As summer is the time for vacations, a high percentage of burglaries occur during these months. However, anytime you leave your home for an extended period of time, you can reduce your vulnerability for burglary by simply making your home less attractive to burglars or vandals.
By increasing the lighting outside your house and trimming back hedges and bushes, criminals will naturally shy away. The risk to them is being seen.
According to Jimmy Maass, Farm Bureau’s safety coordinator, the following four steps are critical to ward off potential invaders:
- Set automatic timers to turn lights on and off and varying intervals. Don’t set these devices in a recognizable pattern.
- Ensure all doors, windows, skylights, and any other mans to enter the house are properly closed and locked. Close off potential means of entry such as pet doors.
- Stop mail service and newspaper delivery. Newspapers piling up on your porch is a giveaway.
- Inform your local police that the house will be empty, and alert your neighbors to keep a watchful eye.
While these steps may seem to be adding detail to you vacation preparation, they are valuable in maintaining the overall safety of your home while you’re away. In addition, the energy-saving tips will help keep homeowners cool and safe when the cooling bills hit the mailbox.
Some tips for closing up your home:
- Adjust the thermostat. In cold climates, set the thermostat to no lower than 55 degrees or no higher than 85 degrees.
- Shut off gas to water heater or turn temperature control to “vacation” setting.
- Unplug appliances such as toaster, coffee maker, microwave oven, computer and television. Make sure dryer isn’t on.
- If you choose to leave your water on, turn off the water supply to individual fixtures.
- Make sure appliances like the dishwasher or washing machine are not running and that toilets have stopped filling up.
- If the house has a sump pump, make sure it is working.
- Make the house look lived in.
Creating a routine each time you leave your home alone for an extended period of time can reduce the likelihood of a disaster and keep work to a minimum when you return.