If you locked yourself out of your house, could you easily find a way in? If you answered yes, then a burglar could also answer yes. If you’ve ever been burglarized, you know what an awful feeling it is to have your home violated and to lose your personal property. Fortunately, for a minimal investment, you may be able to make your home potentially less appealing to burglars. Many burglaries occur in the summer, when people are away on vacation. Here are some tips that may help secure your home when you are not there.
Use a monitored security system — A security alarm system can help keep your home safe from burglars. If you have a security system, don’t place stickers on your door or signs in your yard advertising the brand. That may be enough information for a thief to find out how to disable it. Get a generic sticker available at many home improvement stores.
Trim your shrubs — You may be offering intruders a safe place to hide, albeit unwittingly. Make sure your home’s windows, porches and doors are not covered by vegetation.
Close the blinds, shutters or shades — Burglary is often a crime of opportunity — if you don’t offer one, burglars may move on. Don’t let thieves window shop at your expense.
Install motion sensors and use them — Motion-sensing security lights are a fairly inexpensive investment to protect your home and readily available at home improvement stores. These lights are activated when motion is detected, and the sudden change from darkness to bright light may startle intruders as well as provide a visual alert to you and your neighbors.
Use indoor timers to control lighting — Timers hooked up to indoor lights and TVs that switch on when it gets dark make it appear as if someone is home and may serve as a deterrent to thieves.
Install deadbolts — Consider installing a deadbolt on every exterior door.
Don’t post your travel plans or whereabouts on social media sites — Sharing your vacation plans and activities can be fun, but it’s a public declaration of your whereabouts and a potential invitation to thieves.
Be prepared
Create and maintain a detailed household inventory. And call me: I can provide information that may help you determine if you have adequate insurance coverage on your home and belongings if, despite your good planning, the worst case scenario occurs.
Print these safety tips for future reference