Garden security is important specially if you live in a suburban area, where gardens tend to be easier to access.
Garden plants, furniture, equipment and children’s toys can be easy pickings for criminals, the amount of times I have had plants taken from the front of my property is unbelievable, and of course minor crimes like this are not worth taking up police time especially since the police budget is being cut back to the bone.
Locksmith
Did you know the contents of the average British garden are worth between £2000 and £3000, so it increasingly becomes obvious of the importance of securing your garden and keeping criminals out.
Keeping them out!
Burglars tend to target the rear and sides of a property, so that’s why you’re fences should be the first line of defence from a burglar. In an ideal world any gate, fence or hedges you have at the front of your property should be no taller than 4ft. This is so passers-by can see the front of the property. Because if passers-by can see your property they can also see any potential burglar trying to gain entry and call the police, this itself is a deterrent for burglars.
At the back of your property a fence should measure 6 ft 6inches, this makes it difficult to climb over, any higher usually needs planning permission. You can also increase the difficulty for burglars by adding trellises and planting prickly plants such as climbing roses or firethorn around the perimeter of your garden.
Nail down any furniture
Thieves often use wheelie bins to help them climb over fences or access windows. So use chains or nail garden furniture to the ground, this stops thieves using them to gain entry to your home and it stop thieves from running away with anything.
Protect your Shed
The typical shed contains tools and equipment such as bikes, drills, lawn mowers which are not just valuable assets but are also used to help burglars gain entry into your property. So ensure you secure the door with a padlock as well as a strong chain and possible a padlock with an alarm.. You could also buy a lockable chest to store any valuable tools or chemicals so even if a burglar does manage to break in he will have even more trouble with gaining entry to the chest. Additionally the longer you keep a thief tied up the more chance they will give up or someone will catch him forcing them to flee the scene.
Keep thing tidy
Don’t attract thieves by leaving your valuable possession around in site of criminals. Lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, bikes, garden tools and children’s toys should all be stored in a secure location either inside the house or in the garage or shed, as they could either be nicked or used to smash your windows.
Bigger items such as large barbecues and furniture should be covered up and nailed or chained to the floor. It doesn’t matter how big and bulky an item is it doesn’t mean thieves won’t to pinch them using a van. Leaving ladders in your garden in never a good idea, as thieves use these to climb up to often open windows on the first floor and thus gain entry to your home.
Be like a dog and mark your territory
Ok don’t literally be like a dog but the police advising people to mark valuables such as ornaments, furniture and expensive tools with your postcode followed by your house number,. This could either be painted or even etched onto items depending on the material. Police advise its best if the thief can clearly see the marking as it automatically makes the item less tempting to sell. Additionally if the item is stolen there is a higher chance of being reunited with your property. We also recommend you keep photographic evidence of any valuables you store in your garden, shed or garage as this helps the police and any insurance claims you make.
This article is originally found at http://www.itcclocksmiths.co.uk/garden-security/.