20 Easy Tricks to Protect Your Home When You're Out

Cookies under the entrance mat, beads spread all over the floor, invisible paint smeared on door handles sounds like either my dog has been in your house, or a starter pack for when you're home alone during the holidays! But these and other unusual tips can protect your house – or at least let you know it was visited while you were away! 

20 Easy Tricks to Protect Your Home When You're Out

1. 

One of the simplest ways to figure out if your house got some uninvited visitors is to stretch a thin unnoticeable thread across the bottom of the front door threshold. If someone opens the door and steps inside, the thread will be torn and left lying on the floor. The only downside of this trick is that youhave to be extremely careful while leaving your own house; otherwise, you'll spoil yourown trap! 

2.

 Leave some crackers or thin cookies under the doormat inside your house before leaving. Anybody who enters your home in your absence will step on the mat and crush the flat snacks without noticing a thing. 

3. 

I bet you have an old smartphone you don'tuse anymore after upgrading. If so, download an app that records only soundson this phone and hide the device somewhere near the entrance. Before leaving home, switch on the recording. This method will only work if you won’tbe absent for long because, after a few hours of constant work, an old phone's battery willprobably run out. 

4.

 If you have suspicions that someone rummagesthrough your things while you're away, take a photo of everything you have on your tableor in your drawers before you leave. After you come back, compare the picture withwhat you see. 

5. 

When leaving your home, carefully place aglass filled with beads next to the door before closing it. This way, if someone gets inside while you're away, they're bound to tip the glass over (if the entrance door opens inward, of course). The beads will roll all over the floor, andthe intruder will surely try to pick them all up. Remember to count the beads in advance – that bumbling burglar is unlikely to have found them all! 

6. 

Instead of pricey security cameras, why notuse a video baby monitor? Hide the camera in the entrance hall, andyou'll be able to see everything happening near your door online! A major disadvantage of this method is a limited coverage area - usually no more than 1,000 ft. It means you probably won't be able to checkif everything's ok at home from your office. But if you have some suspicions, it's a goodway to confirm or disprove them! 

7. 

Leave a glass of water on a rug right behindyour entrance door (which, again, opens inward). When someone opens the door, it'll tip theglass over, the water will spill, and the rug will absorb it. If you have a thick wool rug, it's unlikelyto get dry any time soon, and you'll find out that someone was in the house during yourabsence. If you're going away for a couple of days,this method obviously won't work because, well, even the thickest rug will be dry bythe time you get back. 

8. 

Leave the front door a bit ajar, clean thedoor handles, and spray them with invisible UV glowing paint. Since the door has been left open, it won'tbe a problem for you to get out of your home without touching the painted handles. An unsuspecting invader, on the other hand,is sure to leave hand or fingerprints on the door handles. When you return home, you'll be able to seethese prints under UV light. 

9. 

To scare burglars away, put alarm signs onall your windows and doors. I hear you, alarm systems are indeed quiteexpensive: on top of their own price and the cost of installation, you'll also have topay a service contract fee every month. But I didn't say you'd need an alarm system- I was talking about the stickers! You know, those signs that read, "Protectedby So-And-So Alarms." If you manage to hold of such a sticker, putit somewhere where it won't look too obvious but will still be noticeable. 

10.

 Most break-ins occur in the afternoon whenpeople are at work or school. Burglars feel safe because their chances ofgetting caught or identified are low. Still, before getting inside, they watch housesfor some time to figure out if they're empty. One of the things they pay attention to iscars parked in driveways. In most cases, it means that someone's home. If you have an old vehicle you haven't gottenrid of yet, make it useful! Park it in the driveway to fend off thieves. Or if your family member isn't using theircar, don't hide it in the garage – leave it outside. 

11. 

One day you may get a distinct feeling thatyour home is being "cased" or watched by burglars. Maybe a stranger comes up to your front orback door and tries the handle. (By the way, never open it from the get-go. Keep it closed, but ask how you can help fromthe other side. They'll probably make up some excuse aboutmistaking your house for someone else's and then leave.) Anyway, if you're short of money or don'twant to deal with all the security camera technicalities, install fake ones! They're pretty simple to create on your own,like from old webcams! 

12.

 Or, if you suspect that a burglar is casingyour house, you can pretend someone's inside at all times. When you leave, wave and say your goodbyesto some non-existent person inside. Hey I’ll be happy to be your non-existentperson! Oh wait, I do exist. Nevermind! If a burglar is watching, they won't knowyou're just talking to your couch! 

13. 

If you're out of town in the winter, ask yourneighbors to leave some tire tracks in your driveway when it snows. An untouched layer of snow is a sure way toinform burglars that the homeowners haven't been there for some time. 

14. 

If you have some electronics boxes and packagingleft after buying expensive gadgets, never leave them on the curb or in your garbagecan. It'll lure burglars to your house – afterall, you have a lot of expensive stuff they can cash in on! Try to find time to drive these boxes to arecycling dumpster yourself. If you're mega-busy, cut them into tiny piecesand hide them in your trash or recycling bins. 

15.

 If you're going away on vacay, keep the processof loading the car as fast and as hidden as possible. The best way is to do it is inside the garagewith the door closed. If you have to do it out in the open, prepareeverything in advance, and be as efficient as you can. If someone is watching you, the abundanceof suitcases will give away your intentions to leave home for a long time. 

16. 

When you know you're going to be away fora while, go to your post office and temporarily cancel your subscriptions or ask the postoffice employees to hold your mail while you're away. A paper build-up in front of your door ora stuffed mailbox is an obvious sign that you ain’t home. You can also ask your neighbors to collectyour mail for you. If you trust them.

17.

 If you're a lucky cat owner, remember that,however beloved your feline is, it can give you away to criminals! Burglars know that most cats sit by the windowwhen they're bored with nothing else to do. It means you aren't home to play with them. It's better to pass your cat off to a pet-sittingservice or leave it with a friend when you're planning to be out of town for several days. 

18. 

Keep in mind that if your fairly large dogcan get inside the house through a pet door, a burglar can probably slip through as well. Equip the pet door with a lock and make sureto lock it every time you're away. 

19. 

Consider putting large, reflective numberson your house and mailbox. It can help the police locate your place asfast as possible if your neighbors call them to report some disturbance in the area. However, that can be a double edged swordin case you also throw large and loud parties at your place, too. 

20. 

Windows are some of the most common ways burglarsget inside a house. Rid them of this opportunity: plant thorny bushes right under the outside panes. No criminal will want to risk falling intopointy shrubs! Hey, if you learned something new today, thengive the video a like and share it with a friend! And here are some other videos I think you'llenjoy. Just click to the left or right, and stayon the Bright Side of life!