Holiday Season Security: Act Now

With the Christmas holidays fast approaching, NOW is the time to start thinking about home security. It’s easy and relatively inexpensive to secure your house and lower the risk of a break-in. Take a walk around your property and look for weak spots. Loose locks, dodgy doors and unsecured sheds are a thief’s dream.

Holiday season security tips

If you are heading off over the summer holiday season, consider these home security tips before you leave:

1. Lock all doors and windows. Sounds obvious but you would be surprised how often an infrequently used door or window is left unlocked.

2. Make it look like you are home. Ask a neighbour or relative to keep an eye on your property. Putting the bins out on rubbish day, emptying your mailbox, watering the garden and turning a light on now and then will all help make it look like someone is home.

3. Keep valuable items out of sight and away from windows (jewellery and digital devices etc).

4. Secure garden sheds, garages and access gates. Barbeques, bikes, surfboards and other outdoor equipment are popular with thieves.

5. Mow your lawns before you go away, or schedule your gardener in for a visit while you are away.

6. Don’t post about your holiday on social media. Wait until you return before letting the world know that you’re away. Cancel or pause online deliveries.

And the best thing you can do to protect your home? Install a security system. There are many affordable alarm systems that allow you to monitor your home using an app on your phone. You can see who is coming and going and grant access to authorised persons if required. Some systems allow you to turn lights on and off and control other devices within your home to make it look like you are home.

Don’t brag about your holiday plans on social media

You might be tempted to post your holiday plans on social media, but this isn’t a great idea. Telling people online what your plans are in advance or even posting photos during your trip is like inviting thieves into your home. If you want to post pictures online, do it after your trip when your home is no longer empty.

Tidy up your garden before leaving

Reports show that burglars love houses with dense shrubbery because it helps hide their illegal activities. As such, it would be a good idea to trim your shrubs, mow your lawn, and tidy up your yard before leaving. This way, thieves won’t have anywhere to hide on your property.

Have someone look after your property

It’s a good idea to have an alarm system in your home, but still make sure there is still someone available to check up on your property from time to time. Ask a trusted friend, neighbour, or relative to look after your house periodically during your absence. Leave them your phone number so they can easily contact you in case of an emergency.

Move valuables away from windows

Do you own valuable antiques or meaningful or expensive items? If these are typically displayed near a window or within easy sight from outside, you might consider moving these to a spot out of view. This can keep tempting belongings away from prying eyes. Another good rule of thumb is to keep your curtains as you normally have them. It can be more noticeable when all curtains are tightly drawn for a week than if they appear as they normally do.

Secure your property

While this is a no-brainer, it is still worth mentioning that you should lock up and secure every door, gate, or window leading into your home. For example, if your garage has an automatic door, you should turn off its power supply so it won’t be opened by anyone else using a universal remote control. Also, don’t forget to remove ladders, gardening tools, and other items that may help burglars break into your home.

When you’re headed out the door to catch that plane or get on the road, it is far too easy to forget the simple things. Before leaving your home, have everyone in your family check all the windows, doors, and other potential entry points of your home. Ensuring these are locked helps you feel confident in the security of your home while you are gone, and definitely prevents a simple walk-in theft from taking place.

Install a home security system

Finally, you should consider a home security camera system. Many security systems available today have advanced features that allow you to access your system via your smartphone and notify you immediately if there’s been a breach in security.

The above measures are a wonderful option, but for a truly secure home, a comprehensive electronic security system can’t be beat. With alarms that will let the whole neighbourhood know there’s been a break-in, and systems that automatically contact authorities, robbers are more likely to be deterred from attempting to enter your home.

Install security cameras

Christmas is the time of year where we find that callouts to quote and install new alarm systems double due to an increase in break-ins at unsecured and unattended homes.

Don’t be one of our break-in call-outs! Be proactive and invest in the security of your home so you can go away and enjoy yourself without worrying about your untended property. Armitage Security even has easy payment options to help you budget.

Renting? Don’t be put off by the fear that property owners don’t want to pay the money. We’ve found that many landlords are more than happy to protect their investment by installing a security system. Speak to your agent, especially if you have holidays planned. You might just be surprised by their response.

We are happy to provide you with a free security system quote, and with video verified monitoring you’ll know when there’s a real threat, and so will the police. Don’t hold off, contact us today and be ready for your next trip away.