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Home Safety And Home Security
Tips For Homeowners At Halloween
By Karen Fritscher-Porter
Safety in the home at Halloween calls for some special care
since holidays often present atypical circumstances to
year-round living. Here are several home safety and home
security tips for you to heed at home at Halloween. Share these
Halloween safety tips with your children too.
Clear debris and items like garden hoses from your yard,
driveway and walkway to create a clear, safe walking path to
your door. You don't want anyone to accidentally injure himself
(or sue you later).
Secure loose items you want to keep like bikes. While you should
secure these anyway year-round, you wouldn't want to lose these
items to theft on Halloween. And you wouldn't want someone to
come back later to collect these items because they notice you
don't secure them.
Test your outside porch lights to make sure they work. Add
lighting as necessary to create a path for trick or treaters to
see clearly when walking to your door. A well-lit clear path
also should keep these visitors from tripping and trudging
through your flower beds and other garden areas. Plus a working
outside light helps you to see who is at your door.
If you decorate with candles, place them in spots in your home
or outside where pets and people won't brush against them. You
don't want pets, people or your home to catch on fire.
If you have a skittish dog or cat, put him in another room with
a television on low to keep him from getting spooked everytime
your doorbell rings. Also, you don't want the dog snapping at or
scaring trick-or-treaters (no matter how well-trained or nice
YOU think your pet is). And cats have been known to hiss and
scratch when frightened by strangers. So don't allow your pets
to answer the door with you. That includes your pet birds, which
not only scare non-bird lovers but could fly the coop due to all
the chaos it's not used to being around.
Don't feel you have to answer the door after the typical
trick-or-treater rush is over. Many people open their doors
freely on Halloween because they expect to see trick or treaters.
Once the rush dies down, you may want to turn off your outside
light to indicate you're done answering the door for the night.
Do not allow any child or adult to come into your home. Hand
treats out with the door propped open or on your porch. If an
adult or child says they'd like to come inside to use your phone
for an emergency, do not allow these strangers to enter your
home. If you feel it's necessary you can offer to make a phone
call to the number they give you while they wait outside on your
doorstep. Lock your door when you leave them there to enter
another portion of your home. If someone asks to use your
bathroom, give them directions to the nearest public restroom.
You do not want strangers following you into your home for any
reason---no matter how nice, big, little, desperate or stressed
they seem. Likewise, the average person who doesn't know you
does not want to come into your home anyway since you are a
stranger to him too. So if a stranger is asking for access to
your home, be wary and do not accomodate him. If they are
trick-or-treaters from the neighborhood (as they should be
technically), they can return to their own home for these needs.
Practice these home and Halloween safety tips every year and
teach them to your children. Home security is an important topic
year-round, but holidays present special holiday safety
circumstances.
About the Author: Karen Fritscher-Porter publishes http://www.easy-home-security.com
--- an informational site where you can read more about holiday
safety and home safety tips. Plus learn about where to buy
products that aid safety.
Source: www.isnare.com
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