Protect Your Home from Burglary Before Summer Holidays

Whether you live in a city or a rural village, it’s important to assess your home security and establish if it is secure on a regular basis.  According to recent crime statistics, burglary remains a persistent issue nationwide, highlighting the need to regularly review and strengthen home security. This is even more important before your summer holidays. You do not want potential burglars to easily determine if your house is vacant while on the prowl for opportunities.

While we are all eagerly awaiting our holidays, we know that burglars don’t take holidays as they seek to target vacant houses, throughout the year but especially in summertime. To give you more peace of mind while you are away, read the below handy 8 home security safety tips. See how many of these tips you have in place and how many you could implement before your summer holiday, so that your house has maximum home security.

• Lock all windows and doors before you leave. If you have garden sheds, ensure they are locked, so that all your belongings inside are secure.
• If you have any keys left outside under floor pots or mats, remove these so that there is no opportunity for anyone to find them.
• If you have a garden try and cut your grass and prune your shrubs a few days before you leave, so that it is freshly done. As overgrown gardens can trigger potential burglars to realise that nobody is home. For practical advice on keeping your home safe when gardening, take a look at our tips.
• If you have a farm or agricultural property, don’t forget to secure those areas before you head off on vacation. For detailed tips on securing farm properties, take a look at our article on keeping your farm safe and secure from theft and burglary.
• Inside your home, lock any valuables away in case any burglary was to break in, they’d have less of a chance of being able to access them.
• Tell your neighbours that you are going on holidays, so that they can be extra vigilant, if they notice any suspicious activity around your home.
• Ask your neighbours or close friends to take out your bins and bring in post, so that these don’t pile up outside your house and alert people that the house is currently vacant.
• Don’t post about your holiday before or during your getaway. As your posts have the potential of reaching many people and they’ll then know your home is free. So, if you want to share your wonderful holiday photos, it is best to post them when you are back home.
• Make sure you’re aware of how burglars can spot an empty home. To learn more, check out our article on the top signs burglars look for when a home is unoccupied.
• Get a monitored house alarm system.  A professionally monitored alarm system offers around-the-clock protection when you're away. You can read more about how it compares to self-monitored alternatives in our article on monitored vs self-monitored house alarm systems.
• PhoneWatch has an all-inclusive home safety system that gives you more control over protecting yourself and your family from burglary and smoke incidents and PhoneWatch responds to all alarm activations within 15 seconds. It is proven that you are 4.5 times less likely to be burgled with a PhoneWatch monitored alarm system, according to data from the CSO recorded crime statistics 2022 and PhoneWatch Alarm Receiving Centre Data November 2022. When people see a PhoneWatch bellbox and stickers on a house, they know it is protected by Ireland’s most trusted home security provider and are less likely to attempt to break in, as they know they’ll be caught.

Having a stress free vacation

Your home is your most valuable assets, but more importantly it is you and your families’ safe haven filled with priceless memories. It is vital to safeguard against any potential burglary and smoke incidents and ensure you don’t have unnecessary trauma when you come back from your summer holiday. However, once you put home security measures in place to protect your home, you can relax and freely enjoy your holiday.