Ways to Keep Your Home Secure While on Summer Vacation

Summer is the best for vacationing! Schools are out, the weather is warm, and many popular vacation destinations are in their peak season. But between all of the packing and planning for your next trip, you should give some thought to how you’re going to keep your home secure while you’re away.

Summer is also a time when burglars target vacant homes, especially when it becomes apparent that a family is on vacation and won’t be returning right away. There are signs that these thieves look for in order to pick the right homes to invade, but there are things you can do to throw them off and keep your house and belongings safe while you’re on vacation.

As the top locksmith in Northeast Philadelphia, we not only want to provide our customers with great locksmith services, we also want to make sure they have the information they need to help keep them safe and secure at all times. Here are some tips from us on how to keep your house safe this summer while you’re on vacation.

Maintain Activity: One of the best ways to keep your home from being a target for a burglary is to keep up appearances to make it look like someone is still home. This can be done by having family, friends, or neighbors come by regularly to do things such as water the plants, pick up the newspaper, grab the mail, mow the lawn, etc. The U.S. Postal Service will even hold your mail for 3 to 30 days for no cost at all.

Lock Up: Before you leave for your trip, check all of the access points of your house to ensure that they’re secure and locked up. This means not only checking doors, but also windows, doggie doors, and cellar doors. If the locks on any of these things are not in working condition, be sure to call your local locksmith and have them replaced or repaired before your trip. Also consider turning off the power to your garage door because some savvy thieves can use universal remotes to open those as well.

Wait to Post Pics: We know there’s an urge to show off the great time you’re having on your trip by posting the pics to social media, but if you’re really concerned about the security of your home then it’s best to wait until you’re back from vacation. The more information that is out there about your current location or when you might be coming back, the more likely that information could get into the hands of the wrong people.
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Install Security System: This is perhaps the most drastic step, but it’s an effective one. Home security systems have the technology these days to send you alerts right to your phone when a break-in occurs, and most of them even alert the authorities as well when something happens. Video monitoring and text alerts make for a great way to keep an eye on your home no matter where you are in the world.