10 Things You Can Do to Increase the Safety of Your Home When You’re Away

One of everyone’s greatest fears is to suffer a robbery in our own home. That’s because many thieves prefer to enter empty homes, where they know they can find valuables in the shortest possible time without anyone hindering them in achieving their goals. Installing an alarm is not always enough, and many security measures are already well known, so it’s important to apply new ones to improve home protection.

At Bright Side, we looked into the different methods of making it harder for burglars to break into homes, including some tips on how to prevent the theft of household valuables.

1. Placing deterrent signs at the entrance

A good way to make a burglar think twice before entering your house is if they see a deterrent sign at the entrance, indicating that the house has anti-theft security systems. This will also help to prevent the alarm from being activated unnecessarily and reduce the chances of burglary.

However, it’s necessary to apply another protective mechanism since many burglars know how to detect whether the sign is fake or not. In addition, this may be illegal without the authorization of a specialized company. It’s best to consult with experts and purchase signs with a set of surveillance and security tools.

2. Never hide keys in flower pots, mailboxes, or under mats.

The first places burglars look for house keys are carpets, mailboxes, and flowerpots — burying them in the latter can lead the intruder to become suspicious and simply break them.

Ideally, you should hide the key in a place that’s difficult for the thief to access, but, at the same time, allows you to access it easily. Sometimes the best hiding places are those in plain sight, such as in the barbeque grill, the birdhouse, or the doghouse. You can also use your imagination to find the best hiding place to make it difficult for strangers to get into your home.

3. Consider making copies of keys for each family member.

While in the previous point we talked about finding the best hiding place for your keys, sometimes it’s safer to take them with you. And if you have children, consider making copies for each of them. This way, they will be able to access your home more quickly.

If your children are still minors, educate them on the importance of taking care of their key and avoiding sharing it with their partner, delivery person, or maintenance personnel. Security can be even stronger if coordinated as a family.

4. Maintain an open garden with pruned trees.

Thieves can use the trees in your yard to hide or even access multi-story homes more easily. In this case, it is best to keep your trees well-trimmed and, if possible, your yard looking large and tidy.

Also, take care of creepers and make sure that any vegetation on your property does not act as a “shield” for the intruder to steal your things without being detected. Another factor you should take into account is the lawn: if you don’t mow it often, anyone can think that your house is uninhabited, making it an easy target for any criminal.

5. Ask people you trust to keep an eye on your home.

You can tell at a glance when a house is empty, either because the yard is unkempt or because the mailbox is full. In this case, the best thing to do is to have people you trust to take a look around your home, pick up the newspaper, or remove any mail that is deposited at the entrance of your home.

These people can be your neighbors, but ideally, it should be someone you trust enough to put the protection of your home in their hands when you are away. And to further increase security, avoid talking to strangers about your extended absences.

6. Keep the second-floor windows closed.

A group of burglars said that many people make the mistake of leaving their windows open, especially those on second floors or even in the basement. Just a glance is enough to know not only if the house is uninhabited, but also for criminals to find any valuables they can easily steal.

In this case, keeping the window closed can create doubt as to whether or not the house is actually inhabited — and being on the first or second floor won’t “lower the desire” to enter to steal. All they need is a ladder or a pole to climb, and they’ll have secured access.

7. Pretend that other people are in your home.

Since many burglars prefer to steal when no one is home, the best thing to do is create an illusion that allows them to flee in fear of being discovered. Simply program your audio equipment to transmit sounds of footsteps, voices, or even white noise to disturb the burglar.

Another way to fool potential intruders is to “say goodbye” when leaving the house, even if there is no one else in the house. In this case, you can say “goodbye” before closing the door. This is one of the simplest yet effective tricks. This can lead them to discard the idea of entering the house to avoid problems.

8. Consider buying a safe.

Safes are one of the most classic options for storing money, documents, jewelry, or other valuables. However, it’s necessary that these are approved to ensure that they have all the security systems against theft, fires, and flooding.

In addition to that, you should also consider choosing different types of safes according to your needs; they range from built-in to camouflaged. Ideally, they should be placed somewhere inconspicuous, out of sight of intruders trying to steal from your home.

9. Don’t hide valuables in places that are “obvious” to a thief.

If a safe is not available, the best thing to do is hide objects in different corners of the house. However, there are too many “obvious” places for burglars to look, and, although they may have worked at one time, they are now the first places burglars go to search for jewelry and money.

Among the most common hiding places are the nightstands, jewelry boxes, toilet tanks, and lockboxes. On the other hand, it is difficult for them to take a peek at the bottom of the trash can, a heavy safe, or the back of a freezer.

10. Dare to break your daily routine.

While following a routine is necessary for a balanced life, many times, assailants tend to look closely at the movements of their victims to plan their assaults. In this case, it is best to be able to detect any strange signs in your environment, whether it’s a change or the presence of a suspicious person in your neighborhood, in order to modify your daily activities.

Not doing the same things every day can create confusion for the thief, making him or her discouraged from trying to rob an unpredictable person. People of fixed habits are usually easy targets for anyone planning a home robbery since only a few days of observation are enough to carry out their evil plans.

What security measures do you take to protect your home in your absence? How do you educate your family to increase home protection and feel safe at home?