sanctuary but, unfortunately, it’s also a potential target. Whether it’s a burglar looking to steal your assets, or a home invader with violent intent, or a criminal who chose the wrong house at the wrong time. Being unprepared for these scenarios can have tragic consequences. That’s why hardening your home should be a top priority for anyone serious about self-defense and personal safety.
This blog covers some practical steps on how to harden your home against intruders. From landscaping tactics to reinforced entryways, you’ll learn how to layer your defenses and why even the best physical security isn’t complete without a legal protection plan like Second Call Defense.
Why Hardening Your Home Matters
The FBI reported 813,353 burglaries in 2023, the most recent year data is available for (sources: FBI Crime Data Explorer and the National Incident Based Reporting System). That means a burglary occurs every 38 seconds in the U.S.
Just over half of all burglaries target residential properties. Daytime residential burglaries are the most common, accounting for the largest share at 28%. This may be because many criminals avoid the risk of encountering occupants at night—after all, even burglars don’t want to get shot. However, with more people now working from home, the risk of daytime break-ins is becoming a growing concern for a wider segment of the population.
It would be nearly impossible, and impractical, to make a home 100% impenetrable. However, the goal is to make your house less attractive of a target and buy yourself precious time if you are home when a criminal decides to target your house. Hardened homes deter criminals, reduce response times police and increase the chances of surviving an incident.
Layer 1: Exterior Perimeter Defense
There are several things you can do to the exterior of your home to harden your home.
Fencing and Gates. A clearly defined perimeter serves as both a psychological and physical barrier to criminals. A tall, well-constructed fence increases privacy and makes it harder for intruders to surveil your property or plan an approach. It also slows them down, as they can’t simply walk through it. Be sure to secure gates with locks to prevent easy access. While wood fences offer more privacy, keep in mind they can also create blind spots or hiding places for intruders.
Outdoor Lighting. Darkness hides; light reveals. While many burglaries and home invasions happen during the day when homeowners are at work, plenty still occur at night, using the cover of darkness to conceal movement. Take the night away from them. Install exterior lighting that eliminates those dark hiding spots. Motion-activated lights not only save energy but also trigger a strong psychological response, like watching rats scatter when the lights come on. Make sure to place lights around all entry points and use dusk-to-dawn lights on the corners of the home. There are plenty of solar-powered options available, which are ideal for areas without outlets and are easy to install.
Landscaping As Security. Like fencing, landscaping can also be both physical and psychological barriers. Thick bushes near or around the property boundary may serve as a deterrent to criminals. Thick bushes may also prevent criminals from trying to enter through a window. However, keep them trimmed below window height so you can still see out of the window. Thorny bushes like rose bushes under windows are also a good option.
Layer 2: Surveillance and Monitoring
Security Cameras. Modern security cameras are affordable, high-quality, easy to install, and can integrate with your Wi-Fi to provide instant live feeds through phone and web apps. Most systems offer cloud or local storage, allowing homeowners to review past footage if an incident occurs. Cameras also serve as a visual deterrent—letting criminals know they’re being watched and recorded. In addition to wired outdoor cameras, battery-powered, solar-powered, and indoor cameras are widely available and budget-friendly.
Doorbell cameras are especially popular. They’re easy to install and, like other security cameras, are typically motion-activated or triggered by someone pressing the doorbell. When that happens, the homeowner gets an instant alert through the app.
Alarm Systems. Home alarm systems serve three critical functions:
- Alerts the homeowner, and potentially the local police
- Scares off the intruder upon hearing the alarm
- Potentially deters burglaries and home invasions.
A good security system doesn’t just sound an alarm; it also alerts the police. Many monitoring services will attempt to contact the homeowner to verify it’s not a false alarm, helping reduce unnecessary dispatches. Most systems also provide yard signs and window decals, which serve as visible deterrents to would-be criminals.
Other Devices. Other devices that can be installed on the exterior of your home include:
- Motion sensors simply just sense motion and can send a notification to a Wi-Fi hub, web app or phone app. These would likely be placed near doors, near outbuildings, along a driveway, etc.
- Glass-break sensors which notify the homeowner of breaking glass. These are usually inexpensive and as with other sensors, they connect to a phone app or web app via Wi-Fi. These are common on windows that the homeowner may not hear being broken into and outbuildings.
Layer 3: Entry Point Reinforcement
The primary points for reinforcement of your home are your doors and windows.
Doors and Door Frames. Burglars often enter through the front door as it may be seen as the easiest way in. This is an essential element of your home to harden. Here are ways to reinforce doorways into your home:
- Install solid core or metal doors (avoid hollow-core doors)
- Reinforce the door frame with a metal door jamb reinforcement kit
- Replace standard hinges with hinges that have security pins which prevent the door from being removed
- Use grade 1 deadbolts which offer maximum strength
- Use 3-inch screws in strike plates and hinges for deeper anchoring of the door hardware
- Use multiple deadbolt locks
- Add a locking storm door which adds another layer a burglar would have to penetrate
- Smart locks can also be incorporated, allowing locking and unlocking
Windows. All your home’s windows should have functioning locks, but not all locks are created equal. Some are practically worthless, so make sure yours are quality locks that can’t be easily defeated. If needed, upgrade with aftermarket options like wind locks or pin locks to prevent windows from being slid or lifted open.
Other ways to harden your windows include:
- Installing bars or grates, especially on ground-level windows, makes them extremely difficult to breach. Just be mindful not to block all escape routes in case of a fire.
- Applying security film to reinforce the glass and make it harder to break.
- Upgrading to laminated glass or polycarbonate windows, which are significantly more impact-resistant than standard glass.
Layer 4: Interior Protection and Response
Do you have a home defense plan in the event a home invader defeats your hardened home? If not, you can learn more about developing a home defense plan with our blog here.
Additional steps you can take inside your home include:
- Interior security cameras can be placed throughout the interior of your home.
- Motion sensors can be integrated with a security system to trigger the alarm if the event an intruder was able to sneak past doors and windows that have sensors.
- Create a safe room. This could simply be a room with a reinforced door or possibly a much more defensive room with reinforced walls and doors. A number of vendors sell and install safe rooms. They are often considered storm shelters but could be used to protect yourself and loved ones against criminals inside your home.
Other Considerations
Self-defense in the home comes with serious legal considerations. Most states recognize some form of the Castle Doctrine, which allows you to use deadly force against an intruder without a duty to retreat. Stand Your Ground laws extend that protection beyond the home, removing the duty to retreat in public places if you’re lawfully present and reasonably believe force is necessary. Some states combine both doctrines, while others still impose a duty to retreat when it’s safe to do so. Knowing your state’s laws is critical—because the legal consequences of using force can vary widely.
Warning shots are usually illegal and are never a great idea. You’re still firing a live round, and there’s no telling where it could go, it might hit a loved one, a neighbor, or an innocent bystander.
Booby traps are almost always illegal. Even if intended to stop criminals, they can easily injure innocent people, or law enforcement responding to a break-in or emergency.
Finally, posting aggressive signs like “we shoot first” may seem like a deterrent, but they could be used against you in court to suggest premeditation or intent.
The Importance of Self-Defense Legal Protection
Hardening your home with strong doors, security systems, and layered defenses is a smart first step—but if someone still breaks in and you’re forced to defend yourself, the real battle may begin after the threat is over. If your attacker didn’t have a gun, the aftermath can be even more complicated. Even if you were completely justified, the police may still arrest you. A prosecutor might still file charges. And before you can explain your side of the story, you could be sitting in jail waiting for someone to post bail.
In many states, bail for a self-defense shooting can range from $50,000 to over $1,000,000, even if your attacker only had a knife, a hammer, or nothing visible at all. That means you could need $5,000 to $100,000 in cash just to get out of jail while your case works its way through the system.
Ask yourself:
- Do you have cash ready for a bail bond if you’re arrested tonight?
- Can your spouse or family navigate that process without you?
- Are you OK spending days, or longer, in jail while they try to figure it out?
This isn’t a movie. There’s no refund if the charges are dropped. No apology. No guarantee you’ll get your money back.
That’s why self-defense legal protection isn’t optional. Second Call Defense provides:
- Bail bond payments up front, not later, not reimbursed
- Immediate access to a knowledgeable self-defense attorney
- 24/7 response and support from the moment you call
- Legal, emotional, and financial protection when everything is on the line
Harden your home and your legal defenses. Don’t face it alone.
Join Second Call Defense Today
Second Call Defense is committed to being there when you need help the most, especially in one of the most confusing and frightening situations you can face: Getting arrested after defending yourself against someone who didn’t have a gun. If you’re booked and held on bail, we step in immediately with expert legal representation and cash resources with nothing to repay, ever. We cover your bail bond up front, not as a reimbursement, so you don’t sit in jail while your family scrambles for cash.
From the moment you call, we also cover attorney retainer fees, legal costs, and civil defense, without asking you to pay it back later. With 24/7 emergency response and a 100% success rate defending our Members, Second Call Defense gives you the confidence to carry, even when the threat doesn’t come from a firearm. Because if you’re forced to defend your life, you shouldn’t have to fight alone to defend your freedom.
Conclusion
Your home should be a place of safety, not an easy target. By hardening your property with layered physical defenses, surveillance, and smart security upgrades, you reduce your risk and gain precious time in the event of a break-in. But no matter how secure your home is, there’s always the possibility that you’ll need to defend yourself. Preparing legally is just as important as preparing physically. Second Call Defense ensures you’re not alone in that moment.