Author: Brian October 13, 2020

Guest Post by Emily Taylor

Ever noticed that if you draw a line down the middle of Australia on a map, the left hand side looks like a dog’s head, and the right hand side looks like a cat’s head?

I’ll wait while you go check that out… back?

That’s a fun little trick you can show your friends.

But, unfortunately, homes in Australia don’t come fitted with guard dogs and attack cats.

We must protect our homes using our own wits and cunning, made all the more difficult by the climate…

Open windows need shutters

Australia is famed for the seemingly never ending sunshine.

That means homes get hot. And that means people leave their windows wide open – even on the ground floor.

Check out the cost of plantation shutters for a stylish way to ensure that thieves and robbers are prevented from slipping into your home through an open window, all without hindering air flow.

Typically, home security gear is anything but eye-catching, but shutters allow you to upgrade the safety of your open windows while increasing the visual appeal of your home.

Keep your house and garden maintained and trim (for good reason…)

When it comes to home safety tips specifically in relation to Australia, we have to consider the vast number of insects, arachnids, reptiles, mammals, flying things and swimming things, marsupials, and … are there any other types of Australian creature left?

The point is that Australia is wild.

Animals of all shapes and sizes will slither and scurry into darkened corners and cracked walls and uncovered pipework.

If you’re not careful, your unkempt garden and poorly maintained home structures (including sheds with easy access at grass level) will invite danger from potentially venomous animals such as snakes.

Keep things tidy, with enclosed bins and minimal shrubbery, to help dissuade such visitors.

Tip: snake repellent vibration devices and oils don’t always work – removing all places to animals to hide is a faster way to keep poisonous animals away.

Solar powered security lights 

If there’s one thing that Australia has plenty of, it’s sunshine.

Even on days where the temperature dips to the lower end of the yearly national average temperature, the heat is still going to be in the mid to late teens (in Celsius), meaning sun, sun, sun.

When it comes to home safety, you can make use of this endless natural source of energy by installing solar powered security lights.

There are two ways in which you can go about this.

First, garden lights designed to help light pathways are a great way to out off any potential night time prowlers – thieves and robbers are more likely to target homes with no outdoor lighting at all (even if you garden lights only offer a low level of light at ankle to knee level, that’s better than nothing).

Secondly, you could invest in motion detector security lights and security cameras.

This is more expensive, but it all depends how much you want to protect your castle!