No More Thieves

While you are out of town on vacation or even just overnight, an unguarded, unprotected home is a sitting target for burglars. Alarm systems and motion detectors are invaluable as far as warding of crime while you’re away, however, if these are the only precautions you’re taking, there’s still a lot more risk you could easily eliminate, ensuring both the safety of your property and ease of mind. When you’re out of town you are less in control, so it’s best to be prepared in case the house sitter forgets to reactivate the alarm or there’s some sort of malfunction. Be sure to turn off the coffeemaker, dial back the air conditioner or whatever other to-dos you would normally check off before leaving for any sizeable chunk of time, but add these tips to the list, just to be safe.

1. Use Timers Timers are often built in to home electronics so that they can be programmed to turn on and off automatically. Lights, televisions and radios turning on and off sporadically throughout the day gives the illusion that the house is occupied even if it’s completely empty. It has long been recommended to leave a few lights on, but timed lights work even better because observant thieves may notice the house lighting patterns are unchanged. It also saves on utility bills upon your return.
2. Hold the mail Nothing says “I’m not home” like a fully stuffed mailbox or pile of newspapers on the doorstep, might as well be a highly informative welcome mat.
3. Tell your neighbors Aside from the obvious benefit that they can alert authorities if anything appears out of place, neighbors can also help with a few helpful chores to maintain the image of normalcy. For example, neighbors can put their trash in your garbage on collection day so it looks as if someone has been living there all week.