Home Security and Vacations

It's that time of year that you've been so looking forward to. It's vacation time! Time for some much needed fun and relaxation. There's one thing that needs addressed before you leave. Is your home secure? How's your home security situation?

The last thing you ever want to do is to come back home from a great vacation to find your home burglarized and torn upside down. But, for too many people that is exactly what happens. Their possessions have been stolen and their home has been trashed. The good news is that this doesn't have to happen to you. By taking just a few minutes to plan ahead, you can dramatically reduce the risk of becoming the next robbery victim.

House Sitter
You may want to have a relative or friend come over to your house every day while you're gone. They can easily check out everything, bring in your mail, and even turn on the lights in the evening.

If you have pets then this makes even more sense since they can provide fresh food and water on a daily basis.

The one thing to remember is getting someone to watch over your home is reliability. Be sure it is someone you can trust, as well as someone who will actually do the job.

Give your home a lived in appearance.
Make it appear that someone is still living in your home while you're on vacation. Some common home security measures you can take include, timers on your lights inside the home, and adding a TV timer to turn it on and off at certain times. This will stop most all potential burglars in their tracks.

Perhaps ask your neighbor to keep an eye on things while you're gone. many times you can trade back and forth by doing the same for them when they go away on vacation.

Some other things to put into action include having your mail picked up daily. If you can't find anyone to do that, go to your post office and put a temporary hold on your mail deliver. Would be criminals know that no one is home when they see a mailbox stuffed with mail, or newspapers collecting in the driveway. So, stop your newspaper delivery if it applies.

Don't forget to mow the lawn if it's summer when you're going to be gone. Tall grass that hasn't been mowed for a while is another tell-tale sign that no one is home.