Yard Protection: Your First Line of Defense

A burglar's main objective in robbing a house is getting in and out without being caught. Therefore, ease of entry is one of their main considerations when choosing their target house. In this article we will discus various methods for improving yard security that address the problem of easy access.

Making your home hard to access

Burglars usually travel light. Their success depends on their ability to move quickly and quietly. Burglars will carry with them equipment that is lightweight and essential for the job. Their equipment is meant to answer the basic needs of their 'job', as well as any complications which may occur. Do not provide burglars with additional equipment they could find useful for breaking in.

• Eliminate the presence of gardening equipment that could also be used by intruders such as: shovels, heavy chains, rods etc.
• Get rid of large stones or garden dwarfs, or at least chain them down to the ground.
• Make sure your garden flooring has no loose tiles that can be easily removed and picked up.
• If you have special pool equipment, such as lifeguard gear or pool cleaning devices, make sure they are safely locked when not used.
• Garden furniture such as sunshades and stools can also be used for breaking in. Consider locking them or binding them to the ground.

An aspect of yard security that contains a certain duality is the use of plants, trees and hedgegrows for protection. The problem is in finding the right balance between effective protection oriented gardening and excessive gardening that might cause a security hazard. It is known that certain plants located in key areas can improve your yard security. The use of thorny shrubs under a window for instance, can prevent burglars from entering. However, using the wrong type of shrub under a window can introduce a new hazard. It could easily serve as a convenient ladder for the burglar. Another example is the use of hedgerows. Hedgerows are aesthetic, cheap and very efficient for yard protection. Nevertheless, when used excessively, they can cause security hazards. They might block the vision to and from your ground floor, thus giving burglars a feeling of privacy and protection.

• Trim trees and tall shrubs located nearby windows and doors so that they are visible to next-door neighbors.
• Make sure that your ground floor is not blocked by vegetation when looked upon from the sidewalk.
• Trees near windows that can be used as improvised ladders must be trimmed on a regular basis.
• Trim tree branches that are less than head's height in order to make them difficult to climb.
• Clip shrubs located beneath windows to allow a clear zone of visibility from the house outwards.
• Hedgerows and shrubs close to the sidewalk should be kept short so that they will not block visibility from the street and from neighbors.
• Make sure that security yard signs and house numbers are easily seen from the street.

We advise renovating your garden taking security needs into special consideration. Growing a prickly hedgerow and installing a massive gate could be a great combination for eliminating unwelcome visitors. With a few thorny shrubs placed in sensitive areas, your home will be a safer place. If you decide on planting a hedgerow take note of the following points:

• The key issue is depth, not height. Make sure that the height of the hedgerow you plant will not impair clear vision of the house from the street.
• The relative depth and height of the hedgerow should be enough to avoid the possibility of burglars leaping over it.
• Make sure you have no gaps or weak spots between the bushes composing the hedgerow. Pay careful attention to areas connected to gates, walls, garage doors and fences. You don’t want holes in your security.

Planting thorny bushes near sensitive areas is another great way to burglarproof your home. To do so, prepare a layout scheme of your garden, pointing out possible security hazards. Pay careful attention to entry points such as windows. In your scheme, these points will be ket locations for planting thorny shrubs. Along side the locations you marked, write down the height and width limitations that the surrounding area allows. For example: you marked a window located on the ground floor as an area needing special protection. The window you have chosen is located near a fuse box. You measure the windows height from the ground and it’s distance from the fuse box. You state in your scheme that the window is positioned 5 feet above ground level and 3 feet away from the fuse box starting from its left side. Now you have some indication of the type and depth of shrub you need under the window.

We placed on our website a list of plants suitable for enhancing security. Before purchasing the type you prefer, be sure to consult a professional gardener.

Increasing the security of a home raises its value when going on the market against other homes for sale and may even decrease the cost for home owner's insurance. Home security could be the difference of a buyer purchasing your home or the one down the street they feel will be safer.

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