For most people, summer is a vacation season. But not for thieves. They have the hottest time in both meanings. According to statistics, the number of burglaries in summer increases by 20%. If you don’t want to be added to the list, take measures to protect your place in advance! I will tell you how to protect your apartment from thieves during your holiday season and beyond.

  • Install secure windows and doors

Thieves enter the apartment through doors or windows (surprise!), so you need to take care of their reliability. If you live on the first or last floor of the building, be sure to put a secure grate on the windows. If you have plastic windows, they can be equipped with anti-burglary accessories. The cost is not very high, and the benefits are obvious.

In addition, you can protect the window-glass as well. For this, there is a special cover-up that sticks to glass and makes it invulnerable even to stones or metal objects. This service is not cheap, but such a thing not only protects the glass from breaking but also has heat-insulating properties.

Thinking about how to protect your summer house from thieves? A good solution for that one or private home can be roller shutters. From the inside, they are opened and closed with a button, and from the outside – there’s security protection against burglary.

As you know, the most reliable door is made of metal, but not a Chinese one which can be pierced with a knife. The door should be heavy, made of quality thick metal. It is harder to crack the door that opens outward.

Locks are also very important. Of course, a thief-professional will be able to crack almost any lock, but, agree, if you have to deal with the lock for a long time, the chances of being caught increase. Not every thief would take such a risk. It is better to choose the lock that is mounted inside the door. Give preference to famous brands. By the way, the more key turns you need to make to open the door, the more secure the lock is.

  • Use the help of professionals

The most reliable way to protect your property is to have your apartment guarded by a public or private company. However, this method is not available to everyone, because only the installation of security equipment will cost several thousand dollars. And also it will be necessary to pay a subscription fee ($300-$500 per month). At thieves’ home invasion, the guard on duty will receive a signal, and the police will arrive in a few minutes. Some security firms even offer material responsibility for your property.

To scare away thieves, you can install an alarm system at home that will sound loud in the event of intruders entering your home. This option is nice because you do not need to pay the subscription fee, but it does not give any guarantees.

There is also another type – GSM Alarm System. This device calls or sends a text to the host’s phone, and the latter in turn takes measures – calls the police, etc. Only this method is not very reliable, because a text message or a call is easy to miss when you are on vacation.

  • How to deceive thieves?

When going on vacation, it is desirable to ask someone to look after the apartment, water the flowers, etc. Often thieves keep an eye on the apartment, for example, by inserting matches into the door. If a match does not stand still the next day, it means the apartment is visited. The long absence of the owners is also detected by a clogged mailbox, so ask someone to empty it.

You can use special light bulbs with a timer that will turn on in the evenings, or a lamp that imitates the flickering of the TV during the holiday.

Don’t spread the word about your plans to go on vacation – very often thieves find future objects by tip-offs. Many people like to post information about themselves on social media – don’t do that. You don’t need to tell the whole Internet community that you are away in a good place and will come back on such a number, etc.

When going on vacation, hide all the values and money, preferably in a few safe places – there’s a chance that thieves will not find all the hiding places. The main thing is to choose non-standard places, not to hide money under a mattress or in a drawer. If you have a lot of valuable jewelry, think about putting it in your safety deposit box in your bank.

  • Bonus tips

Unfortunately, thefts do not occur only during the holiday period. Sometimes thieves only need a couple of hours while you are at work. So here are the basic security rules you need to follow at all times:

  • Don’t forget to close your windows and doors.
  • Don’t open the doors to strangers, whether they are employees of the Housing and Communal Services or beggars.
  • Do not put the keys in easily accessible places – under a mat or in your mailbox.
  • If you lose your keys, be sure to change the locks.
  • Don’t give your address to strangers unless absolutely necessary.
  • Don’t specify the hours when you’re at home (or away) when posting some ads in social media.

Many recommendations may seem trivial to you, but the main thing is that they work.

Be careful, take the necessary precautions and enjoy your rest!

Author’s bio: Damian Williams is a blogger for homecarechoices.org who frequently combines auto repairment with freelance writing. She’s passionate about Art Deco hotels, historical novels, Netflix, hiking and healthy living.