It’s never a good feeling having to come back home from vacation and settle back to the realities of life. It’s even worse, however, coming home from a beautiful vacation to find that someone has broken into your home. Not only are valuable and priceless objects lost, but gone too is your feeling of security in your own home. According to statistics from the FBI and Nationwide Insurance, a majority of home burglaries take place in the summer months (July and August) when people tend to go on vacation.
There is good news, though. The same organizations believe that 9 out of 10 burglaries would not have happened if preventive measures were taken. This post will help you with some of these steps so that your home won’t just be another statistic.
The best way to prevent burglary is to maintain the illusion that someone is actually home during your time away. This can be accomplished by actually having someone house or pet sit. Alternatives include programming your light system to turn on random lights around the house (if you have a centralized system for lighting). It is also important to have someone collect your mail and newspapers. Nothing says “hello my house is unoccupied, come on in” more than an overflowing mailbox and pyramid pile of newspapers. If you can’t have someone pick these up, then you could request to hold your mail and newspaper from delivery. Also, you should have landscapers take care of your lawn. Although you won’t be there to admire the freshly cut grass, potential burglars will see it. Don’t tell the world when you’re leaving, either. This is something that’s only really become a problem with the onset of social media. It might be tempting to tweet to everyone about how great your trip to Bali will be, but remember, you don’t know who is reading what you post.
Don’t forget the obvious steps for home security, locking everything. Sliding glass doors are often a point of weakness, so try putting a bar that can hold them shut, even if the lock fails. Always take your spare key away when you’re on vacation. You are not unique in placing your key under the mat, on a column, or under a rock. Burglars probably put their key in the same place at their home. Just don’t do it. It’s not a good idea to leave valuables near windows in direct sight of the street. In case someone manages to get into your home, lock up the extremely valuable belongings in a box or safe.
These tips should make the worst part of coming home from vacation, the realization that you go back to work tomorrow.
Dibico Living Made Easy Tip: It’s natural to turn off the heating or cooling system when you leave to save power; however, keep some heat on when it’s cold to prevent pipes from freezing.
Dibico Construction, Inc. will be there every step of the way in the design, build, addition, renovation, or maintenance of your home. Conveniently located in Greenwich, CT, Dibico primarily provides custom home building services to Fairfield County, Westchester County, and Manhattan.
