Home Security Tips For When You Are Away

With the rise in home burglaries, it is normal to feel apprehensive when we leave our homes for vacations or weekends away. A vacant home is like a sitting duck in a world filled with opportunity seeking intruders. Although no efforts at preventing a break-in are fool-proof, I have listed below some tips to help discourage someone from breaking into your home while you are away.

 

 

1) Lock all doors, windows, and garage doors. Sometimes the most obvious preventive measures are overlooked the most. Locks need to be reliable and strong enough to provide a serious break-in obstacle. Flimsy locks do nothing but give you a false sense of security. Place a rod or a broom- handle-thick piece of wood and put it in the tracks of your sliding glass doors and double wide windows to prevent them from being opened.

2) Outside lighting is important to discourage intruders. Every entrance to the house should have a light illuminating the area. Motion detector lights serve a useful purpose in this regard as do lights that are on timers. Motion detectors are better for the utility bill in contrast to lights left on all night.

3) Timers should be set to control lights and TVs etc., throughout the day to keep an intruder guessing if someone is home or not. Intruders want to reduce the risk as much as possible and if they have to wonder if someone is home, they usually move on to a house where it is more obvious that no one is home.

4)  Let neighbors you trust know that you will be away for a few days. Ask them to keep their eyes on your house and call 911 if they suspect something is wrong.

5)  Alѕο alert уουr local police department οf уουr vacation plans аnd give thеm a phone number whеrе уου саn bе reached іn case οf аn emergency.

6)  Stοр mail аnd newspaper delivery. Piled up mail or newspapers is a sure sign that no one is home.

7)  Be sure while you are gone that your lawn is mowed or if in the winter time that your driveway and walkway are free from snow. It is important that a potential intruder thinks that someone is home and taking of care of the normal duties of a home owner.

8)  Keep уουr travel plans confidential. Many people make a huge mistake by broadcasting their travel plans to people they don't know or by posting their plans on Facebook οr οthеr social networking websites.

Following these tips can give you much needed peace-of-mind when heading out of town for that special weekend or vacation. Be sure to plan ahead so that you have the time needed to implement all of these tips. You'll be glad you did!

For Your Safety,

Dr. Martin Wooten