Protecting Your Home from Halloween Vandals

Ok, I'll admit it; I was one of those kids who set out trick-or-treating with more than just my plump, plastic, orange pumpkin; I was also armed with eggs, bar soap and rolls of toilet paper. Kids now-a-days, though, seem to think more destructively about their mischievous Halloween pranks rather than harmless things like dressing that Maple tree in your front yard with toilet paper. This generation of trick-or-treaters has been known to spray paint on houses, break windows and even set fire to trash left by the curb. These and other similar acts can prove costly for homeowners. Below are some safety tips for protecting your house from this sort of hostile prankster this Halloween.

1. Keep your outside lights on all night. Your house is less likely to be targeted if it is lit up.

2. Put your trash cans inside your garage or basement for the night. If they're out of sight the contents can't be used to start a fire, and the receptacle won't become a make-shift football.

3. For this same reason, remove all plants, chairs and other things that aren't secured down to a safe place.

4. Don't let anyone in your home you don't know. These destructive little miscreants have been known to case a house while under the guise of trick-or-treating.

5. Keep your windows and doors locked.

6. Stay home. The chance of your home becoming a target for vandalism is greatly reduced if you're home.

7. Be nice to the older trick-or-treaters. Sometime you can inadvertently provoke an act of vandalism be refusing to give some of your sweet treats to kids you think are too old for Halloween.

8. Install an alarm system. The added benefit is that your home will be better protected year-round.

9. Install motion-sensory lighting. What a surprise they'll get when all of a sudden they're on center stage!

10. Get to know the kids in the neighborhood before Halloween gets here. Lot's of times your home will get passed over if the kids know you personally.

With any luck, you'll wake up the morning after Halloween, and find the only pranks played on your home involved some rolls of toilet paper and a bar of soap. But rather than take the chance, follow these tips just in case those pranksters have other things in mind.