At Christmas, we all expect Father Christmas to pay us a visit – but there is a much less welcome kind of visitor that may come to your house at this time of the year – burglars. Sadly, this time of year sees a huge boom in burglaries – the lure of expensive presents under the tree and people spending time away from home, as well as the long periods of darkness means that it is an ideal time for a burglar.
So here are a few things that you can do to make sure that your home is safe and secure from this unwelcome visitor.
Burglars like to use gardens to access the house as they have less chance of being spotted – keep an eye on your garden boundaries – make sure that your fence is secure and visit somewhere like this timber merchants Southampton based http://www.timbco.co.uk to get some wood in case you need to make repairs. You can also grow spiky plants like holly around the edges.
It is also a good idea to have a home security system – alarms or cameras are not only a great way to keep a close eye on your home, but they also work as a good burglar deterrent as they may well put someone off trying to enter your home when they see that it is secure.
If you are going to be away over the festive season, make sure you make the house look as if it is occupied – lights on timers help, as well as asking a neighbour to pop in and keep an eye on the place a couple of times a day.