How to better secure your back garden
Back gardens are a common point of entry for many criminals. They often have unsecured access and can open out onto back lanes, shared passageways or open ground. They can provide quick escape routes for criminals as well as cover and shelter. So, it stands to reason that if you have a garden security you go a long way towards securing your property overall.
What can you do to help reduce the risk of crime occurring via your back garden?
Motion Sensitive Lights
One of the easiest ways to be alerted to the presence of an intruder in your garden is to install motion sensitive lights. These are lights that are connected to a motion detector and contain small ‘electronic eyes’ that detect infrared waves, such as heat waves that radiate from moving objects. If a detector senses an object moving across its field of view, especially warmer objects such as people, cars and animals, it sends a signal that turns on the lights. This can illuminate your garden, alert you to the presence of somebody nearby and give any potential intruder a shock. Opportunist criminals don’t like to be seen, so lights turning on will usually send them running for cover and away from your garden.
Windy weather and passing dogs and cats can sometimes trigger motion sensitive lights. Overly sensitive lights in an area of heavy footfall will be turning on and off regularly. This can blunt their effectiveness as the homeowner will be unlikely to pay attention to lights that are always turning on and off. They can also become an irritant to neighbours.
An aluminum pedestrian gate on side or rear access
Aluminium pedestrian gates provide high levels of security as well as looking good. A gate that can be well secured presents a physical barrier to intruders and, in itself. can act as a deterrent. When it comes to security, aluminium pedestrian gates have some advantages over the wooden variety. They have a much stronger locking mechanism that can’t be forced open with a crowbar as easily as wooden pedestrian gates. They’re also harder to climb as they offer less opportunity to grip on. This makes them a much tougher prospect for criminals. An opportunist thief when presented with an aluminium gate may well think twice about trying to gain entry.
Grow tall hedges
It’s by no means a quick security fix, but tall difficult to penetrate hedges can be a real deterrent to criminals. Although fences can quickly present a physical barrier to intruders, hedges can present more of a challenge. Fences can be scaled and your average opportunist thief will know their capabilities. They may well be experienced at climbing relatively high fences quite quickly. Few opportunist thieves would fancy their chances with a pyracantha hedge, however. If you’re planting hedges for security think density and spikes, such as hawthorn, holly and berberis. Another advantage of hedges is the colour and interest they can give, as well as making an excellent home for wildlife.
Mark your expensive items with invisible ink
Many of us have items of considerable value in our gardens. Whether that’s furniture, barbecues, large pots with expensive plants or bicycles, all of these can be attractive to thieves. That’s before you even think about the items in the shed or garage. Why worry about gaining access to the house when there’s rich pickings easily available in the garden?
Police authorities recommend marking your items with an approved forensic marking solution that can only be seen under ultraviolet light. Mark or etch your property with your postcode, house or flat details, and the first three letters of your address. All of these make it easier for the police to identify stolen goods. It also makes it harder for criminals to sell your belongings on.
By securing your back
garden with a combination of physical barriers and deterrents you can reduce
your risk of becoming a victim of an opportunist thief. Don’t let your back
garden be the weak link in your home security.
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