Each year, there are more than 2.15 million burglaries with the majority of home invasions occurring in the peak vacation months of July and August. Going on vacation can be one of the most relaxing things in the world, but before you depart, here are a few ideas to help keep intruders at bay while you’re on vacation.
Keep Y
our Home Well Lit – Place light timers inside your house to light up your house when it is dark out. Burglars tend to not flock to homes that are well lit and where they will be visible.
Trustworthy Neighbor- Ask a trustworthy neighbor or friend to keep an eye on your house while you’re away. Be sure to tell them if you are expecting any visitors over the course of your trip so that they can be aware.
Stop Delivery of Your Newspapers or Mail – Either put a hold on your mail and newspaper service, or have a neighbor collect them for you daily. A build up of mail or newspapers is a good indicator to burglars that you are on vacation. Another way to hide your mail is by getting a larger sized locked mailbox. This will ensure that your mail is not visible intruders.
Examine Your House Before You Leave- Make a checklist of all possible entrance paths for intruders and ensure that they are well locked and secured.
Hide All Valuables – Be sure to hide all of your valuables so that they are not visible from the windows. This way, intruders won’t have more of a reason to break in.
Security System – Homes without a monitored security alarm system are three times more likely to be burglarized or robbed than those with a monitored home security system. Nightwatch Protection is now offering a FREE home security system that will help keep your home protected even when you’re not on vacation.
Window Decals – Security system decals located on your front door is a great way to help scare off burglars.
Cameras – Weather it is a real camera, or a fake camera, if intruders think they will get caught, they will be less likely to break in.
Home Telephone – Don’t ever leave a voice mail message saying “We’re not home right now” or “We’re on vacation and won’t be back for a week.” This assures intruders that you won’t be home. Also, turn the ringer down on your house phone, or change it to 1 ring. If they can hear that no one is answering the phone, they will assume you are not home.
By following these helpful hints, you are on your way to a better protected home. These tips will help keep your stress levels down, so that you can fully enjoy your vacation.
As the spring season finally starts to warm up, many homeowners begin their spring cleaning maintenance around the yard. This spring, consider adjusting your property’s landscaping in order to better protect it from a break-in. Certain landscaping tricks can prevent lingering burglars from seeing inside your home, making it harder for them to invade.
Landscaping Tips:
-Incorporate outdoor lighting in your landscaping plan! This is the single most effective way to use your yard to safeguard your home from intruders. If your front yard has a path to the front door place ground-level lighting to make your home more illuminated at night and easier to see intruders.
-Plant shrubbery and bushes under all first floor windows in order to create privacy but also make it harder for someone to climb through a low window. Using thorny and sharp bushes such as roses is especially effective!
-Install a fence around your property- this includes using hedges and shrubbery.
-Consider eliminating any landscaped areas that could serve as a dark hiding place in your yard.
-Look at your home from its street view- whatever you can see inside your home a burglar can see too!
-Trim tall trees growing along the side of your house- these can act as ladders and hiding places.
-Keep the lawn mowed- an unkempt yard with tall grass signifies to a burglar that a homeowner is either on vacation or is frequently away from the house.
-Never leave ladders and other common landscaping tools out in the open! These can be used to easily climb in through an open window in your home.
As the economy continues to flounder, the frequency of car thefts in the U.S. is increasing. In fact, the FBI has reported that a motor vehicle is stolen in the United States every 40 seconds. It is no surprise then that car thieves have come up with some new inventive strategies to break into cars without getting caught. But burglars aren’t just stopping there. Instead of just taking the valuables from your car, they are using the information they can get from your belongings as a way gain access to your home.
Through this new strategy, a car thief will puncture a small hole beneath a car’s door handle, reach in and unlock the door just as if they had a key. By punching the tiny hole, the thieves are able to get into a car quietly and without a trace– without breaking glass or without setting off the car’s alarm. If and when the car’s owner notices the puncture hole, they often think it is a bullet hole because of the size and shape. Plus, most car thieves who use this new method are extremely cunning in terms of what they will take once they are actually inside your car.
Several cases have been reported in which car thieves using the punch hole method would leave the person’s purse or GPS devices- items which are typically targeted- and use the GPS device to find out where the person’s home is using the stored information on the device. In doing so, the thieves now know what a person’s car looks like and where they live, making it easy for them to observe when a person is home or not. Then, the burglar can easily plan how to invade your home when they see your car is not there.
With more intruders using deceitful methods like this everyday, it is important to always be on guard. Regularly check the condition of your car, especially after parking in large public places likes shopping mall. Be mindful of what you leave in your car, especially GPS devices and other technology that a burglar could potentially use to get your personal information. In addition, never leave GPS devices out in open view while you are away from your car. It only takes a thief a few seconds to steal these devices and find out where you live and where you are going. If you notice damage to your car and/or any missing belongings, money, etc. immediately alert local police. As always, having a professional alarm system installed in your home is the most thorough way to prevent an intruder from getting into your home unnoticed.
As spring cleaning season approaches, it is a good time for home owners to make sure their property is secure and maintained. One of the most often overlooked home security measures is a home’s garage door, and now is a great time to update your garage door security. While many people don’t realize it, a garage door is one of the most vulnerable places in your home, as it can allow an intruder easy access. In addition to getting inside your home, intruders often target garages because they know that people keep valuable possessions there: cars, motorcycles, sporting equipment, tools, and more. Follow these simple guidelines to improve your garage door security and help protect your home more effectively.
Garage Door Security Tips:
1. Always close your garage door!
No matter whether you are inside the house or leaving to go out, an open garage door can let a burglar enter your home in the matter of seconds. People can often forget to take this extra security precaution or don’t do it because they think their garage is safe if they are in the house. But cases have shown that burglars will enter a garage not only to steal but also to hide out, and this applies to both attached and detached garages.
2. Updated Automatic Garage Door Openers
The technology used in automatic garage door openers has undergone a lot of development since the early models. This new technology makes it harder for intruders to break the code of used to unlock automatic garage doors. If your automatic garage door opener is an old model, consider updating it now.
3. Get a Key-Chain Remote Opener
New garage door openers come in the form of key-chain remotes so that you can carry your remote with you at all times. This way, you have the peace of mind knowing that if some one was to break into your car, they would not be able to gain access to your garage or your home.
4. Maintain Garage Windows
Keeping the windows on your garage in top condition is just as important as maintaining the other windows in your home. Loose and rotting window frames make it easy for burglars to pry a window open and gain access to the valuables in your home.
5. Treat your Garage like Your Front Door
Make sure internal and external doors leading to your garage are always kept locked and bolted. Many people may think that internal doors inside their home are safe if the garage door is down, but this is not true. You never know when a burglar may gain access to your garage and an open inside door is like an invitation to come in!
In addition, install a wireless home security system in your home, including your garage. A wireless alarm monitor will alert you and local authorities immediately if an intruder has entered your garage.
While the holidays are usually a joyful season, nearly 400,000 burglaries occur in the U.S. from November through December each year, according to the FBI. Since burglars are well-aware that expensive new gifts are also part of this time of year, I tis important for homeowners to take some extra precautions to reduce the risk of their holiday celebrations getting ruined by theft.
Going Away for the Holidays
- As with any time of year it is important to take certain safety precautions before leaving your home unattended. It is especially important to do so during the holiday season when burglars are closely watching for potential empty homes. If you are going away, it is best to have a trusted friend or neighbor monitor your home for you. Have this person collect your mail and any packages left on your doorstep. Not only will this serve as a sign of activity to lurking thieves but will also prevent your packages and holiday gifts from being stolen when you are away. In addition, never broadcast the fact that you are going out of town. This means avoid posting information about where you are on social networks or in your voicemail recording. Burglaries monitor for this type of information to indicate their next easy break-in.
Displaying Christmas Gifts
- While no holiday décor is complete without a beautiful tree stuffed with gifts beneath it, it is important to remember that thieves can see exactly what your neighbors can. If your tree and gifts are easily visible from the street in front of your home, you could be putting yourself at risk of getting burglarized. If you insist on placing your tree in front of a window for people to see, make sure to keep your holiday gifts hidden out of sight as long as possible. Also, this means avoiding piling all the gifts under the tree at once. Only put out which ever gifts you are exchanging immediately and keep the others in storage. Leaving a big pile of gifts unattended is practically like inviting a thief inside your home.
Holiday Disposal
- Keep in mind that even when the holidays are over, burglars are still on high alert. Often, observing thieves will monitor people’s garbage to judge what kind of new gifts a family may have gotten during the Christmas season. Large television boxes and packaging of other valued items can serve as a sign to thieves that these pricey items are now inside your home. Be sure to break down gift boxes and other holiday packages and conceal them before placing them out for disposal.
our Home Well Lit – Place light timers inside your house to light up your house when it is dark out. Burglars tend to not flock to homes that are well lit and where they will be visible.
