How to dissuade a burglar "15 tips"

An empty house is an invitation to a burgler. Put these things in place so you can leave your home with a confidence that you planned ahead to avoid an intruder while you are away.Many of these can be done some time ahead so you do not have to wait until the last minute to do them all.

1 .Tell your neighbors you are going away. While they are going about their business as usual they will know you are not there and be alert to changes.

2. Hire someone to sweep snow off steps and walkways while you are away.The accumulation of snow not only is a invitation to intruders, but is a safety factor for your property in your absence. Foot prints in snow say a lot about traffic in and out of the house.

3.  Do not let mail or papers accumulate during your absence. Tell the mailman you are leaving,so in his usual routes, he can look out for your property.

4   Buy a timer and have a main light go on during the night time hours and off at daylight. If you have a very large or two story home or apartment, consider more than one and alternate times they are scheduled to go on and off according to your habits.

5.. Ask neighbors to keep an eye out for suspicious behavior and report to authorities. You can be exchanging for the favor to be returned when they go away next time.

6.  Tell the Fire department you are leaving for an extended time. If you know someone in the department, that is even better to inform that person of your departure.

7.  Inform the police dept. of your plans. At times they patrol unoccupied homes on their beats. This might be put in their roster for routine checking.

8.  If you own a dog, consider leaving him home with a dog sitter rather than taking him to the kennel. A barking dog in the yard will be a huge deterent to intruders.

9.. Do not leave empty garbage cans or anything that will show signs you are gone.

10. Do not leave curtains fully closed. This allows secrecy for a person inside. Open drapes let your helpers view without going inside.

11. Consider purchasing an automatic dog sounding device for inside the home.

12. Set your alarm system.

13 Lock and secure all doors and windows before leaving.

14. Hire a person to come by your home, to view it, once a day. This might be a jogger or walker.

15. Close all gates and lock if possible. Easy access from anywhere is something you do not want to offer a stranger.