20 Things Combat Veterans Do That Make Burglars Skip Their House

Main ideas / lessons conveyed

• Burglars choose houses fast (often within a minute). The speaker argues most residential break-ins are opportunistic and goal-driven. Small defenses that increase delay, noise, uncertainty, and visibility can make a home unattractive or “not worth it.”
• The goal isn’t perfect protection—it’s to make the burglar’s job costlier right away. The list emphasizes tactics that create:
  • Early warning (so you’re awake before they’re inside)
  • Loudness / friction (so the burglar can’t work quietly)
  • Delay (so they run out of time)
  • Risk of witnesses (neighbors, cameras, lights, “eyes on the street”)
  • Uncertainty (lights that “blink,” multiple targets that might be real)
• Human behavior and routine matter. Predictable schedules, visible vacancy, and repeat patterns make planning easier for burglars.
• Practice under stress. If something happens, families should have rehearsed steps for staying quiet, barricading, and calling for help.

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Methodology / list of instructions (the “20 things”)

Presented as a countdown with specific, mostly low-cost actions. Key timing emphasis: interrupt the burglary within the first ~30 seconds at the threshold, before a burglar’s plan can proceed.

20) Gravel where it counts

• Spread pea gravel ($3 bag) under ground-floor windows and along the side path.
• The gravel makes footsteps loud/drum-like, deterring quiet approach without batteries, apps, or subscriptions.

19) Lights that startle instead of lights that burn

• Install motion floodlights (example: ~$15 each) at:
  • garage,
  • back door,
  • darkest wall.
• Prefer motion-activated uncertainty over a constant floodlight.
• Goal: sudden brightness prevents the burglar from telling if it’s a sensor or a person—creating a sense of exposure.

18) 3-in screws in the strike plate

• Reinforce the door’s strike plate to prevent frame failure.
• Steps:
  • Remove/replace the small screws holding the strike plate (described as ~2.5-inch into pine trim).
  • Drive 3-inch wood screws through the plate into the stud behind it.
  • Add one screw per hinge while kneeling at the door (as described).
• Cost/effort mentioned: about $4 and 20 minutes.
• Intended result: door becomes harder to kick in, making repeated attempts louder, slower, and more public.

17) Pin the windows; bar the slider

• Sliding glass door:
  • Cut a broom handle to fit the bottom track so the door can’t slide.
• Double-hung windows:
  • Close the sash and drill a small angled hole where frames overlap.
  • Drop in a 16-penny nail from inside to pin it shut.
  • Remove later in seconds if ventilation is needed.
• Intended result: prevents window opening without relying on advanced alarm sensors.

16) Plant something that bites (defensive planting)

• Place thorny/armed plants densely beneath ground-floor windows (examples: barberry, pyracantha, climbing roses).
• Rationale: burglars must stand and work near windows; thorns create pain, noise, and visible risk.
• Cost estimate given: $10 per shrub, improving over time.

15) Borrow a bigger man and a meaner dog (bluff with deception)

• Use deception props to change the burglar’s assessment:
  • scuffed work boots,
  • a dog bowl (and a “large dog” setup),
  • chain on fence post.
• Goal: create “two data points” that increase perceived risk and reduce the chance they’ll even knock.

14) The $25 tripwire (early perimeter warning)

• Use a wireless driveway alarm system:
  • small motion sensor staked near gate/sidepath,
  • chime box indoors.
• Benefit: alerts you before the burglar is right at the house (speaker references ~40 ft out).
• Emphasis: early warning + lights/voice loud while the intruder is still outside.

13) Security film on the glass

• Apply security film (inside the pane) using soapy water + squeegee.
• Film characteristics described:
  • glass shatters but hangs together in the frame,
  • prevents the “quick opening” the burglar expects.
• Priority filming: windows near door handles and those less visible from street.

12) Make the house live for you (avoid the “vacant” look)

• Create “occupied” signals:
  • use lamp timers to stagger lights in different rooms,
  • one timer can be tied to a radio talk station.
• Travel habits:
  • stop mail,
  • have a neighbor park in your driveway,
  • avoid public trip signals online until back.
• Idea: remove the burglar’s “certainty someone isn’t home.”

11) Throw the bolt like it’s a ritual

• Prevent unlocked doors with consistent behavior.
• Steps:
  • always bolt doors (especially back and side doors first),
  • not just when you’re going somewhere quickly.
• Emphasis: “complacency” is the real vulnerability; bolting every time is framed as habit training.

10) The $8 screamer (alarm wedge under doors)

• Place a rubber door wedge with built-in alarm under front/back doors at night.
• How it works (as described):
  • if the door is forced even slightly, wedge compresses,
  • siren triggers >100 decibels,
  • no wiring or subscription needed.
• Intended result: interrupts burglary immediately with loud noise and prompts attention.

9) Cut down his hiding spots

• Do a dusk walk:
  • at each corner, ask: can someone stand unseen from street/neighbor windows?
• Trim/clear:
  • overgrown shrubs near siding/windows,
  • limbs hanging over fences,
  • anything that blocks sightlines below sill height.
• Goal: deny concealment and remove “easy approach” routes.

8) Solar lights on the dark side

• Target “dark side” areas: behind garage, back fences, no-outlet areas.
• Install solar motion lights (~$15 each stated):
  • two screws, no wiring,
  • charges in day, activates at night.
• Advantage claimed: works even when plug-in power is cut; no lines to tamper with.
• Goal: make all corners visible so burglars can’t find the one unlit yard.

7) One real camera, two liars

• Configure camera deception cheaply:
  • mount one real Wi‑Fi camera (example cost ~$30, no cloud plan mentioned),
  • add two dummy cameras in visible corners.
• Position real camera at eye level so faces fill the frame.
• Goal: make the burglar guess which lens is real; guessing wrong increases perceived risk.

6) Break your own pattern (disrupt routine)

• Surveillance and planning relies on predictable schedules.
• Steps:
  • vary departure/arrival times (odd minutes),
  • have a neighbor’s car parked on certain afternoons,
  • vary when lamps/timers activate (stagger rooms on different nights),
  • sometimes return home at lunch.
• Goal: refuse to “publish” a schedule.

5) Build a battle buddy street (neighbors as an intelligence network)

• Exchange contact info with three closest houses.
• Coordinate:
  • learn which cars are “normal,”
  • share dates/when you’ll be away (and reciprocate).
• Rationale: “eyes on the street” is more decisive than cameras alone because neighbors can confront/say “Can I help you?”
• Goal: increase the chance the burglar is noticed and described while it’s still optional to leave.

4) Harden one door on the inside

• If a break-in occurs while you’re home, you don’t need to win—you need to hold one door until help arrives.
• Steps (as described):
  • choose the bedroom/family gathering room,
  • swap hollow door for solid-core (around $40 used),
  • reinforce strike plate and hinges with long screws (similar to front-door method),
  • add a barricade bar (~$40) or 2x4 braced in brackets (described as farmhouse method),
  • keep an old charged phone at nightstand for immediate 911 dialing.
• Guidance referenced: Department of Homeland Security crisis barricade advice (as summarized by speaker).

3) Trash day discipline

• Do not leak information via visible packaging.
• Steps:
  • Friday morning street “read test”: flatten boxes and dispose properly,
  • hide/transport valuables’ packaging yourself or place into plain bags (examples: TVs, gun safe cartons, high-end hobbies).
• Online discipline:
  • avoid posting new high-value TV photos,
  • avoid vacation countdowns,
  • avoid stickers on vehicles advertising firearms or expensive hobbies.
• Goal: burglary planning depends on stacked “harmless” targeting clues.

2) Rehearse it once; own it forever (family drill)

• Under stress, people revert to training.
• Drill steps:
  • if you hear someone in the house: go to the planned one room,
  • bar the one interior door,
  • crouch/low and go silent,
  • one person calmly dials.
• Practice details:
  • rehearse the exact trigger phrase quietly,
  • walk it twice (slow and at speed),
  • include kids,
  • repeat ~every 6 months (20 minutes on a Sunday mentioned).
• Time goal claimed: under 90 seconds from strange noise to barred door.

1) Understand how you get picked (the overarching lesson)

• Burglars shop for openings:
  • need one easy house per street,
  • grade yours against neighbors in the first minute.
• Factors to optimize:
  • dark vs lit,
  • silent vs loud,
  • covered vs open,
  • predictable vs unpredictable.
• Core framing: a burglar is looking for work, noise, time, and witnesses—the “costs his trade cannot pay.”

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Speakers / sources featured (attribution)

• Sam Garrett (main speaker; 22 years in the Army; former first sergeant; presents the “class” and the 20-point list).
• University of North Carolina at Charlotte (source of a study interviewing 400+ convicted burglars).
• Portland TV station KGW (reported writing to convicted burglars in Oregon prisons).
• Oregon prison surveys/interviews (responses from 86 convicted burglars referenced via KGW).
• Jane Jacobs (mentioned via concept “eyes on the street,” originally discussed in 1961).
• Department of Homeland Security (2013 guidance referenced regarding barricading interior doors and silence during intrusion).
• “Criminologists who formalized [a principle] in the 1970s” (general reference; no specific name given in the subtitles).
• Security industry / operations security (OPSEC) concepts (mentioned generally; “OPSEC” framed as an Army term).