When you are gone for a few days, how do you secure your house?

Two large dogs and a house sitter.

Cameras coming next.

For less than two weeks I draw my curtains, and ask my neighbor to pick up any newspapers or flyers left at my door, or in the driveway. My curtains are drawn a lot anyway, so it’s not terribly unusual.

If I were going to be gone a month or more I would consider paying someone to check on my house if I lived where anyone can easily access the house.

Where I live many many owners are gone months at a time. There are services here, neighbors have keys, etc. I don’t think the primary concern here is squatters, but rather making sure the house is ok.

I lock the door.

Oh, and I don’t put anywhere on social media that I’m away.

I don’t understand why people put their vacation photos on social media before they come home.

Where I live, I have nosy neighbors. I live in a pretty tight community so if anybody was moving shit in, someone would be questioning them.

If I were home and someone came in, I’d try my best to hit them with a baseball bat and/or call the police.

Often my daughter stays with my large loud dog, but if no one is home, I have lights on regular timers (not just when I’m gone) and other timers thatturn on and off noise things (radio, TV).

We put our mail and newspaper on hold to be delivered when we will return. Neighbors are told to keep an eye on our home and a close friend who has a key comes by several times a week to water our flowers and fill the hummingbird feeders.

I lock the door and tell the neighbours.

Lock the doors, tell the neighbors, stop mail and papers. I’ve been fine so far.

Where I live we have a system when if one is away for a day or more to leave a note ( system) on the main entrance hallways that you are away and for how long. That way the neighbors in our building know that and keep an eye on ones apartment.
In our neighborhood the home owners have motion detectors that also shine a bight light and take photographs of entrances,windows etc.
Some buy a phony large dog barking recording ,which is activated when the doors or windows are tapered with.
They have at least one relative or a neighbor to keep an eye on their home.
Even in a small Town there are break ins but not many thank goodness.
And some hire a house sitter for that very reason to keep an eye on their property and sometimes look after their pets.

I’ve heard of that happening (someone moving in illegally) once or twice in the past. I think that it began in 2008–2009 when people were losing their houses to foreclosure pretty regularly, and squatters swooped in to occupy the vacant homes.

I didn’t realize that this was still happening – I wonder how frequent a thing this is.

As for my own home – I called by buddy Kristin at the Department of Homeland Security – she put an 18 foot crenellated wall around my house, and posts a couple of ICE agents whenever I leave the grounds.

Same as @Tropical_Willie, housesitter is the way to go these days as opposed to closing up and boarding pets.

I suppose it’s been answered. But in case it hasn’t been mentioned, there’s an irregularly turning on and off device thing that makes it look like people are home.

But what if they say “I have a sickness called “vandalomnia”, I did it while I was asleep”?

….There is an OP related to house and security in todays General section.

@flo, This is that question.