Most residential break-ins in Tampa Bay are crimes of opportunity. Burglars aren't usually planning elaborate entries — they're walking neighborhoods looking for the easiest target. The five mistakes below aren't just theoretical vulnerabilities; they're the actual patterns we see repeatedly when called to homes that have been compromised.
1. The Hidden Spare Key Under Something
Fake rocks, door mats, potted plants, magnetic boxes under cars — professional thieves know all of them, and so do neighborhood kids. A spare key hidden outside your home is essentially an unlocked door. The fix: a combination lock box (a real one, not the cheap spring-latch kind) mounted to the wall and used only as an emergency backup, or give a spare key to a trusted neighbor rather than hiding it on the property.
2. A Deadbolt That Doesn't Fully Engage
Tampa Bay's humidity and heat cause door frames to shift and swell seasonally. A deadbolt that was properly installed five years ago may no longer fully throw into the strike plate — leaving a gap that significantly reduces security. Test your deadbolt: lock it from the inside and try to wiggle the door. Any significant play or visual gap between the door and frame is a problem. A strike plate with 3-inch screws that reach the door frame stud is the single most effective deadbolt reinforcement you can make.
3. Sliding Glass Doors Without Secondary Security
Florida homes typically have at least one sliding glass door, and most are secured by only the factory latch — which can be lifted off its track with the right tool in seconds. A cut-down wooden or metal rod in the track channel (preventing the door from sliding) plus anti-lift pins (preventing the door from being lifted out of the track) together create a meaningfully more secure system. Both fixes take 10 minutes and cost under $20.
4. Not Rekeying After Moving In
When you buy a home, the previous owner — and their contractor, housekeeper, neighbor who had a spare key, and everyone they gave copies to — still has keys that work on your locks. Rekeying all exterior locks when you move in costs $25–$35 per cylinder and takes a locksmith 30–60 minutes. It's the highest-ROI security action you can take when moving into a new home, yet most buyers never do it.
5. Relying Solely on Smart Locks Without Backup
Smart locks are excellent — we install them regularly. But relying exclusively on a smart lock with no physical key backup creates a real problem when the battery dies, the app fails, or you're locked out without your phone. Keep a physical key backup. Also: smart locks are only as strong as the door and frame they're mounted in — upgrading to a Z-Wave lock on a hollow-core interior door doesn't make the door harder to kick in.
If you're not sure where your home's vulnerabilities are, Apex Lock offers a free residential security assessment — we walk through entry points and give you a clear, honest picture of what can be improved and at what cost.