As the days are growing warmer and longer, plenty of us are bringing the garden furniture out, or treating ourselves and investing in new garden accessories. Whether it is a loved set of garden chairs, a paddling pool, a flash new barbeque or gardening tools, most gardens tend to contain a few high-value items.
While we spend a lot of time and effort securing the items inside our home, all too often, we forget to take care of the things in our garden. What’s more, if possessions go missing and they were not appropriately secured, you are unlikely to be covered by insurance. We look at simple measures that you can take to make sure your property stays safe.
1. Check the Access
If your garden is easy to get into: low fences, a gate that doesn’t lock, gaps in the fence, opportunistic thieves can’t just see what is in your garden, they can get to it easily, too. If you have a low wall, there is no need to block yourselves in completely, but trellis can make your garden harder to get into. Make sure that you shut and lock your gate when you are not in the garden and take a little time to look for and fix any gaps in the fence. If there is a “risk” area of your fence, where your garden can be more easily accessed, for example, by a busy road, consider growing a prickly climber up the trellis or fence.
2. Storage
You know the saying “out of sight, out of mind”? Well, it is true when it comes to opportunistic burglaries. If you are not using your lawn mower, bike or surfboard, don’t leave them in the garden - keep them out of temptation’s reach by storing them out of sight in the shed or garage. If you don’t have storage space, any kind of security will help; something as simple as padlocking a bike or kayak to a railing will make a big difference.
3. Security
Gates and sheds are the first line of defence when it comes to keeping your garden secure, so it's worth investing in the best quality gate and shed that you can afford. Remember, you can always add additional locks to your shed door or gate for additional security. Exterior lights are an effective deterrent, too; motion activated ones are often enough to spook a would-be burglar, as well as alert you to any sudden movements in the garden.
4. Get Covered
Finally, being the victim of a burglary is bad enough, but finding out that you're uninsured is even worse. If you have an expensive barbeque, garden furniture, tools or other equipment in your garden, check that your insurance covers it and that you take the appropriate measures to make a claim if you do need to.