Do It Yourself Friday: Landscaping for home security

Looking for a weekend project?  Consider this: a security alarm can tell you when someone has broken into your house, but your landscaping can help deter would-be criminals from entering your house in the first place!  Perhaps, this is the weekend to tackle your yard and if so here are a few simple do-it-yourself tips on how to achieve better security through your landscaping.

Do It Yourself Friday: Landscaping for home security

  • Keep your yard well maintained!  Mow and rake regularly, maintain edging, remove weeds, and keep your garden beds well-groomed and freshly mulched.  An unkempt yard will signal to criminals that a house might be unoccupied, or even if it isn’t, they may assume it to be an easy target.
  • Make sure your trees, shrubs and hedges are neatly trimmed so that your doors and windows are clearly visible to your neighbours.  This will give fewer areas for criminals to hide on your property.
  • Trim any tree limbs that could be used to gain access  to upper-floor windows or your roof.
  • Consider spreading gravel or planting hostile vegetation below ground-floor windows.  Gravel will make footsteps easier to hear and thorny, prickly plants (think rose bushes!) make these areas less hospitable to criminals.
  • Make sure to include outdoor lighting in your landscaping design.  Keep in mind that solar lighting (often) does not put out much light. While they are great for ambiance, for security purposes you’d be better off using motion detecting lights to illuminate areas like your front door, garage, and backyard.
  • When you’re finished with your gardening and yard tasks, be sure to put all of your tools and equipment securely away.  You don’t want to lend criminals a helping hand by leaving out tools that they could use to break into your home!

 

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