Well, summer is well and truly over, and the dark, spooky nights are drawing in. As the days get shorter, this is the perfect time to reflect on your security arrangements and make sure your home and your family are safe this Halloween. You don’t want any tricks, do you? Today, we’re going over some Halloween security tips that you can put in place yourself.
Lock Up Day and Night
The first step to keeping potential intruders away is making sure your home is securely locked at all times, especially when you’re out. Yes, it’s simple, but it’s surprising how many people miss this one. Heading out to a Halloween party? Take a moment to double-check that your doors and windows are locked. Remember that most burglars are lazy – they want to take advantage of an easy way in where they don’t have to be out in the open where they could be caught.
Answer The Door Carefully
Vampires might need an invitation to come into your home, but burglars absolutely don’t. Whenever you open your door to someone you don’t know, make sure you’re not leaving the door open for them. Security chains are a fantastic way, to do this, as they provide a barrier between you and whoever is at the door. If it’s Halloween night, make sure you keep your sweets in easy reach of the door. You should never need to leave the door while it’s open. And if you prefer a quiet night in watching your favourite scary movie? Make sure you put a polite ‘no trick-or-treaters please’ sign to let visitors know you’re not participating.
Use Smart Lights and Timers
Timers and smart lights are other effective ways to keep your home safe as it gets darker. Even if you’re out for the evening, having lights going on and off can be enough to deter would-be burglars. If you want a spooky case study on this, just look at the film The Purge from 2013. In the film, lighting played a crucial role in signalling that a home was occupied and secured, so it posed a less appealing target. Keeping your house well-lit can make a huge difference in discouraging unwanted visitors. Set your lighting timers to go on and off at different times to try and mimic the natural activity of a household, rather than all the lights going on or off at once!
Outdoor Illumination is Your Friend
We know that darkness is the spookiest thing, but for home security it’s not your friend. A well-lit exterior not only shows off your decorations and welcome trick-or-treaters, it makes your home a less appealing target. Outdoor lighting makes it seem like people are home, so burglars are less likely to try their luck. Motion sensor lights can also be particularly useful, as they can surprise people approaching your property and shine a big, conspicuous light on them.
Create a Tricky Landscape
If someone can just walk up to your property without being seen, you might as well be inviting the guy with the scream mask in. Instead, make it difficult for them. Racing prickly or dense plants or bushes near your windows is a common technique for this – the thornier the better! Add in gravel pathways so that they make a noise if they step onto your property, and you have a natural burglar alarm.
Don’t take that as an invitation to let your garden go wild though. Overgrown trees and hedges provide hiding places and obscure sightlines, so grab your shears and clear them up.
Install an Alarm
It doesn’t have to be the siren from Ghostbusters, but a security alarm is a must for have security these days. It’s a visual signal that your home will be more trouble than it’s worth, and if they do try it, then the ear-piercing shriek will send them running. You can install one yourself, or if you have a little more budget you can have one professionally installed and monitored. Monitoring means you can have a guaranteed response if the alarm is tripped, and you can always check what’s happening from your phone.
Keep Valuables Out of Sight
You might not be able to move things like TVs, but keeping smaller valuables out of easy sight is another easy way to protect your home. Phones, laptops, Cash, expensive jewellery and electronics need to be hidden away from opportunistic hands. Halloween is a night of mischief, and for many homeowners it can be quite worrying to think about all the things that could happen. But it’s important to focus on what you can control, rather than what you can’t. By taking some simple steps, you can exercise more control over your home security this Halloween, and beyond.