Keeping Your Garden Safe

    Top Tips to Deter Garden Thieves

As the unemployment rate surges as a result of the pandemic in T&T its no surprise people are turning to burglary; and what better than to steal food! We're planting necessary food and keeping more and more expensive items in our gardens, making them very appealing to burglars. Follow these tips to keep your garden safe from thieves this summer...

Install security camera systems

Available for a reasonable low cost, CCTV and security systems are effective for two reasons; deterring and identifying. Many will be put off coming near your house if they saw a security system. A CCTV camera and motion-detecting lights are the biggest deterrents when looking to break in, say former burglars. Display signs which advertise your security measures.

Store valuable machinery and tools safely.

It’s very easy for someone to enter your garden and remove an item, especially if not kept in a shed or outbuilding. For heavier items, it has been evident of people using machinery to remove such items. The best advice here is to simply lock all machinery and tools you have up, whether that be in your house or a shed. If possible, lock up the goods inside any outbuildings for extra precaution, and put a cover over them so potential passers-by can’t see what goods you’re storing. Since this blog is about frugal planting, it seems appropriate to build a frugal shed as well; click the video to the right to see how this couple built a frugal garden shed from discarded pallets available at companies in industrial estates. 

Put up spikes (fence and thorny bushes)

Thieves like to climb over fences to enter the garden, especially if inaccessible from the front, so what better way to deter them than to give them a shock. Fence spikes are an easy, cheap solution which can be applied to fence tops, and are available in a number of colors in Trinidad. For example stag bottles are green so if your fence is green i'd recommend these so it blends in with your fence).

Thorny bushes such as holly bushes are also a nuisance for thieves, but will require more time and maintenance.

For more on safety and security issues please check this local blog that discusses safety and security in TT.

Get to know your surroundings

This might seem a bit obvious (or perhaps inconvenient) but research your area. Get to know who the typical culprits are and possibly don't pursue any sort of friendship with them. Is there a high crime rate? Is it a hotspot for thefts? There are plenty of tools online such as the recently launched TTPS APP where you can report crime and theft in real time . Likewise, get to know your neighbors. If you are friendly with the locals in your area, they are more likely to keep an eye on your house.

Lastly! - Get a Pot Hound. 

Whilst is very contentious that there are phenomenal guard dogs such as German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Dobermans, et al, this blog is about 'being frugal', so in Trinidad and Tobago we 'freely' give away these common dogs or as we say in in Trinidad 'ah pot hound'. These protective dogs usually have a strong sense of loyalty to you and your family, are highly alert and observant, and act obediently. Although an ideal guard dog is typically large, fearless, and responsive to training, these dogs would surely wake you and half the neighborhood that someone is in your garden. 

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