Think about what you keep in your garage. You may park your vehicles there, but you likely store other things of value as well: lawn mowers, firearms, bicycles, sporting goods and other items that don't have a place inside the home. Garages are a convenient place to store things, but they are easy for intruders to get into.
An electric garage door opener seems to have an added benefit: the door stays closed unless the opener gets a coded signal from a remote or keypad. But there is a weakness you should address. A rope hangs down from a lever or latch at the top of the garage door. That lever is a manual release, so you can still open and close the door during a power outage. Anyone with a wedge and a coat hanger can reach that same rope from outside the garage door. Videos online show garage doors being opened from outside this way in about six seconds.
A couple of easy steps make that much harder. First, remove the handle at the end of the release rope, and make sure there are no other knots tied in the rope. That makes it very hard for someone to reach in and catch the rope with a hook. You will still be able to grab the rope from inside the garage and release the door from the opener if you need to open it by hand.
Next, look at the spot where the rope attaches to the release. If the release has a lever that a hook could grab, use a zip tie or some twine to keep the lever from being pulled. Someone would then have to reach in from outside and cut the zip tie or twine before pulling the lever and lifting your garage door. There are also products designed to block access to the emergency release.
Does your garage door have glass panels? Consider covering them so people can't see into your garage; if a thief can see valuable items, they are more likely to try to get in. A spray-on “frost” or a light coat of paint makes a panel opaque but still lets light in. For extra protection, you can also apply a safety film to the glass.
Does your garage have a regular walk-through door? Like any exterior door, lock it with the deadbolt and consider covering any glass panels. If the garage is attached to your home, there is probably a door between the garage and the inside of your home. Treat that door as an exterior door and secure it with a deadbolt lock too.
By Kris Quinby
