Landscaping for security

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See also: Tips to make a door secure,Tips to Protect your Garage,Landscaping for security

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1 Did you know that the way your home is landscaped can help protect it from burglars
2 Layout
3 Keys
4 Plants
5 Fences
6 Statuary
7 Sprinklers
8 Rock Work
9 Trash cans
10 Pets
11 Gardens
12 Pools
13 patios

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Did you know that the way your home is landscaped can help protect it from burglars

For a home to be burglarized, a criminal must decide to rob the house, get in, take the items, and leave without being noticed. The first thing a Burglar runs into in this process is the landscaping outside.
this tip is intended for homeowners who are interested in designing a yard that hinders criminal intent.

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Layout

Criminals do not limit their activity to the interior of a house. Ideally, they can steal from right off the yard.
Decorate the visible portions of your yard with items that are of little monetary value, or which are very difficult to remove.
Privacy fencing can be installed to make more areas less visible.
Expensive items, such as grills, and furniture can often be chained down, or together, so that stealing them is far more difficult.
Fences should protect the most number of doors and windows possible without having too many curves, or enclosing the meters, which officials will need to read.
Easily stolen objects, and things that can help criminals break in should be used only in the back yard, if at all.

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Keys

It is sometimes tempting to place a key in an area you can get to, should you find yourself locked out of the house.
Hidden rock keys, and combination locks to hold keys are available.
Criminals know exactly what these look like, and spend plenty of time searching for other people's spare keys. Don't bother getting creative in hiding it. Only get creative in securing it... hopefully somewhere in the back yard.

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Plants

Thorny plants can be used as a natural, and legal barbed wire.
Plants with a lot of sap, or strong odors can mark criminals who go through them.
Plants that attract insects or birds can make territorial animals attack criminals.
Plants should be located so that they do not allow criminals to get at windows or fences without being seen.

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Trees

trees should be planted at least ten feet away from houses or fences, to allow for visibility, and to cut down on the risk of arson.
Trees should be trimmed high to allow for visibility, especially in neighborhoods with multi-story buildings.
trees should not have branches which go low over fences or houses, and might allow a burglar to get across these barriers.

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Bushes

Low bushes can be used like ground cover.
High bushes can be used to extend fences higher than normally allowed, or to block up windows.
To block windows, bushes should be very unpleasant to be around, and should be right up against the window. They should extend to the wall around it, so breaking in from the edge is difficult.
If extending fences, an arch can be cut where the gate is.
If extending fences, the bush should be inside the fence, lest it might be used to more easily climb over the fence.
Care should be used to ensure that bushes do not allow a burglar concealed access to doors, windows, or fences.
Unless you have no visible neighbors already, or you have your own security force, bushes should not conceal your entire house.

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Ground cover

Ground cover can make traveling across your yard more difficult.
Unless the ground cover is a few feet high, thorns and irritating sap is less effective, because a criminal can be wearing high boots.
Sticky sap, thick vines, and attracting insects makes ground cover more effective.
Low "border fences" and other devices can be planted in the ground cover to make it harder to go across, but can make lawsuits against you possible.

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Planters

Planters can be set up over cement to put in bushes or vines for protection of windows and fence lines that would otherwise be hard to protect.
Use planters that are too large to be thrown. Potted plants can be used to break windows.
do not hide keys under potted plants.

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Fences

Most areas have certain restrictions on fences, limiting height, or material, to avoid anything looking "Tacky."
Fences should be composed almost entirely of vertical members. Horizontal, or diagonal sections can give a criminal a foothold for climbing.
If you have lots of police patrols, or neighbors present, fences that can be seen through will help patrols to spot unusual activity.
If your area is more private, privacy fencing will keep criminals from knowing where to break in from.
Rickety fences with few corners are harder to climb.
Fences with trellises extending up above them make climbing even more difficult.
Fences with little space at the top make it harder for criminals to use the fence as a walkway.
Ideally, a fence gate should look similar to the rest of the fence, so criminals don't spot it right away.
Stone walls are not much deterrent unless they are 12 feet tall or higher. Since gates are obvious in them anyway, they should be placed only on the back of the back yard, and sides of the house anyway.
Wooden fences get rickety easily, and are a better deterrent in most cases. Also, they are easy to hide the gate in.
Steel bar fences can be useful if you want visibility, and are best in the front yard.
Fences are useful for hanging "Beware of Dog" signs up, especially if you, or a neighbor has a dog.

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Statuary

Statues of dogs, and other large animals can confuse burglars, and sometimes scare them away.
these are more effective if you have a fence to "keep in" the "pets."
Move the statues around from time to time to help the illusion of life.
Secure lightweight statuary by locking them down to reduce theft.
False rocks can cover sprinkler gauges and other unsightly items. If you have a key locker, this is something you can lock them to.

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Sprinklers

In some areas, it is appropriate to set up sprinklers on motion sensors. this can soak through an invader, making them unhappy, and easier to track.
If your area has specific times where crimes are extremely likely, you can set the sprinklers to run at these hours, or slightly before them, so they will track mud around if they go through the yard.

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Rock Work

Gravel crunches under foot. This can be heard by dogs, who will bark, and sometimes even by people.
gravel can be used for decorative sweeps around windows and fence lines.
gravel can be used to make walk ways, or even drive ways.
Since gravel can also be thrown at windows, collected by children, or dispersed off your property by cars, careful consideration of where to use it should be made.
River rocks are large enough that they can readily break through windows, or smash locks on doors.
If you decorate with river rock, it is best for use in the back yard, or cemented in place.
Rockwork walls are the easiest thing in the world to climb over. They are not recommended.

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Trash cans

Trash cans should not be stored in the front yard. They are unsightly, and this can lower home value.
trash cans also can be used as stools, so lock them away.
A fence around the trash can storage area will make moving them for use as stools harder.

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Pets

Pets are usually not items for stealing in their own right.
Pets should be trained not to take food from strangers. They can be poisoned, or allow criminals to work undisturbed.
Dogs may require a kennel. Place this so as to protect some fence access, without allowing access to the roof.
Do not give pets free reign to wander from the yard into the house, or from the front to the back yard while you are out. Criminals could use the pet doors too.
Pets sometimes dig under fences. Criminals can use these holes too. Stake rebar poles, or very large nails into the ground to discourage this behavior.

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