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Here’s the Garden Security Mistakes that Make a Home Easier to Target

A garden can be lovely during the day, right? Like, you’ve got the birds, flowers, somewhere to drink coffee, maybe a patio chair that’s seen better days but still somehow survives every season. But at night, that same garden can tell a very different story, which, sure, can be a bit surprising. As you know, most break-ins happen at night; very rarely is it the front door, usually it’s the back door or a side door (or window) into the house. 

The movie Home Alone is a great example of that. But all it honestly takes is just some simple changes to the garden, and that instantly makes it a lot harder to target. So, where do you even begin here?

Leaving the Side Gate too Easy to Open

Which, sure, this sounds so incredibly obvious here, right? But at the same time, here, this is one of those things people barely think about until there’s a problem. It gets closed, maybe latched, maybe not, and everyone sort of assumes that’s enough. But if the latch is weak, the lock is missing, or the gate can be lifted open with barely any effort, that’s basically an invitation. No, really, it is, it shouldn’t be easy, you’re putting your whole family at risk here. 

If you want to go intense with the giant padlocks, then help yourself, as that’s pretty common, but just know that you don’t need to go that route. However, when it comes to your gate, it does need to actually do something. If someone can casually walk into the garden without making noise or drawing attention, that’s already making the property easier to target.

Letting the Garden Get too Overgrown

But what’s even the big deal here? Well, sure, having a lush garden can be great, even if you’re trying to do a wildlife garden, which can be great and good for the environment too. But the problem is, you don’t want to go overboard here. Basically,  there’s a difference between full and completely out of control. 

Seriously, just think about it for just a moment here: tall shrubs near windows, oversized bushes along fences, and trees blocking sightlines can give someone places to hide while they figure out their next move. Which, honestly, can be really scary. You can still have some shrubs, but please make them much smaller.

Ignoring Broken or Low Fencing

There are enough shows and movies (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off comes to mind) when it comes to jumping over fences. Clearly, that’s not something that you’d want. While your fence doesn’t need to be fortress style, you don’t want anything coming in or getting out easily, either. If it’s broken, well, that’s a whole other thing, and it needs to get fixed ASAP. But it’s definitely in your best interest, though, to look into fence installation and see if you can get a taller, sturdier fence if it seems like this one already has easy enough access. 

Keeping Tools and Ladders Out in the Open

Hopefully you’re not guilty of this, but you’d be surprised how common this actually is! So, spades, ladders, heavy pots, and even bins can be used to break windows, climb fences, or reach higher entry points. So try and keep all of these up and ideally away from your house (and maybe lock up your bin and keep that away from the house too).