home security system

[momz]

I am considering getting one. Right now, all we have is a dog with a deep bark..but she is 12 years old and doesn't always hear when someone is at the door. Also, once the person enters, she stops barking, walks to them and sits down waiting to be petted. She's a good dog.

Anyway, there have been 2 break-ins on our street this last week. One was a house where nobody was home. But at the other, there was a grandma and a preschooler at home. The guy came to the door, the grandma opened it to greet him and he knocked her down, forcing his way into the home.

My kids are home alone on the days I work. Kids are 13 and 10. They are instructed not to answer the door, but that won't stop someone who is determined to get in.

So, we need a better deterant than just a dog. I sent my kids to my parent's home for today but this is not a good long term option.

I have never looked for a home security system before. I am thinking about getting one that would simply be a "noise maker" kind of thing but does not call the police out everytime the door gets opened.

What have been your experiences with security systems? What can you advise?

 

[low-key]

Get yourself another Dog, if im a burglar and a dog is barking, Im going to another house, You could disable or forget to set and alarm, but a dog is always on the mark, if he shot one the other would go nuts, dont be fooled nothing is better then a dog

 

[EmJay2001]

Ours saved us from being robbed. Like you, there were robbers in the neighbourhood. We did not know until we where "hit" by this group. Anyway, I was pregnant with my third and we took the kids to a Raptors basketball game (it was March break) and when we were away someone tried to kick down our front door. Fortunately for us we have a sturdy steal door with a dead bolt and a security alarm. The alarm scared the team away and they did not even make it into the house. Cracked our door . The police told us that about the robbers in the neighbourhood, did not know before that. The officer told us that we were one of the few that it was only an attempt. We even got a call later after they were caught and that some items were recovered and to call and find out if some of it was ours. It is was so rare, that they assumed that we had items stolen. We would have, for sure if it was not for our alarm. Best money spent for us, saved us a lot of grief and has given me piece of mine since DD was a few months old (that is when it was installed). Ours is tied in with our fire alarms as well, including the one in the garage which would be hard to hear upstairs while we sleep if it went off and was not tied in.

My son is now almost 5 and I am still very thankful for that alarm, and still think about it quite a bit. So needless to say, I am a HUGE fan of them. We have contacts on all windows and doors downstairs and motion detectors downstairs and upstairs.

 

[momof1princess]

We have had ADT for 14 years, and it works great. We live in a very rural area, and our neighbor fell off the wagon (heroin and meth-he and his wife have some really sketchy "friends") about 9 months ago; so, it's great peace of mind, especially when DH works nights.

 

[bdcp]

I am considering getting one. Right now, all we have is a dog with a deep bark..but she is 12 years old and doesn't always hear when someone is at the door. Also, once the person enters, she stops barking, walks to them and sits down waiting to be petted. She's a good dog.

Anyway, there have been 2 break-ins on our street this last week. One was a house where nobody was home. But at the other, there was a grandma and a preschooler at home. The guy came to the door, the grandma opened it to greet him and he knocked her down, forcing his way into the home.

My kids are home alone on the days I work. Kids are 13 and 10. They are instructed not to answer the door, but that won't stop someone who is determined to get in.

So, we need a better deterant than just a dog. I sent my kids to my parent's home for today but this is not a good long term option.

I have never looked for a home security system before. I am thinking about getting one that would simply be a "noise maker" kind of thing but does not call the police out everytime the door gets opened.

What have been your experiences with security systems? What can you advise?

The problem with this scenario is that when your kids are home, the alarm would have to be set or they would have to get to the panel to hit the panic. We have an alarm system and we only set it at night or when we're away overnight, never during the day when someone is home. And we live in a neighborhood where there hasn't been a break in the 10 years we've been here. Our neighborhood is about 12 years old. Break ins are rare in our area and mostly happen when someone is away and someone knows it. Such as kids telling friends and those "friends" break in. A dog would be better when your kids are there. The "noise" alarms make when doors are opened isn't that loud and you'd have to alarm every door and window to make it really worthwhile. This is the first house we've owned with a system and the only reason we have it is that the builder wired the house so we have kept up with it.

 

["Cinder" Ella's Mom]

My kids are 10 and 13 and sometimes have to come in to an empty house while DH and I are at work. Our alarm is wonderful through ABT ( the home appliance store not ADT). Each family member has their own code for the alarm and DH and I get a text to our phones when the alarm is turned off or on. So I know which child disarmed it and what time. Then I can see if the re-arm it. I LOVE this peace of mind knowing my kids got home safely and stayed home.

 

[sukhakuli]

Dogs are the best alarm system. There were a rash of robberies in a neighborhood my friend lived at. Every house on the street was hit except for hers, and the cops said it was because she had a dog. It was just a 15 lb Bichon, but the cops told her that most burglars just don't want to deal with it. The other houses had alarm systems, too.

We've got a really old school whole house alarm. Instead of calling in to a service, it sounds this really loud bell, like a fire alarm. It's so loud even the neighbors hear it. And it's wired so if the power is cut, it goes off, too. That's one problem with a lot of current alarm systems, if they cut the power to the house (and a lot of houses have fuse boxes outside, so it's super easy) it disables the alarm and doesn't call in to the center. That's pretty useless. Even without power, your dog will bark.

I just think these alarm system things are a scam. We had ADT one time and the whole thing was a mess. It never worked right, and the company was shady. I'm much happier with my dog and Dictograph.

 

[kidshop]

Dogs are the best alarm system. There were a rash of robberies in a neighborhood my friend lived at. Every house on the street was hit except for hers, and the cops said it was because she had a dog. It was just a 15 lb Bichon, but the cops told her that most burglars just don't want to deal with it. The other houses had alarm systems, too.

We've got a really old school whole house alarm. Instead of calling in to a service, it sounds this really loud bell, like a fire alarm. It's so loud even the neighbors hear it. And it's wired so if the power is cut, it goes off, too. That's one problem with a lot of current alarm systems, if they cut the power to the house (and a lot of houses have fuse boxes outside, so it's super easy) it disables the alarm and doesn't call in to the center. That's pretty useless. Even without power, your dog will bark.

I just think these alarm system things are a scam. We had ADT one time and the whole thing was a mess. It never worked right, and the company was shady. I'm much happier with my dog and Dictograph.

Our adt has a back up battery, a motorcycle battery I think. We also have a remote control for arm/disarm and panic. I've never had a security system before until we moved here, but I like it since this house has 3 levels. That alarm is so piercing, there is no way anyone could stay in the house! Fortunately I have only accidentally set it off twice! I occasionally set it when away, but use it mostly at night.

 

[bballmom56]

My husband used to say we had a security system by BTD Security - Bernie the Dog. It worked very well!

It has been almost 8 years since we lost that security system and the one we have now isn't nearly as good. It's the smaller model (even though there are two of them) and the only way to set off the alarm is if the burglar comes in and starts vacuuming.

 

[EmJay2001]

[QUOTE="Cinder" Ella's Mom;51551597]My kids are 10 and 13 and sometimes have to come in to an empty house while DH and I are at work. Our alarm is wonderful through ABT ( the home appliance store not ADT). Each family member has their own code for the alarm and DH and I get a text to our phones when the alarm is turned off or on. So I know which child disarmed it and what time. Then I can see if the re-arm it. I LOVE this peace of mind knowing my kids got home safely and stayed home.[/QUOTE]

OOOoo...I love this idea. I must look into it. Ours is an older CHUBB so we don't have it. Right now I just track my DD coming home via text and gps.

 

[JessicaR]

Dogs - really big dogs, 3 of them. We also have cameras. I think the dogs are a huge deterrent.

 

[crayon3448]

We have a home security system. Our house was broken into shortly after we moved in while we weren't home and most of my jewelry, which wasn't even unpacked yet from the move, was stolen. Nothing of major value, but sentimental items that were never retrieved (class ring, costume jewelry from my grandma, the first necklace DH got for me when were in high school, etc). We had lived in the neighborhood for 4 years previous to the- moved literally around the corner- so it was quite a shock as we consider our neighborhood quite safe.

Anyways, the alarm. We have a big sign posted outside our house. I use the alarm a lot when my husband isn't home, I'm a SAHM, and it really gives piece of mind. Ours is wireless and we control it through a cell phone app. We have sensors on the window and doors. It has a very, very loud sound when it goes off. We can see who has logged in- when we were on vacation we had a house sitter and she had her own code. We also have it hooked up to our heater and ac so can monitor that when we are away. And the panic button- we have horrible cellphone reception in the house (plus I am always forgetting to charge my phone) and only one car, so if there were ever a medical emergency, I know I can use the panic button.

I will say though- it is not used as much now during the day since it is summer because we have the doors and windows open, and are constantly going in and out to play. But it is still used at night after we have gone to bed.

Our was installed for free, plus a one time activation fee, then a monthly fee. Also- if you get one, many times you can get a discount on your homeowners insurance that may cover some of the monthly fee.

Nothing is fool-proof. My best friend's parents were asleep in bed and someone broke into their house and they have 2 dogs! So do what you think is right for your family. I have never regretted getting the system, I only regret not getting it sooner.