Use landscaping to create a subtle barrier around your house. Rosie’s tips:
- Plant some prickly pear cactus or low-growing, thorny bushes under windows.
- Remove overgrown bushes and shrubs where an intruder can hide.
- Trim the ones you want to keep so they don’t obscure you neighbors’ view of your windows. Yes, you sacrifice a bit of privacy, but you gain security if neighbors can notice when someone who doesn’t belong is in or around your house.
- Trim tree branches away from your house; they can provide cover for a skulker or serve as a ladder for someone wanting to enter an upstairs window.
- Keep your lawn healthy, picked up and manicured. A messy or overgrown lawn signals potential intruders that nobody’s home long enough to take care of it.
- Spread gravel or pebbles under windows. It’s pretty hard to sneak around outside with noisy, crunchy gravel underfoot.
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