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DIY Booby Traps for Home Defense More Clever than Home Alone’s Kevin

DIY Booby Traps for Home Defense More Clever than Home Alone’s Kevin

By Tamás Ő.Tamás Ő. Verified by Sander D.Sander D. Last updated: January 9, 2025 (0)
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Toy-powered booby traps are the prime way of defending our home. Or at least, this is what the cult hit “Home Alone” taught us. The movie where the 8-year old Kevin is left home alone – drop the title card – and forced to defend the house from two bumbling burglars with self-made traps that made even the most vicious sociopath green with envy. Falling irons, spikes, heated doorknobs and other clever contraptions: everybody fantasized about doing the same with their own mean little creations. You could replicate his moves and get backfired by your own trap sooner or later, or you could get secure and clever trap-like defenses that are as smart as your home security system. If you are still interested, let us give you some pointers.

Don’t try these at home

You would be surprised how easy it is to craft a set of deadly traps with just a little bit of handiness. The internet is full of tutorial videos for self-made dangers, such as the air horn trip wire trap, which activates an increasingly loud noise when an unsuspecting trespasser makes the wrong step, ensuring that the police can only take the burglar in after a well-deserved nappy change. Speaking of soiled underwear, fitting a larger garden with a hidden swinging log trap – straight from Star Wars – or digging up a spike pit close to the main door will definitely scare away even the most determined criminals.

In case your family opposes the idea of ruining the front yard with deathtraps because they keep away the neighbors, then be sure to move the defenses to the second line. Just disseminate some nail traps under the windows or attach a larger battery to the doorknob for a shocking surprise.

Legal home security traps

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Admittedly, these kinds of traps sound great in theory, but barbecuing a burglar with an electrified doorknob will very likely earn you a spot in jail, which is quite ironic if you think about it. That’s why we recommend opting for legal alarms and traps sold in shops. For example, a door stop alarm is small enough to slip under the main door but opening it from the outside presses the button, resulting in an ear-piercingly loud noise. It’s small, cheap, unhackable, and free of monitoring fees. Still, the wise course of action is to opt for a true home security system. Most companies offer wireless alarms that can be set up without professional help in almost any part of the room. With a little finesse, anyone can hide a compact little camera or motion sensor in a shadowy corner or at an empty slot of the bookcase, guaranteeing the demise of burglars.


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