When you’re out on vacation, the last thing you want to think about is whether your home is being robbed. However, it is very important to ensure the safety of your home before you head out on a trip. Not only does this ensure that your valuables are unharmed, but it gives you some much-needed peace of mind so that you can enjoy a stress-free holiday. In this article, we’ve listed five ways to burglar-proof your home.
1. Get automatic timers for your lights
A dark house is a dead giveaway that there is no one home. A house with no lights on at usual times can be easily spotted and scouted by burglars on the prowl, especially if they walk by your home regularly. To avoid this, get automatic timers for your home so that you can program them to turn on and off regularly. Schedule the lights to mimic your usual routine. This will give outsiders the impression that someone is home.
You can also invest in smart bulbs that you can control from your home. This way, you can schedule when to turn the light on from an app on your phone, and you’re good to go.
If your home has a lawn or a porch, consider buying motion-activated lights so that no one can sneak into your home unnoticed. Sudden bright lights may not only discourage a potential burglar but also alert your neighbours.
2. Make your home look lived in
In addition to getting timers for your lights, ensure that your home looks like someone is living in it. If you usually leave your curtains open, don’t close them completely before you leave. Leave them at least partially open so that nothing looks out of the ordinary.
If you have a lawn, pay someone to mow it while you’re gone, so that it doesn’t look unkempt. If you want to head away for the winter, ask a trusted family member or professional to plough your driveway.
You might also want to leave the radio on at a low volume so that intruders who come too close to your house hear it and assume someone is at home.
3. Manage your mail
Another easy giveaway that no one is home is a pile of mail on your doorstep. Before you leave, cancel or temporarily pause your subscriptions so that they don’t pile up in front of your door.
Ask a neighbour or a relative to pick up the mail regularly. Another option is to reach out to the post office and redirect your mail to a family member’s address until you’re back from your trip.
If you have any deliveries due, reschedule them so that you don’t lose your packages to porch pirates.
4. Tell the neighbours
Before you leave, make sure to let a neighbour know that you’ll be gone for a while. They can keep an eye out for any suspicious activity while you’re gone. However, make sure to only tell a neighbour that you know and trust. In fact, Local St Kilda Locksmiths recommend not posting about your vacation on social media until you’re back. “Burglars may use social media to look for unoccupied houses, so do not announce your vacation plans, especially on public social media accounts.”
You can also let a friend or family member know about your plans and ask them to occasionally visit your property. Even if you don’t feel comfortable enough to give them a spare key to your home, they can walk around the building to make sure there are no signs of breaking and entering.
If you have a community watch app, check it regularly to make sure there is no suspicious activity in the neighbourhood.
5. Make it difficult for burglars to enter
If burglars do try to break in despite other measures, make it as difficult for them as possible. Invest in heavy doors with deadlocks – they take longer to break into. Keep your valuables inside a safe. Install a loud burglar alarm. Don’t forget to lock every window, even the ones on the upper floors.
Closing Thoughts
These simple steps can highly reduce the chances of your home getting burgled. Regardless, take photos of your home and make a list of valuables before you leave so that you can claim the damages with your insurance provider on the off chance that your home gets broken into.
