Celebrate National Gardening Week and secure your valuables
During National Gardening Week, what better way to celebrate than to make sure your shed and equipment are protected by these garden security tips from Yale? UK households spent around £16 billion on plants, pots, furniture, tools and other garden items in the last year. Yet many do little to protect this investment.
With this in mind, the experts at Yale have come up with some simple garden security tips to help you enjoy the benefits of spending time outdoors by protecting the people and spaces you love.
Sheds are always high on a burglar’s hit-list with lawnmowers, bikes and garden furniture targeted. However, with the shift towards working from home, one in 10 people has converted outbuildings into offices. Now, high-value mobile phones and laptops are probably being stored away from your house.
Basics of keeping sheds secure
How can you keep your shed secure? Start with the basics – use a heavy-duty padlock and secure windows with locks. Obscure the glass in the windows so the contents can’t be seen from outside. Keep tools and other valuables in a lockable box that’s bolted to the floor.
Consider fitting an alarm for another layer of protection. Yale’s Shed & Garage Alarm is cost-effective, and you don’t need to run power across your garden. Either mounted to the wall or freestanding, it has a loud siren and a 12m detection range. Outdoor cameras that operate via your Wi-Fi allow you to view outside activity and live-stream footage to your smartphone. They can even be used to discover what animals are visiting!
With a live feed through your smartphone via the Yale View app, the Yale All-in-One camera has a 1080P HD camera and wide-angle viewing. You can receive notifications of motion detected and take advantage of real-time viewing. Add a MicroSD card, and any movement is automatically saved to be watched later. Make sure cameras are IP65 rated – built to withstand British weather, and look for one with a built-in light.
Choose colour and avoid tall shrubs
How you plan your garden can make a big difference to security. Fences and tall shrubs would allow would-be intruders to move around unseen. According to Crimestoppers, hedges should be no more than 1.4 metres high. By choosing colourful flowers and bedding plants, there will be no extra cover for unwanted guests in dark clothing. Paint sheds and outbuildings in bright shades, too.
An automated gate can be the best way to secure your garden. If you have a wooden gate, cover the cross-member with a panel so there is no foothold. With wrought-iron gates, add an ornamental framework to make climbing difficult.
Lastly, loose gravel paths are a great addition, as they make a noise when walked upon. For more advice, visit www.yalehome.co.uk.
