Some tricks and tips to protect your home during summer holidays. From security to surveillance, systems to avoid unpleasant surprises are multiple and easy to implement.

Defending your home when you go on vacation is one of the first concerns, especially in August in Italy. Cities are half-deserted and thieves take advantage and rob apartments almost undisturbed. To holiday in complete serenity, there are few useful precautions, which do not require too much time and money.

Anti-intrusion systems

It is necessary to have anti-intrusion systems. Many of you will surely already have set up security systems, especially if you don’t live in a densely populated area or if you have an independent house. Checking that the alarm is working properly before leaving will be enough. If, on the other hand, you have not yet arranged automated protection for your house, these are a few solutions you can evaluate:

• Placing sound alarms above doors and windows. This definitely wards off the less experienced thieves and is useful if you live in densely populated areas, where a high sound can attract the attention of neighbours who will alert the supervisory bodies.
• Placing state-of-the-art anti-theft devices, working with CCTV cameras connected to the nearest police station. These alarms can also be monitored remotely from your smartphone.

Maintenance

To defend your home from unwanted intrusions, it is not enough to install an alarm. We must always make sure that our home is perfectly protected and isolated. The most concrete solution is installing latest- generation anti-intrusion fixtures and armored doors.
Finally, pay attention to secondary accesses and outside doors. If you have a bay window on the first floor or the garden for example, it is advisable to protect it with shatterproof glass.

Precautions

Another trick is to pretend you are at home to ward off burglars. Check all wires connections before leaving. Study adequate lighting to simulate being at home. There are lights activated by timers which do a great job while you are away. Others switch on when a presence is detected. If you live in a block of flats, make sure someone picks up your mail for it not to pile up outside your door. Ask relatives and friends to check up on the house once in a while.

Last but not least, secure your jewels and valuables. Arrange them to be kept in the bank or in a safe, in order to avoid nasty surprises.

Thieves 2.0

This term was coined with the advent of social media. So- called 2.0 thieves check online whether you are home or not. It is therefore important to keep information secure when posting about holidays, checking in to places on Facebook etc.