Many homeowners install a fence around their property without giving much thought to it. After all, any fence is better than no fence, right?

Well, not really. As we’ve already discussed previously, some fences can actually make you a target for burglars, which is the opposite of what you want.

So how do you get a good security fence that will actually help protect your home from burglars?

In general, you want a fence that:

Let’s look at those in a little more detail…

When shopping for a security fence for your backyard, think see-through. You want to be able to see people on the other side of it.

As we discussed in Why Tall Privacy Fences Make You a Target for Burglars, tall, solid fences provide great hiding places for burglars and should be avoided.

For a fence that’s hard to climb over, get one that:

A security fence is no good if a burglar can easily go around it, under it or cut through it. So to make sure that doesn’t happen, get a fence that:

The above 3 security requirements are met by these 2 types of security fences:

These fences consist of tall, thin metal rods spaced evenly. They are stylish and low-maintenance. Here are a couple examples.

Steel Ameristar fence from Fence Depot

Security fence available from de Fence

Wire mesh fencing is a tightly woven grid of wire. It usually comes in panels that are hung between metal poles.

Wire mesh has some of the benefits of chain link fences, without the cons (easy to cut and climb). Check out this video from a wire mesh fence manufacturer on the downfalls of chain link.

Wire mesh security fence from Beikon Fence

A white wire mesh security fence by Anda Wire Mesh Products

The best option for security is to surround your entire home in a tall security fence like the ones above. But for many homes, that’s not realistic or allowed.

But you can still use a small, decorative fence in your front yard to improve your security. The key is to pick a fence that is tall enough to be difficult to get over but not so high as to provide a hiding place for a burglar (or be frowned upon by your HOA).

Even though a short fence won’t be impenetrable, it improves your home’s security by:

To be effective, however, the fence should go around the entire front yard. And any gates should be locked. Otherwise, the fence doesn’t add any security and is mostly decorative.

For example, the fence below serves as decoration, but isn’t effective as a security fence because it still leaves an open path to your home.

This picket fence looks great, but doesn’t block a thief’s path. Photo source: DIY Network

Instead, the fence should fully enclose your hard, as in the example below. The small white picket fence serves as a great hurdle. It’s too tall to easily get over but won’t work as a hiding spot. And the pointed tops of the pickets serve as another reason not to jump over the fence.

Picket fence around a home’s front yard. Photo source: HousePlansAndMore

Ackerman Security provides award-winning home security service to homeowners in the Atlanta, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia areas. Contact ustoday for more info.

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