Considering summertime is peak season for home burglaries, there’s no better time than the present to take a few steps to protect your home and your family.
“Securing your home doesn’t necessarily require a costly alarm system,” said Brian Sweet, operations manger at D&D Technologies, an award-winning lock and safety company. “Taking a close look at your outdoor spaces and making simple safety updates will dramatically reduce the chances of your home becoming a criminal target.”
Here are some simple steps to help keep your property safe.
• Trim landscaping. Well-manicured landscaping not only beautifies your yard, it also helps deter thieves. Overgrown trees and shrubs make it easy to stay concealed day or night. Pay special attention to proper trimming around windows, doors and other points of entry into your home or garage.
• Add gate locks and alarms. Add locks to all outdoor gates. For extra security, opt for an alarm lock like the Magna Latch Alert — the world’s first integrated gate latch and electronic alarm system. This gate lock meets poolsafety codes and allows you to see and hear if the lock is triggered, thanks to an ata- glance lock indicator with flashing LED light and audible unlatch alarm. The perfect do-it-yourself project that can be completed in mere minutes, installation of the Magna Latch Alert requires no special tools, screws or wiring. Visit ddtechglobal.com to learn more.
• Verify lighting.Take a walk around your home in the evening and check for areas of poor lighting. Fronts of homes often have good lighting, but sides and back yards have excessive dark space. One of the easiest ways to increase evening security is by adding motion lights.
• Careful with extra keys. It’s common for families to hide a spare key at their home, but too often it’s in an obvious location, like under the doormat, above the door frame or by a landscape rock. It takes just seconds for a thief to check these common locations. Instead, leave a set of keys with a trusted neighbor or, at the very least, select a well-hidden location that would be difficult for a stranger to find.
• Keep valuables out of sight. While enjoying the outdoors is great, beware about showing off too many of your valuable possessions. An open garage door easily can make a new car or box of expensive tools visible to anyone. Leaving expensive recreational toys — from bikes to boats — in your driveway signals clearly that you have money. Be careful, because you never know who is watching, and you may unknowingly be signaling to all who walk or drive past your house that the garage is packed with goodies.
This article is courtesy of Brandpoint.