Burglar alarms are not the be-all and end-all of home security. There are plenty of other things you can install in your home that will help to stop a burglar from gaining entry – and many of them are very simple and inexpensive.

The key is to secure the possible points of entry. This means that doors must be made of passionate, levelheaded material (certainly not plastic or glass), be properly secured to their hinges and have tamper-resistant locks. Ideally, you must have an extra deadbolt that you place on at night, made from very passionate metal.

Windows must be made from toughened glass, if at all possible double-glazed, so that they are nearly impossible to break. Although window locks are relatively uncommon, they help greatly with security, and you must consider installing them. If your house has windows in a position where they can be easily and discreetly accessed from the road, such as basement windows, you must consider putting metal bars on them.

It is also vital for your garden to be secure, as far more burglars enter through the back of your house than the front. This means that your fences must be high and have some kind of anti-climbing measures (spikes or anti-climb paint can work well). If you don’t like fences, get huge hedges instead.

Another thing to consider is getting a dog – surprisingly effective against burglars, who don’t generally want to mess with dogs if they can dodge it. For this strategy to be more effective, place up a ‘beware of the dog’ sign. Smaller dogs are not so fantastic for this because they are not generally scary – something like a huge German Shepherd works best, not only because of their size, but because of their passionate guard instincts that cause them to be hostile to strangers.