All year we look forward to the summer season. The sun’s shine seems ceaseless, backyard get-togethers bring endless smiles, and undoubtedly the best of memories are made on those summer trips with the whole family. However, while it may seem like all fun and play—“the highest percentage of burglaries occur during the summer months,” mainly because most families are out of town. (safeguardtheworld.com) So before you leave home to go on that much needed vacation, here are four tips that may help to protect your home and family from falling victim of robbery this summer.

Keep Mum on Specifics
Many of us get so excited about our plans to get out of town that we eagerly go on various social media platforms to make posts and even post pictures about the occasion, which (believe it or not) makes our chances of being robbed exponentially higher. “Every 13 seconds a home intrusion is committed;” to help lower your chances of being a part of that statistic, limit how much you share about specific details. Only share information with close friends and family, to be on the safe side. Once your vacation is over and you are back home you can go crazy with Facebooking, Tweeting and Instagraming as much as you please.

Up Your Security
“Homes without security systems are up to 300% more likely to be broken into.” If you do not have one already, it’s a smart to invest in installing a home security system. A home security system is an aid that helps to alert authorities of foul play in the event that you are absent from your home. Home security systems help to give personal security and peace of mind so that you can continue to enjoy your vacation.

Form a Neighborhood Watch
Robberies are less likely to happen in strong knit communities. Try getting together with your trusted neighbors and agree to look out for each other’s home if a fellow family will be gone for an extended time period. Ask a neighbor to collect your mail, and even to park your car in their driveway or infront of their house, if you do not have a car garage. Doing these things can help to prevent potential wrong doing as it takes away tell-tale signs of vacancy.

Lock Up
It is common for homes to have multiple entry points. Aside from checking your doors, it is important to secure entry into a home by way of garage. Make sure each entry is tightly locked and secured. A trick to ensure sliding glass doors are closed is putting a custom cut block of wood in the door track. This ensures that the door can’t move. Another tip to help prevent against burglary is to skip hiding keys around the outside of the home, i.e. under welcome mats and in flower pots. Oh and you can forget that fake plastic rock trick. If someone will be house sitting for you, give them the keys directly rather than try in hide them in obvious places.

Window Protection
It is common to leave windows open during warmers months to enjoy the nice summer breeze. Be sure to shut all windows prior to leaving. After you lock all windows it is also helpful to draw all curtains or blinds to deter peeping toms from looking inside. Another small trick is to leave a few lights on in the house. Robbers often look for homes that appear vacant, and one way to decide that is to see if a house is completely dark.

Try these tips and tricks for a stress and burglary free summer!

Photo by Home Security Systems

Statistics provided by Safe Guard the World