A Homeowner’s Guide to Safe Trick-or-Treating

It’s that time of year! We’re about to be surrounded by superheroes, goblins, witches, and princesses. You probably have your Halloween candy ready, but is your home safe and secure in preparation for the holiday festivities and the little ones who will be anxiously knocking on your door? Check out these safety tips to make sure your home and your trick-or-treaters have a fun and safe Halloween experience.

Turn the lights on (and maybe even add more).

It’s important that your property is well-lit this Halloween to ensure those trick-or-treaters can make it to your door safely. This will also help prevent people from pulling any not-so-nice pranks in your yard or on your house. Take some time to replace any burned-out bulbs in your exterior lights and turn them on before the sun goes down. Consider adding additional temporary lighting, such as glow sticks or decorations that light up. They will add extra light and add to the overall decor.

If you aren’t going to be home or want to discourage trick-or-treaters from stopping by, you can keep your exterior lights turned off, and there are some other safety tips you’ll need to follow below.

Create a safe path. 

In order to prevent your Halloween guests from tripping on your walkway, make sure your sidewalk and yard are free of clutter, including any leaves, tree limbs, or other debris. Consider putting your car in the garage and putting away any potted plants. Place your decorations, such as jack-o-lanterns and spooky figures, a safe distance from where your guests will be walking. You want these fall decorations to be enjoyed, not messed with.

If you have lights or inflatable decorations, be careful where you leave any cords or ropes so that they are not a danger to your Halloween guests. Kids often go from house to house without paying attention to using sidewalks. If you have a yard display, be sure it is well lit and clearly visible to avoid any goblins taking a tumble, or worse, getting hurt.

Keep your pets in a safe place.

Frequent doorbell ringing, strangers in the yard, and scary costumes easily frighten pets. Halloween and July 4th probably aren’t your pets’ favorite holiday. It’s important to protect your furry friends from cars and trick-or-treaters, but it’s also important to protect your guests. Not everyone will be comfortable with your furry friends coming up for attention. Avoid anyone getting bitten or harmed (or even scared) by your pet acting out of fear or stress. It’s best to keep them inside or in some kind of safe, enclosed space away from the front door and walkway.

At the end of the night, be sure to look over your yard for any litter that may have been thrown on the ground in a child’s excitement to eat their treats. You don’t want your pet to eat the wrappings or any leftover candy that may have fallen to the ground as well.

Deactivate your security system, but lock other areas not in use.

Lots of “intruders” and “suspicious activity” on your doorstep can lead to false system alarms. This happens quite often on Halloween. Since your bell will be ringing and your door will be opening repeatedly throughout the night, it’s a good idea to disarm your alarm before those trick-or-treaters arrive. But remember to turn your alarm on before you go to bed!

On the other hand, this is a prime time of year for pranks and mischief, so if you’ll be away from home on Halloween, be sure to set your security alarm system. Motion-sensitive lights can be an effective layer of protection as they can alert your neighbors if someone is on your property.

Lastly, be sure to lock up any other buildings not in use. This will prevent any trick-or-treaters from entering the wrong location, and it will help deter anyone looking to do hard from having easy access to outbuildings. So, if you have a garage, barn, shop, or other structure, be sure to lock it up and secure any valuables that may be outside.

Prevent fires.

Halloween can be a dangerous time for fires. For those of you planning to use candles in your jack-o-lanterns, keep a close eye on them as they do present a fire risk. Place them far away from your walkways to avoid fire hazards, such as costumes, props, and decorations (think haybales, dried-out cornstalks, etc.), lighting on fire.

Consider using battery-powered light sources as a safe alternative to open flames. We don’t want a fun night to turn dangerous to you or your special guests.

Take pictures. 

You might consider taking a few photos of your property before the sun goes down. No matter how secure your home is, you can always prevent vandalism and pranks. Having photos to show your insurance agent will be helpful if any funny business takes place later on. While we don’t ever want to think about these types of issues, sometimes things happen, and it’s better to play it safe.

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HAVE A HAPPY & SAFE HALLOWEEN!

If you see a property that you’re interested in while you’re out on the town trick-or-treating, give us a call or click here! We’d love to share any information with you and set up a showing.

Enjoy your night!