How To Keep Your Rural Property Safe

Living out in the country is many people’s dream, but there are lots of security issues to contend with, some of which you may not even consider, particularly if you have lived in your home for a long time and never had any problems. You may believe it will never happen to you, but what if it did? What if someone burgled your rural farmhouse or cottage in the country while you were out (most burglaries happen during the day)? It’s far better to take precautions before something terrible occurs than as a reactive measure. What can you do?

 

Use Your Locks

If you have found that you’re in the habit of leaving your house and not locking (or even closing in some cases) the doors and windows then you need to re-think your procedures. Most people will lock their doors and windows when they leave the property entirely, but what about if you just nip out to hang the washing out, for example, or you’re at one end of the house and can’t see or hear the front door? Or the back door, come to that.

 

Just because you’re at home it doesn’t mean that no one is going to try to get in, and if the door is unlocked or open, they won’t have to try very hard, and your insurance may not pay out. Make sure that the locks you use are British Standard locks to ensure even more security.

 

Tidy Your Tools

Perhaps you have a workshop in your garden or on your farm and it’s always open. Maybe you have a garage but it doesn’t lock properly and you’ve yet to get round to fixing it. It could simply be that you were in the middle of mending something when you had to pop out and you’ve left your tools on the floor. The tools that are left outside are making life much easier for burglars who would always rather use someone else’s tools than have to drag their own to potential crimes. Remember to put everything away and keep it all locked up when you’re not around (or even if you are).

 

Get An Alarm

An alarm is a great idea for when you live miles out of the way of anyone else, or in a small community. Make sure that if you’re not around and it goes off that someone is able to come and check on the property for you and that they can call the police if need be. If there is no one near enough for you to call on should you need them, then you should invest in a monitored alarm instead.

 

Have CCTV Installed

When you have CCTV installed in your home you immediately make it safer. Just the look of the cameras is often enough to put people off even trying to break in, and if they do happen to try anything, you’ve captured all the footage. There are even some CCTV systems that can be linked directly to your smartphone, giving you the chance to see who is at your property and even speak to them – it’s the ultimate security feature.

 

Put Fences Up

If your garden is open, or you have a lot of land and there are many access points into your property, then it’s important to put a fence up if you can. A tall fence will deter would-be burglars and ensure that you can enjoy your rural idyll in peace.

 

Lighting

When you live out in the country, there may not be any street lighting, and if there is it certainly won’t extend out into your land if you have a lot of it. Because of this, it’s always important to install security lighting that comes on should anyone come near. The sudden brightness will startle the person caught within it, and even if they don’t run, you’ll be alerted to the fact that they are there. Not only that, but when the days start drawing in those lights will be helpful to keep you from stumbling too.

 

What Next?

If you need help installing security features at your property, please contact us. We’ll be happy to give advice and to help you choose the ideal security setup. We offer competitive rates for all equipment and our expert installers will make sure it’s working perfectly for you.