Don’t Forget Home Security When Making Vacation Plans

2020 was particularly devastating to people who love to travel. It wasn’t so good for the travel industry, either. But with spring 2021 nowhere and more people being vaccinated against coronavirus, travel is starting to pick up. You might even be thinking about 2021 vacation plans yourself. If that is the case, do not forget to include home security in those plans.

Bear in mind that even criminals have been negatively impacted by a coronavirus. Consider burglars who do their best work when people are not home. They look for homes left unoccupied during work hours. They especially appreciate homes left vacant for weeks by vacationing owners.

You have heard all the tips for securing your home while on vacation. Do not brush them aside as though being victimized by a burglar can never happen to you. It can happen to anyone.

Basic Home Security Systems

A basic home security system is one way to reduce your risk of being burglarized. If you are not familiar with how modern home security works, rest assured that it is nothing like the home security of 20 and 30 years ago.

Vivint says the biggest difference between now and then is wireless technology. Not only can today’s home security systems be installed without tearing up your home, but they can also be monitored remotely. That’s big when you’re on vacation.

Remote monitoring allows you to keep track of your home even if you are thousands of miles away. And if you pay for professional monitoring as well, you now have a second set of eyes and ears keeping watch over your place. Any alerts will be sent to both you and your monitoring provider. Together, you can take action to address the issue.

Basic Home Automation

Consumers are now more likely to combine home security devices with home automation technology. How does that help prevent burglary? By automating certain features in your home to prevent criminals from figuring out you are away.

Years ago, you could plug your lights into manual timers and program them to turn on and off at certain times. You can do so much more today. Home automation allows you to program specific lighting scenes for every room in your home. You can program lights to turn on and off in such a way as to make it appear that people are moving around your home.

You can automate your window blinds, too. That really confuses burglars. If they see the blinds slightly raised in the morning but fully down in the afternoon, they have to wonder if someone is in the house. And while you’re at it, automate your irrigation system and your exterior lighting, too.

The Old Standbys

In addition to home security and automation technology, there are all the old standbys we have heard for decades. For example, either stop your mail delivery or have a neighbor collect the mail daily. If you’re one of the few households that still has a newspaper delivered every day, have it stopped as well.

If you are leaving a car at home, have a friend or neighbor move it every day. And if not, ask a neighbor to park their car in your driveway. Have a neighbor come over and put your garbage totes on the curb on the appropriate day. In other words, do what you can to maintain a normal routine around your house. Every little thing you can do makes it harder for burglars to tell you are not home.

Are you ready to travel? So are millions of others. Just don’t forget about home security when making your vacation plans.