7 Ways to Protect Your Home While Away on Vacation

March 16, 2022 by Anas Mustafa

You want your vacation to be as free from stress and worry as possible. Just as you take steps to protect yourself and loved ones while away, it’s important to consider how to keep your home safe in your absence. The most effective way to avoid a home intrusion is to have your house not appear like an easy target to thieves.

Implementing preventive measures before your departure can discourage criminals and reduce the likelihood of a break-in. Proper preparedness and investment in criminal deterrents are key.

The following 7 ways can make your home unappealing to potential thieves and help to protect your residence.

1. Maintain appearances

One of the most effective preventative measures that you can take to protect your home while you’re away is, simply, to make it look like someone’s home. An obviously empty and unoccupied house is an easy target for criminals. They are far less likely to target a residence that appears busy and lived in. Here are a few ways to give this impression even while you’re on vacation:

Pause all deliveries to your home. Instead of having packages delivered to your front door, have them held for you at the post office. An overflowing mailbox and a pile of packages on your porch indicate that no one’s home.
Ask a family member or friend to check on your house regularly. If any mail or packages find their way to your home, this trusted person can collect them for you. They can also maintain appearances by taking out the garbage and recycling bins, watering your plants, and mowing the lawn. With your permission, they could even leave their car in your driveway and spend a night in your home.
If you have gardeners or maintenance workers who regularly work on your property, keep these appointments. If a thief is watching your house, they will notice any abrupt changes to your schedule.

2. Lock all doors, windows, and garages

Ensure that you remember to lock all doors, windows, pet doors, mail slots, and other openings before you go on vacation.
Garages can provide easy access to your home or expensive stored items, such as tools. Disconnecting your automatic door opener and replacing it with a padlock can keep thieves from breaking in. Alternatively, you can use a Smart Garage Control Device and integrate it with your smart home security system. This will allow you to see if your garage door is open or closed, no matter where you are. You can also close and lock it remotely.
Installing a Smart Lock enables you to lock (and unlock) your doors remotely, regardless of your physical location. With a Smart Lock from Canadian Security Professionals, you can always check to see if you (or a house sitter) remembered to lock the door.

3. Use lighting to your advantage

Lighting is an easy and effective way to deter criminals. A dark house indicates that no one is there and a dark yard can hide nefarious activities. Interior and exterior lighting prevents this.
Set the lights within your home on a timer, or opt for a Smart Light Switch that you can control from anywhere. You can even set schedules for these lights to make it seem like someone’s home when you’re away on vacation.
Motion-sensor flood lights for outside your house will illuminate any criminals sneaking around your yard. Thieves prefer to operate in darkness, and an outdoor sensor light will make your home an unappealing target.

4. Keep valuables out of sight

Relocate your valuables to a safe or simply move them out of sight. If a potential thief is peering into your home through a window, you want to make sure there is nothing valuable for them to see.

5. Don’t hide spare keys outside

Criminals know all the usual spots where spare keys are hidden. Keeping an extra key outside provides them with easy access to your home. Keys should be kept with you or given to a trusted friend or family member.
With a Smart Lock, you can assign your family and/or anyone watching your home a unique code that grants them access to your home. This is much safer than leaving a key tucked underneath your doormat! Smart Locks allow you to lock (and unlock) the door remotely, in case you need to open the door for someone while you’re away.

6. Wait to share your trip on social media

Posting details of your trip on social media, whether through status updates or photos, is best done once you have already returned home. This information can easily be found by potential thieves, letting them immediately know that your house is unoccupied and an easy target.

7. Invest in security systems

A smart home alarm system keeps your house and belongings safe while also providing you with peace of mind. At Canadian Security Professionals, we have a variety of security and automation options that will allow you to enjoy your vacation instead of worrying about what’s happening at home. These add an extra layer of security to your residency, discouraging thieves and preventing crime. Consider installing the following before your next trip away:

Security Sensors
Smart Locks
Smart Light Switches
Garage Door Control
Wireless Security Cameras
Smart Doorbell Cameras

You Can Protect Your Home

Embarking for a well-earned vacation should be relaxing and restorative. Keeping your worries at bay can be as simple as taking preventative steps to protect your home in your absence.

To avoid a home invasion, it’s crucial to make your residency seem like an unappealing target to criminals. This can be done by maintaining appearances, keeping appointments, and having a well-lit yard. Remembering to lock all your doors and never leaving a spare key hidden outside are also of profound importance.

You should also use the latest technologies to your advantage. A home alarm system that utilizes integrated smart devices can add that extra layer of security. Security sensors, smart locks, smart light switches, garage door control, wireless cameras, and smart doorbell cameras protect your home so you can enjoy your holiday, worry free.

To learn more about home alarm systems, call Canadian Security Professionals today at 1-877-494-9911 or contact us here.

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