Home Security Gadgets & Reviews

As we’ve talked about before, a guard dog can be a great deterrent to burglars. If you were a thief, would you rather break into a house with two giant barking dogs or the one across the street without any pets to deal with? Chances are you’d avoid the dogs if there was an easier mark to be had.

But what if you’re not a pet person? Say you don’t have the time or money to feed, walk, and otherwise care for a dog. You could try a security gadget like this electronic watch dog.

The device has radar eyes that can sense movement through doors, walls, and even glass, and when it detects an intruder, it’ll play realistic barking sounds that resonate through the house and can be heard outside. For more realism, the bark of the “guard dog” gets louder and more frequent the closer the intruder gets. No fancy installation is required; just plug in the batteries and mount it somewhere it can keep an electronic eye on the premises.

The electronic watch dog is available online for $85: Electronic Watch Dog Alarm

This funky cylindrical thing is actually a safe. You install the Sentry Safe in your floor, and would-be thieves are supposed to walk right over it without ever knowing it’s there. It can be installed in wood or concrete, and it’s designed to lie flush with the floor. Toss a rug over it, and it disappears. On the off-chance that someone does find it, there’s a 12-gauge steel body with a heavy die-cast aluminum door to protect your goodies.

Since the safe is waterproof as well, you can install it in a basement or ground level room without worrying that flooding will destroy your documents or whatever other important items you keep inside. I found the in-floor safe at Home Depot where it sells for $119.

Doorbell chimes let you know when someone is coming up to the front door whether they ring the door bell and knock or not. This keeps you from being caught off guard, and if someone is planning some mischief at your front step, it’ll also clue you in. These devices can also be convenient to let you know when a package has arrived, since the UPS folks and mailmen don’t always knock (or if you’re in a different part of the house, you might not hear the knock).

The Sunnybell Digital Wireless Doorbell Chime is nice because you don’t have to do anything tough to install it (no cutting into the walls to run wires). It can transmit up to 300 feet, and the signals have no trouble passing through doors, walls, etc.

The reviews over at Amazon, where the product sells for $30, are positive:

“The product is eveything it was advertised to be. It was easy, even for grandpa, to install.”

“The chime is small and doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb on my wall. The price was almost 1/2 of what many retail stores were charging for similar products. I feel that I received an excellent product for a great price.”

Digital Wireless Doorbell with 64 Selectable Channel

Home security doesn’t always have to be about extensive home renovations and expensive alarm systems. Sometimes it’s the little things that help protect you, your family, and your belongings. For example, a secure mailbox is a smart choice that won’t cost you a bundle.

In our era of rampant identity theft, the only really surprising thing is that more people don’t have locking mailboxes. All someone really needs to open up lines of credit in your name and wreck havoc on your financial life is the kind of personal information that is often contained in your mail. For this reason, a secure mailbox is a smart home security choice.

This wall-mounted box from HomeClick is one example of what’s out there in the locking mailbox arena. Made by Architectural Mailboxes, the unit is made from sturdy brass with aluminum hinge pins and stainless steel slot springs. All the hardware you need to install it yourself is included in the $170 purchase price. It’s available in 3 finishes: antique copper, antique brass, and satin nickel. You ought to be able to find something that works nicely with your house.

Architectural Mailboxes Locking Mailbox