by Eric Beuning

My current property is like something right out of a Shell Silverstein poem. The city limits line ends at my property, right where the trails to a massive wilderness preserve begins. If I stand in front of my house and look to the right, I can see the terminus of the metro bus line and rent controlled apartment buildings. If I look to the left, I can see deer trails and coyote tracks.

When leaving my property, safety is an important consideration. Yet those safety measures don’t just turn on the instant I back my truck out of the garage. There are a bunch of things I do in my everyday life to keep any potential miscreants from thinking I’m a victim ripe for the picking.

The following are things I never do, and practices you might want to consider adopting to keep your property safe anytime you’re away.

Never Fail to Get to Know the Locals

People are more likely to try to burglarize strangers than they are people they like. When I’m outside, or I run into the locals, I wave. I say “Hi” and drop a funny anecdote or two in small talk. Yet I don’t talk about anything of value I have in the house or discuss any sensitive details.

I also lace those humorous anecdotes with little lines that suggest, but don’t confirm I have some type of dangerous background. The locals may or may not be under the impression that I’m retired from special forces. It also doesn’t hurt that I’m a big guy casting a Darth Vader sized shadow.

Never Hide Your Dog’s Presence

I let people know that I have a dog, but not always. They’re never quite sure when my German shepherd, golden retriever cross is home. He’s trained to be completely silent when someone is on the street. If he hears a toe cross my property line, he alerts me to let me know when he should bark. Otherwise, he only lets out his devil dog bark if he hears footsteps on the walk.

No one ever knows when my dog is home. The house might look empty. So, they take two steps toward my mailbox. The dog alerts me while I’m working at my desk. I give him the hand signal and those punk kids suddenly need to run home to change their underpants.

Knowing that there is a dog living in your home and not knowing if it’s home will paint a yellow streak down a would-be thief’s back in an instant.

Never Let Mail Pile Up in Your Mailbox

It doesn’t take more than a second for a curious passerby to look in a curbside mailbox. If they see a pile of important bills and junk mail accumulating while you are gone, they know no one is home.

I always arrange to have my neighbor pick up my mail when I’m going to be gone for more than a day. He’s a retired Army Ranger, and you can set your watch to his sense of duty.

The post office will also let you set up a hold mail order, where they simply don’t deliver your mail for up to 30 days. There’s no charge for this, but you can’t simply tell your mail carrier.

You can technically use the US post office website, but I’ve met people who used the internet portal, and their mail was still delivered while they were gone.

The wise move is to go to the post office at mid-morning when the line is the shortest and fill out the form.

Don’t Keep a Predictable Schedule

Would-be thieves with half a brain in their head will watch or case a house for a few days or weeks before they try anything. In the movies, these break-ins happen in the middle of the night to add suspense while the family defends themselves. Contrary to what Hollywood would have you think, a lot of break-ins happen during the day in broad daylight when no one is home.

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If they see that you always leave the house to go to work and return at a certain time. They’ll plan to hit the place when you’re away, and/or when they know your nosy neighbor is also at work.

I work from home, but there is a predictable window every morning where I have to run my kid to school, then take care of errands. I’m sort-of forced to be gone for a solid hour at a predictable window of time. So, once a week, I leave, then I double back to the house ten minutes later. Often telling my kid I forgot something.

Never Fail to Check Your Motion Lights

Motion lights are a great way to deter would-be burglars and trespassers. High wattage lights coming on suddenly don’t just reveal their presence. It also puts a little shock of adrenaline-based fear in someone, which might just be enough to make them lose their nerve.

It’s also easy to forget to check them. Old bulbs that don’t shine as brightly and burned-out bulbs don’t have the same effect as ones that shine the cold light of truth on a would-be trespasser’s face.

While you’re at it. Make sure to set at least one light with a good range that will trigger at your driveway. Don’t just wait for someone to get within 20 feet or your garage where they might be brave enough to scurry toward a bush or around a corner.

Also make sure that you have motion lights in a full perimeter around your house.

So, even if they try again from a different angle or approach, they still get the same bright message that sends the message you are truly prepared.

Don’t Forget to Show Off Your Security System

Every window of your house should have some sort of sign or sticker advertising the presence of a professional alarm or monitoring system. Even if you don’t have one!

This is the sort of thing you want people to see when they’re walking up to your house. That pizza delivery guy who seems to be looking into your house more than he should when handing over an extra-large pepperoni is more likely to keep his eyes to himself when there are security stickers on the door. A video doorbell that you can answer from your phone is also a major bonus!

If you don’t have a lot of money to spend on a brand new security system, I recommend building these off-grid automatic backyard traps and alarms against looters and intruders. You’ll be surprised how effective these DIY measures can be in keeping your property safe.

Never Leave Your Doors and Windows Unlocked

Even if you’re just popping out to run a quick errand, all the doors and windows in your house need to be locked. There are people who will prowl houses during the day in quiet neighborhoods. They’ll knock on the door of a house waiting to hear something, then try the knob. Just hoping to get lucky.

I had this happen when I was 15 and staying at my dad’s house.

He had gone to work and some random dude who’d apparently been watching the house, tried the knob.

Opening it to find me standing there with a big kitchen knife in my hand.

Don’t Flaunt What You’ve Got

In Gran Torino Walt Kowalski parks his cherished vintage car right out in the open for everyone to see. He’s showing off his pride and joy to a neighborhood that no longer shares his old school trustworthy values. It’s no surprise later that the neighborhood punks are rutting around his garage. Showing off what he’s got invited trouble to his door.

While it might be entertaining to brandish your M1 Garand and let loose your best “Get off my lawn” impression, this kind of trouble just isn’t worth it.

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If you’ve got a nice car, pull it in and out of your garage when you need to use it, and then keep it in the garage with the door closed. If it’s got a nice stereo system, don’t crank it up to listen to your favorite tunes until you’re a solid 5 blocks past your neighborhood.

Never Leave Your House Dark

Would-be thieves see a dark house as an invitation to screw around and find out. They’ll go up and knock on the door, looking for a smart doorbell. They’ll check the mailbox. They won’t be as frightened of motion lights coming on. They’ll do all these seemingly innocent things to see if there’s any sort of reaction that tells them someone is home.

If you have your internal lights and TV on a timer, it’s far less likely to pique their curiosity. They’re less likely to test their luck to see if they can elicit a reaction from what is ultimately an empty house.

My father’s trick for this when he was away was to plug his TV into a power strip with a timer. Then rigged his TV to always stay on when powered.

The curtains would be mostly drawn, making it look like an old man was watching TV. No shadows being cast or suspiciously not being cast by internal lights.

Don’t Forget to Mow Your Lawn

An unkempt lawn signals to would-be burglars that no one is home. It’s the sort of thing they’ll spot driving by, then take a casual walk past to peak in the mailbox, and perhaps glance in a window. It’s just too much of a calling card letting people know you aren’t there.

Right before you leave on a trip, cut your lawn as short as possible. Once it’s putting-green-short, turn the sprinklers off. If you’re only going to be gone for a week or so, the grass will live, but growth will be slow without ample moisture.

Make Your Rural Driveway Look Unappealing

Rural properties are always at increased risk of burglars and trespassers having a hay day. This includes farms, rural estates, and cabins. Sometimes you can have security cameras, motion lights and other measures in place to help deter would-be thieves. Yet it’s not always possible, and if they can get close enough to see your property, they’re likely already committed.

I used to own a 10-acre hobby farm deep in the country, surrounded by pines. My driveway was basically a 750-foot-long dirt road through the pines. The first few years I owned it, I had at least one or more unwanted, unexpected visitors just show up. Luckily as a writer I was home, and they high tailed it out of there.

Rather than put up one of those signs saying “Trespassers will be shot and survivors will be shot again,” I took a different approach.

I put up a “Landfill” sign, with a “No Dumping” sign right at the road. Followed by a “Dangerous Hazardous Waste” sign and “Bio-Hazard” symbol.

The neighbors all got a laugh out of it. I explained my reasoning, and as country folk they understood. After that I never got another curious visitor on the property again!

Keeping your property safe while you’re away starts with a balance of everyday habits. Properly maintained motion lights, security cameras, and security system stickers send the message that you prioritize home defense.

You also need to be smart about not letting your home look like a target. Don’t show off your fancy new car or your new stereo system that tempts would-be thieves to mess around and find out. Add some inconsistency to your schedule so anyone watching is never quite sure when you’re going to be back.

Right before you leave, make sure to cut the grass, and set your interior lights on a timer. Then lock all windows and doors. If you don’t have a trusty neighbor to take in your mail, you can arrange to have the post office hold your mail for up to 30 days.

Generators are also extremely loud. Here’s a great solution if you want to get rid of this noise, and stay safe during a major blackout.