Denying Burglars a "leg up"

It can be easy enough for a burglar to break into your home without you offering a helping hand - or a leg up.

An upstairs window or skylight can be a tempting point of entry. There's no sense encouraging burglars to get into your home via these routes. Don't leave ladders outside your home, or anything else a burglar can climb, such as an old TV tower for a roof antenna that you don't use any more.

Keep ladders locked up in a shed or garage. Better yet, leave them inside the home.

If any tree branches extend right to your upstairs windows, cut them. Otherwise, you're offering a burglar a convenient climb and a perch right next to your windows.

Second-floor windows are often unlocked because we tend not to worry about anyone coming in through them. But burglars can get into even high-rise apartments by climbing from balcony to balcony, so a second-floor window doesn't pose a tremendous challenge. When you leave the house you should always lock your upstairs windows, just as you would your front door or downstairs windows.

The tools that you keep in that shed or garage - such as axes, cutters, electric drills, saws, pliers, and hammers - can also be used by a burglar to force his way into the home. These tools should be securely locked away, preferably inside the home.

Burglars love anything that will hide their activities. During the summer, keep trees, hedges, and bushes trimmed so that burglars are denied their cover. At night, keep the outside lights on, or install a motion-sensitive floodlight that shines a spotlight on any intruder when movement is detected.

A high percentage of burglaries occur because people fail to lock up, or leave their keys in the door. That's truly leaving out the welcome mat to a thief.

Don't hide an extra key outside. Burglars know all the popular hiding spots, and can simply let themselves in the door. You also have no way of knowing if someone has found the key and made a copy to be used in the future. If you're worried about losing your keys, leave a spare set with someone you trust.