Arizona’s hot summer sun entices residents to search for cooler temperatures, with mountains, beaches and pools being at the top of the list of places we all want to escape to.

Unfortunately, summer time vacations also come with risks – leaving your house empty for a few days is the perfect environment for crooks to try to gain access and a flimsy front door (or backyard sliding patio doors) is an open invitation.

So what can you do to protect your home and possessions while you are gone?

1. Secure your garage
   Cheap quality entry doors are just one way an intruder can get in, but garages are also an easy target, with recent studies showing that a burglar can gain access to your garage with a tool like a wire coat hanger in less than six seconds. So make sure the door from the garage to the inside of your home is locked so that if someone does get in, they will only get as far as the garage.  Also, put a slide lock and padlock on the inside of the garage or hire a garage door company to beef up security on your home’s weak spot. Look for more ideas here.
2. Secure your doors
   Backyard patio doors are one of the top places that criminals will try to get into a house that doesn’t look as though it’s currently lived in.  If you don’t have security screens on your sliders, purchase inexpensive locks from the hardware store to put on the rails.  You can also use a cut to length broomstick in the rail.  Glass doors can be easily lifted off the track, so anything you can do to make this more difficult is going to make your home less of a target.  Obviously, the best protection is a security screen door on all exterior doors, which can be custom made to match or complement each other and their surrounding décor.
3.  Fake a presence
   You should make your home look lived in before you leave. Put lights on a timer at night for a few hours, leave a radio on, have a neighbor  take out and put back in the trash, mail and newspaper deliveries (or better yet, stop mail and newspaper until you get back) and ask someone to visit and check up on the home a couple of times while you are gone.
4. Lock all windows
   A thief is looking for an easy target. If a window is open – even in the garage or basement, that’s an inviting sight for anyone looking to get in.  Close and lock all your windows before you go, then check and double check that they are all still locked so that the opportunistic bandit can’t get in.

These are just a few of the things you can do to protect your home when you are gone.  Get more here.