SIMPLE TRICKS THAT INTIMIDATE BURGLARS - PART 4

So Easy, Even Your Neighbors Can Help!

I know it’s been a while – so sorry for that, but opening up a small retail store takes lots, and lots of time and energy! Well, I’m back and I want to finish this 4 part series, because these are some of the best and simplest ideas I've found yet – and most of them won’t cost you a penny!! Really, some of these ideas are so common-sense, and so easy, you'll wonder why you didn't think of them yourself! I know I did!

First – if you’re going to be away from your home for several days:

• Ask a neighbor to use your driveway for one of their cars, giving the appearance that someone is home
• Go to the post office a few days in advance to make sure they stop delivery of your mail while you are away – an overflowing mailbox is a sure sign that no one is home
• Stop delivery of all newspapers, and ask your neighbor to remove anything left at your door from advertisers, organizations, or politicians
• Keep the yard mowed – if it’s warm enough for the grass to keep growing you might ask a neighborhood teen, or a niece or nephew to keep it clipped and earn themselves some spending money
• If the weather has turned cooler, have that same young teen sweep the path to your front door, keeping it free from leaves or snow
• You’ll also want to have the neighbor walk through that new fallen snow – giving the appearance that someone has gone from the front door to the mailbox, or from the car they are parking in your driveway to the front door or garage door

Second - Don't forget the simple things:

• Home or away, you don’t want things lying around that a burglar could use to gain entry, such as a ladder/step ladder, boxes or crates that could be stacked up to reach higher windows, etc.
• Don’t advertise that you are gone by leaving a note on the door for delivery or repairmen
• Don’t post on social media that you are going on a trip, or when you will be gone. You never know how your friends have their security settings!
• Don’t leave a message on your answering machine that you are away – you never know who’s just outside your window listening
• Turn your phone ringer down so those outside won’t hear that there’s no one home to answer the phone

Many burglars have a system of scoping out their victims homes before they attempt a break in.  They might be dressed like a local utility man reading the meter, while checking for an easy entry location to your home.  They could be the guy looking for his stray pet, or even the person hanging door ads for the local pizza joint.  Sometimes they may be the person who delivered that new appliance you bought last week, or the guy who came in to demonstrate his carpet cleaning system.

Whoever they may be and wherever they come from, we all want to protect our family and our possessions. It may take a little extra time at first, until some of these ideas become second nature to you, but in the end it is all sooo worth it!