All Hallows Eve is upon us and that means lots of adorable, as well as scary, figures tromping through your neighborhood and knocking on your door in search of goodies. Ben Buys Indy Houses wants to show you the top 5 safety things you can do so no one can break into your home this Halloween.

Every year, Halloween sees an increase in burglaries and vandalism, and the chances for these crimes to occur doesn’t end when trick-or-treating ends. So it’s really important you take steps to protect yourself and your home from potential vandals and burglars.

Top 5 Safety Things You Can Do so No One Can Break into Your Home

Get Your Security in Check
Even if you are going to be home, give your security cameras a check to make sure they’re working properly and are pointing on the entry points of your home. If you are not going to be home, make sure motion detector lights are installed and pointing at walk-up areas to your doors or windows. And if you have a security system, don’t forget to turn it on before you leave or go to bed for the evening.

Light it up
Having ample outdoor lighting will deter burglars and vandals from invading your home and property. These criminals will avoid the harder to reach homes and lighting is the first thing to scare them away.

Inside the home, have some lights on, especially around entry doors – even if you are home. If you are going to be away for the evening, consider putting your lights on timers. Have them set to turn on and off in different areas to give the appearance of someone being home. And have the television or a radio playing to add to the feel of someone being there.

Handing out Candy
The safest way to hand out candy is to sit outside your home. Grab some comfortable chairs, something to drink and bundle up if you need to. Sitting outside will prevent you from opening and closing the door, allowing potential burglars a glimpse inside of your home – which is often all they need to decide whether to hit your home next.

If sitting outside isn’t feasible for you, be sure to look out a window or peephole before opening the door. This is especially important as the trick-or-treating winds down and becomes a bit more sporadic. Another option is to have others at home with you, after all, as they say “there is safety in numbers”.

Talk to Your Neighbors
Talk to your neighbors to see what their plans are for the evening and let them know what you plan on doing. Even if you’re just handing out candy, communication helps keep the neighborhood safe.

Remove the Temptation
Vandals like to cause destruction to decorations, mailboxes, and vehicles during the Halloween evening. The best way to prevent that is to remove the temptation, consider taking these steps to prevent damage or theft to some of your pricier items:

  • Put away any decorations that are your favorites and pose the risk of being destroyed or stolen
  • If your mailbox is on a post by the road, consider taking it down for the evening – just don’t forget to put it back in the morning
  • Park your vehicles in the garage for the night
  • If you don’t have a garage, be sure that your car is locked, all windows are closed completely and remove all valuables that are in sight. Consider having a quality security camera pointed on your vehicles as well.

BenBuys.wpengine.com and the National Safety Council want you and your kids to be safe on Halloween and offer these added tips to keep everyone safe:

Keeping your property safe for all visiting masked beggars, homeowners should make sure the pathways for trick-or-treaters are free from clutter. Consider taking the following steps to ensure an event-free evening:

  • Remove obstacles such as; toys, bikes and decorations
  • Make sure the path is well-lit for evening trick-or-treaters
  • Remove any yard debris such as; wet leaves, sticks or snow
  • Keep pets inside to avoid any risk of bites, scratches, or fall-down injuries

Since the most common injuries on Halloween are pedestrian in nature, trick-or-treaters should always follow these guidelines:

  • Stay together
  • Carry a cell phone for quick communication, but stay off phones unless needed
  • Adhere reflective tape to costumes and bags
  • Stick to the streets that have ample lighting
  • When possible, always use the sidewalk
  • When there is no sidewalk, walk by far edge of the road and be sure to walk facing toward traffic
  • Never cut across yards or use alleys
  • Never cross roads between parked cars
  • Don’t assume the motorists can see you. They may have difficulty keeping track of all of the Trick-or-Treaters and activity around the
  • Never go into a house or vehicle you don’t know