How to Keep your Home Safe While on Vacation

Keep your Home Safe While on Vacation

Are you planning on taking a vacation in the near future? It’s nice to get away from time to time and leave the normal stresses of everyday life behind. If you want to have a relaxing trip, you’ll need to take a few safety precautions at home. Since most burglaries and home invasions occur when the owners are out of town, it’s a good idea to reduce the likelihood that something could go wrong while you’re away. Here is how to keep your home safe while on vacation.

Alert Your Home Security Monitoring Service

One of the first lines of defense you have against a robbery while you’re away is a home security system. Companies like Alarm Relay offer around the clock home monitoring services. With staff available 24/7, if an alarm is triggered in your home, they are able to contact the proper authorities. It is ideal to inform them of your travels so they can keep a close eye on your home and immediately contact you and the local police should something not seem right.

Pause Your Mail Deliveries

Do you receive a lot of mail? Burglars pay attention to the tiniest details to decide which is the best house to break into. This includes looking at the mail piling up in the mailbox. To deter them from your property, you should contact the post office and have them to temporarily pause deliveries to your address. The USPS offers this service for no cost. If you can’t to do this, you should make sure that you talk to your neighbors, friends, or family members about dropping by to get the mail for you.

Photo credit: Daniel Watson

Take Care of Your Lawn

Another detail burglars pay attention to is the lawn. A house that is unoccupied will have an unkempt yard. To reduce the likelihood of your home becoming a target, you’ll want to have your lawn cared for prior to going on vacation. You should complete tasks like trimming shrubs and trees and mowing the lawn.  If you’ll be gone for awhile, hire a neighbor to take care of your lawn while you’re away.

Photo credit: Bruno Cevera

Put Lights on a Timer

Lighting is a dead giveaway for criminals looking to rob you. If your lights don’t come on at some point, they take this as a sign that no one is home. You can create the illusion that someone is home by putting your lights on a timer. This allows your lights to come on inside and outside of the house at a designated time each day. With modern technology, you can also install smart features that allow you to control the lights from your smartphone.

Ask People to Drop By

Though you may not have someone to house sit for you, you can ask a few people to drop by throughout the day while you’re gone. They can do things like check the mail, enter your house to be sure no one is there, feed the pets, or water the plants. Their showing up can also create an illusion that someone is there.

Lock All Doors and Windows

You’d be surprised how many people leave home for vacation without considering the simplest security measures like locking the windows and doors. They tend to forget certain access points which leaves their property vulnerable. Before you leave, do a walk-thru of your house checking each window and door as you enter to make sure it’s locked. If there is an entryway with a damaged or ineffective lock, invest in replacements before going on your trip.

If you want your trip to go off without a hitch, give yourself peace of mind by making sure your home is secure. Though these security measures should be used by anyone who’s traveling, they are especially important for those who may be traveling internationally to places like Australia, Europe, or Asia where you may be gone for several weeks at a time. It will reduce the likelihood of a break-in and keep your home safe while on vacation.