Additional tips: House: Alarms | House: Locks | House: Windows & Doors | Garage | Yard | Valuables | Vacation | Miscellaneous |

YOUR YARD

* Keep ladders, garbage cans, building supplies and tools locked up out of view so you don't provide an intruder with the means to break into your home.

* Put big, bold numbers on your mailbox so your home can easily be identified in case of an emergency.

* Never put your name on your mailbox. Anyone can call directory assistance, get your number, and find out you aren't home.

* Don't hide a spare key near your front door; burglars know all the hiding places. Leave a spare key with a trusted neighbor instead.

* Planting thorny shrubs, rosebushes or cacti around the outside of your home can discourage burglars from entering your property.

* Placing alarm-company signs, neighborhood-watch decals or dog notices on your property tells burglars to steer clear of your home. Having these signs as a deterrent is only good if you can back them up. Don't rely on them or mistake them as doing the job of the real thing.

* Trim shrubs and trees so they do not provide hiding places for an intruder. Remove tree limbs that could allow someone to climb to an upper-story window or balcony.

* Harmless fog machines can be installed to "scare" intruders off your property.

* A solid privacy fence can provide a burglar with cover to break into your home. Consider an iron railing (topped with spikes, to discourage climbers), picket or chain-link fence instead. If you have a gate, install a strong magnetic lock on it to prevent intruders from easily penetrating the perimeter of your property.

* Keep all points of entry to your home well-lit. Consider installing motion-sensor lights on the rear and sides of your home and position them in out-of-reach places so they can't easily be turned off by a would-be thief.

* Spending most of your day in the back yard may be relaxing, but it leaves you clueless as to what's going on out front. Consider an intercom system featuring motion-sensor video that turns on when someone approaches your house. If you live on your own, consider implementing a camera-bell so you can see who is approaching.

* If you have video surveillance cameras, get a lockbox to store the central recording device. That way, a thief can't make off with the record of their crime.

* Baby video monitors can double as surveillance monitors for other points on your property.

* If you travel a lot, surveillance cameras around your property — with viewing access through the Internet — will allow you to keep an eye on your home while you're gone.

* Install cameras that operate off a motion sensor to keep from wasting valuable hard-drive space for your video files.

* Consider buying a wireless annunciator, which will alert you — anywhere in your home — when someone comes up your driveway or otherwise enters your property within 50 feet of its range.