Warm weather continues to spread across the country. As it does, kids’ minds turn to spring break. They cannot wait to get outdoors and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. Parents also look forward to this break, as many people take time off from work to see family or travel. When doing so, they need to ensure their home and possessions remain safe. Holidays serve as the perfect time for criminals to enter a property because they know the residents of the home are away. Also Read www.americalocksmithing.com.
Texas Premier Locksmith wants to help clients keep their homes secure. The staff recognizes warm weather not only brings out the children but also the criminals. These individuals look for easy targets, and the locksmiths want to ensure your home is not one of them. Review the following tips to keep criminals at bay while you are away.
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Keep the Curtains or Blinds Closed
People love to let the sunshine and warm air in when spring arrives. However, open curtains, blinds, and windows allow criminals to see what is in the home. If there are valuables in a room, try to keep them out of the line of sight of people passing by. Make it difficult for them to learn what is in the residence. If you would like to open the windows and blinds but find it difficult to rearrange the room so valuables won’t be on display, consider investing in a window film that allows light into the home while restricting the view of the interior. This helps to prevent prying eyes from discovering what you own.
Invest in Smart Lighting
In the past, men and women would often invest in timers to turn the lights on and off when they were away from home. However, it is easy to set the timers and forget to alter the schedule. Criminals often watch a property for weeks to learn when the occupants are home and away. They would quickly pick up on the light schedule and benefit from it.
Today, smart lighting makes it easy for a homeowner to turn the lights on and off while away from home. A person could sit at dinner in another state and turn on the lights or adjust the brightness. This random schedule deters criminals because it mimics a family’s use of the lights when they are at home and moving between rooms. When dinner is over, the homeowner can turn the lights off remotely, just as if they were at home and finishing a meal.
Let Neighbors Know Your Plans
Alert a neighbor to the fact that you will be away. They can watch the house and ensure nothing goes wrong. If they see suspicious activity, they can alert law enforcement. This reduces the risk of you returning home from your trip to find burglars ransacked the residence, which is something nobody wants to happen.
Use a Parcel Locker
Homeowners should contact the postal service to have mail delivery stopped when they are away. What happens when a package arrives through a different shipping service, though? The buyer doesn’t want it sitting out in the open until they return. Not only does this expose the contents of the package to the elements, but it alerts people to the fact nobody is home. Avoid this problem by using a parcel locker for packages that will arrive when you are away.
Parcel lockers serve as secured storage units designed to hold packages for the buyer to collect at a later time. A person may use this locker to ensure a gift recipient doesn’t see a package before they should or to hide an item from a spouse. However, many people use these lockers to hold packages when they will be away. They know the items will remain safe and out of harm’s way until they can retrieve the items.
Keep Valuables Hidden
When traveling, keep valuables hidden, and take expensive items with you when leaving your car. Although it may appear more convenient to leave a purse in the car when visiting a rest stop, take it with you. Criminals recognize rest stops become busy at times and the visitors don’t know each other. This makes it easy for them to access someone’s car, grab valuables, and walk away before anyone sees them. By locking the vehicle and taking valuables with you, the risk of this happening decreases.
Secure the Home
When leaving on a vacation, family members often make multiple trips to the car to load their suitcases and other things going on the trip with them. With so many people going in and out of the home, it’s easy to unlock the door and forget to relock it. Before leaving on the journey, double-check all doors and windows to make certain you locked them. Every door in the home needs to be strong and secured with the help of deadbolts or other devices. Install a slide lock on the garage door, and secure it with a padlock to prevent unwanted access through this entry point.
Upgrade the Home Security System
Audible alarm systems deter burglars, as they alert other individuals to a person attempting to access an area that they shouldn’t enter. Visible security cameras also encourage criminals to look for an easier target because they know the cameras will pick up their image. Law enforcement can then use the image to identify the perpetrator. Although many companies today offer do-it-yourself home security systems, it’s best to work with a professional locksmith company. These individuals know how to identify weak spots in a home security system and overcome them.
Contact a locksmith today to evaluate the security of your home. Every homeowner should do so regularly to ensure they don’t have any areas criminals will take advantage of to carry out nefarious acts. From the installation of deadbolts to a complete security system, the locksmith will keep your family, home, and belongings safe, so you rest easy at night and enjoy your vacation when you get away for a few days.
