Summer is the most popular time for people to go on vacations, and burglars know this fact. While you are away on vacation, it is the easiest time for someone to break into your home, because you aren’t home and will not be for a while. The burglars find out you are gone by looking at signs given off by the way you leave your house while you are away. In order to save yourself the worry while you’re on vacation, be sure to follow these few steps to ensure the safety of your home while you’re off enjoying your vacation.
Stop Delivery
When you go on vacation for more than a couple days, you should make sure to either stop the delivery of your mail or have someone pick it up for you. If burglars see that your mailbox is overflowing, they can tell that you aren’t home and haven’t been for a little while.
Pretend
Use timers on certain electronics to make it look like you are home. You can set timers on lights, television sets, radios and other appliances to make sound and light in your house.
Keep it Lit
If you have outside lights, make sure to keep them on or use motion-activated sensors. If a burglar is going to approach your home, they will want to stay hidden. If you have the lights on or have motion sensors, they will be sure to stay away from your home because it will make it easier for neighbors to see that they are there. Keeping a light on in inside your house will also make it look like someone is home.
Stay Clean
Before leaving, if you know you are going to be away for a decent amount of time, ask someone to trim your lawn and bushes. If you have an overgrown lawn, it will be obvious that someone is either not living there or on vacation. Either one of those possibilities is good news for deterring a burglar.
Keep it Cool
Make sure to leave your air conditioner on while you are away. It may seem crazy to keep an empty house cool, but it’ll seem even crazier to a burglar that someone is there without the air conditioner on during a hot day. If you keep it on, they will know that someone must be in the house. Just be careful where the air conditioner is located–if it’s on a bottom floor you risk making it easier for the intruder to get in through your window.
Save Electricity
Since you will may have timers to turn on things and the air conditioning going, you are going to be using a lot of electricity. So, as not to rack up your electricity bill, unplug everything that is not in use. Leave the timers, air conditioner and refrigerator plugged in and unplug everything else isn’t necessary. Even if they aren’t in use, appliances consume energy when plugged in.
Vacation is a time for you to enjoy yourself, not time to worry about whether someone is breaking into your home while you’re away. Make sure to follow these steps so you can be assured to have a relaxing vacation away from home.
However, sometimes bad things happen, so you need to make sure that you are protected against a burglary. Contact the team at TJ Woods Insurance Agency, Inc. located in Worcester, MA to get information about home insurance and how to protect yourself in case of a burglary.
