When the holidays arrive, you’re more than likely going to be visiting friends and family. Many people have to travel at least a few hours to see their loved ones, and they might spend the night away. Other people go on vacation over the holidays and are gone for several days or even well over a week. Even if you don’t have to travel far, burglars know that people are keeping some pretty expensive gifts at home, and even a few hours away from home is enough time for someone to break into your home. If you’re interested in protecting your home while you’re away, there are many tricks that you can do to make your home less attractive to potential burglars, and there are also tricks that will make it more likely that they’ll be caught if they try.
Have Someone Pick Up Your Mail
One of the easiest ways to show people that you’re gone on a long trip is to leave mail and newspapers outside for long periods of time. Consider asking a trusted neighbor or friend to pick up your daily deliveries and check for packages. Or better yet – contact the postal service and place an official mail hold so the mail does not collect in the first place. If you’re going to be out of town for several days or more than a week, you should also find someone to shovel the snow and put down salt. Not only does this protect you from a fine from the town, but it also gives the impression that someone is tending your house.
Don’t Talk About Your Trip on Social Media
We all know that it’s exciting to see friends and family or go to someplace exotic or warm, but broadcasting your trip online is like advertising that you want to be robbed. Instead, post your pictures once you’re already home. Sure, you can tell your friends and family that you’re going to be out of town, but make sure that they don’t tell people online about it or post anything indicative of your home address.
Invest in a Security System
If you’ve been thinking about investing in a security system for a while, before the holidays arrive is the perfect time. Some of the basics of a good security system are cameras, sensors, and flood lights that turn on when someone enters your yard. You can also have your security system alert the police when your house is broken into. There are many security systems that even let you see what’s going on in your home from your phone or tablet. You might be concerned that the price of this type of system is out of your budget, but the cost of losing most of your valuables is even more expensive. Burglaries can come with a plethora of unexpected expenses like broken windows, that pose a long-term threat to your family’s safety. In an unexpected emergency like this, you might consider using installment loans for bad credit to cover the cost of the repair if you do not have enough insurance or savings to cover it.
Talk to the Police
If you didn’t already know, many police departments are happy to circle around your home once per day. There are a couple of benefits to using this approach to monitor your house. First of all, it tells any burglars that are considering breaking into your house that there are people watching your home for you, which will likely cause most burglars to seriously consider leaving your house alone. Another benefit to this is that the police will be more likely to catch any suspicious behavior.
Trim Bushes and Trees
If you’re going to do something illegal, you want to do it in a way that no one would see you, right? That’s exactly the way that a burglar thinks. That’s why you want to trim back bushes and trees so that they’re not obscuring easy entry points, such as windows and side doors.
Store Ladders in the Basement
If you’re keeping a ladder on the side of the house, you’ve just made it that much easier for someone to climb it and crawl in an unlocked second-story window. That’s why it’s necessary to store any ladders or other climbing equipment in a garage or basement. While you’re at it, make sure that you’re putting second-story windows on your home security system.
Hide the Packaging
It’s not that difficult to go through someone’s garbage, which can tell a potential burglar a lot about what everyone got for Christmas this year. So that you’re not tempting burglars, consider throwing out packaging in small amounts. You can also put the packaging of valuable items at the bottom of the recycling and garbage piles so that it’s harder to find.
Plenty of people want to enjoy a stress-free holiday season, but there are also some people who would love to profit off of all of the high-tech gifts, jewelry, and other expensive items that we exchange. Burglars will take the opportunities that they see when you leave for a vacation or an extended stay with relatives as an opportunity to cash in on your goods. Your best bet is to be proactive and come up with some security measures to ensure that your home isn’t a target.
