Many of us have been enjoying the recent heatwaves by spending more time in our gardens, but did you know that August is prime garden crime time? If you’ve recently invested in your garden – perhaps by buying new furniture, garden tools, or plants - it’s important to ensure they are secure and take measures to improve your home garden security.
Garden crime tends to increase in July and August because so many of us choose to take advantage of the warmer weather by going on day trips or longer breaks.
We’re also likely to have our more expensive garden items out on display – and seasoned thieves are adept at targeting unoccupied homes, especially those with no obvious outdoor security measures in place. House insurance policies often don’t cover garden contents, so outdoor security measures are particularly important.
We offer useful tips and advice about protecting your valuable outdoor items. We also provide a wide range of products specially designed to help improve your garden security and keep your treasured possessions and outdoor space safe.
Some of the most effective measures you can take to help protect your outdoor space from opportunistic thieves are relatively quick, straightforward and inexpensive to implement. Here are some top tips for improving your garden security:
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Install smart security cameras to help monitor your property, garden and vehicles, respond to unexpected visitors, and record any suspicious or criminal activity;
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Install motion-sensor security lights to keep your passageways, paths, gates and outbuildings well-lit. Motion-activated lights can surprise and deter intruders;
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Secure any gates and entry points with good-quality padlocks - ideally look for a “closed shackle” padlock which has achieved Sold Secure, Secured By Design or LPCB (Loss Prevention Certification Board) approval;
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If you are installing a new shed or outbuilding, try to place it in a location where it is in view of your house or a neighbour’s house to make it less tempting to thieves;
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Reinforce wooden doors with a high security hasp and staple, secured with a closed shackle padlock – which is relatively inexpensive and more difficult to cut or saw. A heavy-duty shed and garage security bar can also be fitted across doors, to provide additional protection where high-value items are stored inside;
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Up-and-over garage doors can be secured with ‘T-bars’, or a garage door defender in the ground in front of the door;
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Invest in purpose-built strong and secure metal garden storage (ideally one which has achieved Secured by Design ‘Police Preferred Specification’) to keep expensive larger items like garden tools, lawn mowers, bikes and motorcycles safe;
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Stored items can also be protected with a PIR shed alarm and secured with a good quality padlock and chain, using a ground anchor fixed to the floor.
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Protect your garden boundaries with strong 1.8m close boarded fencing, ensuring any horizontal cross battens are facing into your garden (to avoid them being used as a ladder);
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Specimen plants can be secured with root ball anchors, and expensive plants in pots and planters can be bolted to the ground, using chains or cables placed around the root ball and secured to ground or wall anchors with padlocks;
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Defensive planting such as spikey plants and prickly shrubs (e.g. climbing roses, pyracantha and berberis) can act as natural defence barriers along boundaries, and anti-climb deterrents such as “spike strips” or “fence toppers” can help prevent fences and walls from being scaled and act as a visible intruder deterrent (warning signs should be clearly visible); and
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Valuable items such as tools, garden machinery, furniture, bikes etc can be forensically marked with a unique invisible DNA code which makes it easier for stolen property to be identified and returned.
There are many other online sources providing useful home garden security advice and information. For more advice and tips visit the Sussex Police website or the Hertfordshire Police website.
Although many types of crime against individuals and households are fortunately decreasing, crime statistics prove that our outdoor spaces continue to be a popular target. Recently released crime figures in England and Wales, for the year ending March 2025, confirm that theft from outside dwellings continues to grow*. So, protecting your garden and outbuildings should be an important consideration for every homeowner.
*Crime in England and Wales for the year ending March 2025, using data from police recorded crime and the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW)