Summer Survival Guide: How to properly secure your home before leaving for vacation

In neighborhoods all around the desert it happens every Summer. Homes left empty, when those who live in them take off to escape the heat.

Sometimes those homes prove to be irresistible targets for burglars.

A valley man who asked not be identified has first hand experience. Twice in recent years, this homeowner tells us burglars attempted to break into his place. But on both occasions, he and his family were home at the time.

“We had an attempted break-in at one o’clock in the afternoon where our daughter was napping at the age of three,” said the man.

Wanting to improve his home security, he installed steel pins at the base of the front door to block entrance. He also added a home alarm and installed security cameras, including one in his backyard.

All great steps, according to desert home security expert Chris Madain.

“When bad buys are looking to break into a house, they’re looking at all these things,” said Madain. Madain says the first line of home defense is an alarm.

He also says there is more to it than simply setting it when leaving the house.

For any home security system, Madain says its important to test it on a regular basis by intentionally triggering the alarm to make sure it generates the expected response, whether from police or the alarm company.

An alarm system won’t prevent a burglar from breaking in, but it could scare them off once they do. Also, the alarm can notify law enforcement.

If you do have a security system, Madain says remember to put an alarm sign in the front yard to serve as a visual deterrent to would be burglars.

The next layer of home defense is using the correct lighting both inside and outside your home.

Madain says the best approach is to use timers, which turn lights on and off automatically, instead of using motion detector lights. which he believes could actually attract criminals to your home, because thieves know absent homeowners often rely on lights activated by motion.

The homeowner we spoke with improved his lighting, and encouraged others to do the same.

“When you drive up to your home, see what it looks like at night, that is primary. If you notice its just too dark, you need to light it up,” he said.

Another strategy is to tell a trusted neighbor or a family member who lives nearby when you plan to be away from your place.

They can help keep an eye on your home, and pick up delivered packages or newspapers which could otherwise accumulate at your front door.

Also, security cameras are another effective tool in convincing burglars that your place is not the home to hit.

Using a mobile device, while away from home, you can log on to see what is going on in and around your place in real time.

Systems which record activity are the most useful in the event of a break-in.

“Going through a list of things that you need to do, really before you go, it will give you the extra enjoyment going away form the desert, knowing that you are going to come back and everything will be here for you,” said Madain.

Finally, don’t forget about your air conditioner.

Madain says thieves in growing numbers are stealing home AC units.

One approach for homeowners with alarm systems is to install sensors inside their unit, which will trigger the alarm if someone opens to open the air conditioner.

These are all simple steps you can use to secure your home before leaving for vacation, to avoid unwanted surprises when you return.

“Well, I thought it wouldn’t happen to me, look where we live, we live in a nice neighborhood, we live around good neighbors. But its just like anything else in life, you just never know,” said the homeowner.

For additional resources to help you secure your home, click here to find a useful home security checklist from the National Crime Prevention Council.