As spring evolves into summer, many of us will be going on vacation. Here are some tips to help your house to looked lived-in while you’re away.

Lock your house. Don’t just lock the doors, but also windows, garage doors, and pet doors. Also disable the automatic feature on your garage door to stop potential thieves from using a universal remote to open your garage. Check to see if your garage door has a bolt that can be thrown from the inside (much like the lock on a bathroom stall). Just remember when you come home you’ve thrown that lock. Other ideas…

Install light-sensing exterior lamps that will turn on at dusk and turn off at dawn.

Set interior lamps on a variable timer in several places throughout the house to come on and go off at different times throughout the day.

Put a timer on a portable radio and leave it on a news station.

Although it may dampen some of your spontaneity, keep your trip plans to yourself when on social media and don’t post trip updates or photos until after you return.

Arrange to have newspapers and mail stopped. You can easily put both on a vacation hold. Or have a trusted family member or neighbor pick them up.

Ask a neighbor to check for any deliveries or packages left at the front door.

Alert local police that you will be away. Some agencies will even to vacation checks while you’re gone (as available time allows).

Do you keep a spare house key hidden outside, just in case you forget yours? If so, be sure to remove it before leaving on your trip. Savvy thieves will look in the most likely hiding places for spare keys.

If you will be gone more than a week, arrange to have someone trustworthy mow your lawn.

Alert your bank and credit card companies that you will be traveling. This will help avoid unnecessary credit card declines while you are away, leaving you to make an unexpected cash transaction.

Don’t leave trash cans sitting on the curb all week. That's a clear sign that you're not around. Bring them back inside before leaving on your trip or ask a neighbor to wheel them out of sight after they are emptied.

Are these tips fool-proof? No. But anything you can do to make your house a less attractive target for burglars is well worth the time.

Until next time…remain vigilant,

KMA367