Readers who bought a home last December in a manufactured home community of just more than 100 homes write: "We will soon be leaving to return to our northern residence. Most of the people in our park go North, so there are not many here for the summer. Any suggestions on how we can burglar-proof our home?"
Here are some ideas, based on information supplied by the Polk County Sheriff's Office and the Web site of Foremost Insurance Co., www.mygreathome.com Year-round residents, take note. These tips can be practical for you, too.
Burglars follow patterns. They like to operate without forced entry. Many break-ins occur between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Burglars like to find homes with unlocked doors, particularly if the entry door is not visible to neighbors.
Make sure the outside of your home is well lit. Install a light with motion detection in your carport and at the back and corners of your home.
Give keys to a neighbor who will check your home frequently for possible break-ins or water leaks inside.
Leave an address and telephone number where you can be reached with one or more neighbors.
Trim shrubs away from windows so they don't provide a hiding place for a burglar.
In sliding glass doors, use anti-jimmy bars or broomsticks in the tracks so the doors cannot be opened.
Install and set timers on lamps and a radio or TV in several rooms to give the appearance that someone is home. Set each timer for different hours.
Ask neighbors to park their vehicles in your driveway on occasion.
Install good locks on windows and entry doors. Install deadbolt locks on doors. Locks should have a reinforcing strike plate installed with 3-inch screws. If you use double-keyed deadbolt locks, make sure you have ready access to an interior key if you need to leave in an emergency.
Have your neighbors pick up newspapers or fliers left in your driveway or on your doorstep.
Store valuables - jewelry, silverware, etc. - in a safe deposit box. Move TVs, stereos, etc., to a location not visible from your windows.
Don't broadcast your absence. A recent 10-year study by the Justice Department reported that 42 percent of apprehended burglars were known by the victim.
If you have an alarm, use it, and test it regularly. If you don't have one, you might consider installing one of the inexpensive do-it-yourself motion or heat detection alarms.
Lock your shed securely.
Once you have taken all the steps to protect your home, walk around outside and think like a burglar to see if you missed anything.
Following all of these tips will not guarantee you won't have a burglary, but they will go a long way toward preventing most break-ins.
Winter resident note: Follow this column online while you are up North this summer. Go to www.sptimes.com In the upper right corner "search the archives", type in "Len Bonifield" and click on "search." This column appears biweekly.
- Send comments or questions to Len Bonifield at elb@gate.net or fax to 863 853-8023, or phone (863) 858-1557. Please include your e-mail and mailing address.
Bonifield is a manufactured-home resident and a past HOA president and former officer of the FMO District 1 board of directors.
