10 home safety tips for summer

Summer is the season of relaxation, for bonding with family and friends, holidaying to your favourite destinations and ultimately - for chilling out! Whilst these things are great for the soul, you’ll want to ensure home security doesn’t slip your mind. Why? We tend to spend more time outdoors when it’s warm, and that may also include those with prying eyes. If your home is vulnerable to entry spots or your valuables are on show, then potential criminals may catch on and strike whilst you’re out enjoying the sun.

So how do we keep our homes, family and peace of mind safe during the summer months? Here are our top home security tips for summer to keep in mind, so you can enjoy the warmer months to their fullest potential. You can use these tips to help protect your holiday home, too!

Top 10 home safety tips for summer

1. Install a home security system

Don’t have one yet? A home security system is your first port of call. Your security system doesn’t have to be grandiose, particularly if you’re on a budget, but it’s something you could build and maintain over time to keep your home safe in the summer.

Firstly, take stock of your home’s vulnerabilities and decide how to reinforce its security. A video doorbell is a fantastic option to see who’s knocking on your door whilst you’re away, or even when you’re home and expecting (or not expecting!) a delivery. You may even want to invest in an alarm system that covers all of your home’s entry points, such as doors and windows. Entry sensors are great for these, as they can sound an alarm that can be heard in and out of the home. Plus, if it’s coupled with professional monitoring and an indoor camera (in SimpliSafe’s instance) it can be used to visually verify an incident so the professional monitoring centre can request police dispatch. 

2. Check the integrity of doors and windows

Are the locks on your doors and windows working properly? Any loose screws or misaligned pieces can make your entry points vulnerable to a break-in, so get those fixed as soon as possible. It goes without saying that if you plan on going out for the day, ensure all of your windows and doors are locked properly - it never hurts to double or triple-check!

3. Light up your property

By keeping a light (or several lights) on in your home, it can appear to potential criminals that someone’s home, which might make them avoid your home. You could use timers to simulate someone turning the lights on or off around your home if you want to go the extra mile. Porch light security can also be really useful if you are home, and want a subtle alert that someone is at your front door.

4. Don’t neglect your garden

After all, a garden is part of your home! To reinforce garden security, check out the hedges, fencing, tools and shed (if you have one). Is your shed locked? Are tools stowed away so they can’t be used to break into your home? Are your hedges high enough to put off people peering into your property? Can I cover blind spots or get a bigger picture view with an outdoor camera? These are all questions you can ask yourself to ensure your garden is as safe as can be.

Do you have green fingers? Now could be the time to look at the type of plants in your garden. Consider bushes like holly, hawthorn, firethorn or blackthorn. Yes, they’re spiky, but that’s the point! We want to deter burglars - and your choice of plants could just be the thing that does it.

5. Be careful what you post on social media

Burglars may use social media to target homes - but how do they do this? By posting snaps on holiday and if you have a public account, you’re essentially advertising that you’re not home. Or, say you are home, but you’ve posted a selfie with a designer item in the background (or foreground!), or it’s made fairly clear where you live, then a criminal could use this insight into your social media life to target your home. 

To keep you and your home safe, we advise you protect your home whilst you’re away this summer, with one way being mindful of what you post. You could also ensure that your social profile is on private or with an Instagram Story for example, just post content to “close friends”.

6. Keep parcels and letters in check

A build-up of parcels and letters at your home is a surefire way to advertise no one’s home. Instead, you could arrange for parcels to be directed elsewhere, such as a place of work or a trusted friend or family member. Or alternatively, rebook your delivery for a time you’ll be home. 

7. Join a neighbourhood watch scheme

If you’ve ever found yourself in an unfortunate situation where you’ve experienced a burglary, we have a guide on how to recover from a burglary and recommend seeking professional advice alongside this if you can. However, in the interim, it’s a good idea to join a local neighbourhood watch scheme. This will add another layer of reassurance, as the scheme is designed to keep watch of any suspicious activity in the area and provide a sense of community. It’s worth becoming aware of crime in your area too, so you can have an idea of what activity goes on in your local area.

No neighbourhood watch scheme? You could start one yourself or a by installing a bell box, this can alert surrounding neighbours that there’s trouble brewing at home, and could alert them to contact you and the authorities.

8. Check sealant around your doors and windows

Make sure the rubber seals on your windows and doors are in good condition. If they're worn out, warm air can get inside your home, making it harder to keep it cool. To fix this, use weather stripping to seal any gaps, cracks, or leaks around your windows and doors. This will help stop energy loss, keep water out, and maintain a consistent temperature inside your home. 

Temperature sensors are a great way of detecting any sudden changes to temperature in your home too - such as when a pipe bursts. Read more about our guide to temperature sensors to get a well-rounded understanding of how they work.

9. Keep valuables locked away

Whilst this may seem obvious, keeping valuables locked away will ensure they’re not met with a criminal’s gaze through your windows. Things like expensive jewellery, tablets, laptops, phones, wallets and purses should be kept completely out of sight. Although we mentioned this before, we’ll iterate that this goes for garden tools too. After all, they could be used by burglars to break into your home.

10. Practice barbecue safety

If you’re the chief griller on the barbecue, then you’re going to have to be extra careful with your home’s safety this summer. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Only used barbecue-approved starter fuels on coal

• Keep your barbecue away from flammable materials such as wooden sheds or fencing

• Ensure your barbecue is on a flat surface

• Dispose of coal and ash once it has cooled, not right after you’ve finished barbecuing

• Be mindful of alcohol consumption

• Have a working garden hose for emergencies or a bucket of water

We hope these home safety tips for summer keep you informed about how to keep you and your home safe during a wonderful time of year. Want to invest in home security or expand your current system this summer? Contact SimpliSafe to find out more.