The “Trick” To Halloween Security At Home
Halloween creates the need for you to alter your security measures for the evening since it’s less than ideal to have to constantly turn your home alarm system on and off all night. Altering your security for the night, doesn’t mean you have to leave your family or home at risk. All it means is that you need to prepare a plan ahead of time in between shopping for candy and costumes. If you are a homeowner on Long Island, New York City or New Jersey, it is important to be ready for Halloween and the influx of visitors to your property that night.
Here are some practical tips for keeping your family and property safe on Halloween:
- Secure all doors and windows. You’ll be opening your front door throughout the night, which means you’ll be actively aware of who is coming to your door. However, this means you should take extra precautions with other possible entry points like back or sides doors and windows. Do a double check that day to make sure everything to locked and secure.
- Keep your garage closed. The garage is an easy way for anyone with malintent to gain access to your home or valuables you keep in your garage. If there is room for your car, park your car inside as well.
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Don’t make it obvious if you go out. If you go out to trick-or-treat with your own kids, and your house it empty, don’t make it obvious. Keep lights on in your house. If you are going to leave candies outside you may want to leave your porch light on, however if you don’t plan to, you may want to consider turning your porch light off to deter trick-or-treaters. If you do go out be sure to enable your home alarm system.
- Keep lights on in your home. In general, it’s a good idea to keep lights on in your home regardless of whether you are home or not – even when you’ve gone to bed for the night.
- Consider installing motion sensor lights. Having motion activated lights prevents anyone from being able to sneak onto your property and will help deter would-be vandals.
- Decide when you are done giving out candy for the night. In some communities trick-or-treating must stop after 8 or 9 p.m. If your community has a stop time, once that time arrives, close and lock your doors and turn off your front light.
- Don’t be afraid to report suspicious behavior. On Halloween, it might be easy to dismiss suspicious behavior as “kids being kids” – but that is not always the case. If you are unsure, or believe something may be amiss, contact your local police department if you see anything that looks unusual or even illegal.
In addition to these safety tips, you may want to consider closing and locking your door after every trick-or-treater. It only takes a second, but it’s the best way to prevent someone from walking right into your home. If it’s a warm night, you may even want to sit outside for a little while and hand out candy, which will allow you to keep a watchful eye on things.
Halloween can be filled with “treats” instead of “tricks” if you take the right safety precautions. If you don’t have a security system installed already, contact us today. Total Security has over 15 years of experience in installing residential alarm systems and providing security services and products to homes on Long Island, NYC and New Jersey. Call our support staff at (516) 775-2304 (New York location) or 201-594-7233 (New Jersey location).