by Craig Davis
Did you know that most burglaries happen between 10am and 3pm? When you’re out of the house, make it harder for a burglar to break in with these simple and safe tips.
1. Landscape strategically — A few well-placed motion-sensor lights, some thorny bushes or plants, and a couple of pruned trees can do wonders for your home’s security! And they look ever so nice! The basic idea is to make your home more visible and make it harder for burglars to get into your house.
2. Don’t advertise your vacation – Since most robberies take place when people are out of the house, don’t make thieves’ jobs any easier by telling everyone and their mothers that you’ll be away on vacation! That goes for posting your travel plans on social media too. Wait until you’re back to post all those lovely photos and selfies in front of landmarks. It’s also a good idea to make sure your house doesn’t look uninhabited. Set lights or TV’s on a timer, have the post office hold your mail, and ask a friend to come by and pick up the paper. It may sound silly but it could help protect your home from being burglarized.
3. Hide your phone lines – An electronic home alarm system is a great way to protect your household, and it can help you sleep better at night too! The thing is, most standard alarm systems transmit their alerts over telephone lines. So if you have an alarm system, make sure your phone cables aren’t easy to spot, because they may also be easy to cut! Talk to your alarm company or your phone provider to see if it’s possible to hide your phone lines or set up a cellular signal.
4. Secure sliding doors – Just tossing a steel rod (or even something like a baseball bat) in the door channel is an easy way to secure your sliding doors. That’ll reduce the chance of someone lifting it out of the track or forcing it open.
5. Deadbolt your doors and secure windows – Strong deadbolt locks and secured windows can discourage potential thieves just by making their jobs a little bit harder. Make sure all your external doors and windows (even ones on 2nd or 3rd stories) are dead bolted and locked from the inside. If your doors and windows don’t have deadbolts and strong locks, you may want to talk to your local locksmith or handyman!
Craig Davis is an agent for Farmers Insurance and the owner of Craig Davis Family Insurance located at 27645 Jefferson, Suite 113, in Temecula. He may be reached at (951) 699-1776. cdavis@farmersagent.com
