Protect Your Home from Halloween Pranks and Vandalism

Don't want egg all over your doors? Follow these simple steps for minimizing damage on Halloween.

Steps

  1. Treat visitors kindly. The biggest reason that people tend to attack your home on Halloween is that you might be avoiding giving them candy. If you show yourself to be a welcoming neighbor, you might not get vandalized.
  2. Turn off the main lights, shut the curtains so that it looks like you aren't there, if you decide to ignore trick-or-treaters. If they don't think you are home, people probably won't attack your house for not "treating" them.
  3. Tape up your letter-mail slot inside and outside on your door or in your wall, as the only public opening to your house. This prevents things like stink bombs, etc.
  4. If you have a choice of parking your vehicles behind your house or next to the street, put them behind your house. This lessens the chance of drive-by egging.
  5. Hide in a shrub with a water hose. If you see someone who is going to vandalize your house aim and spray water while still hiding. Also, you could use "sprinklers", but do not use a water-gun or Airsoft because that exposes you and makes it personal (which could bring revenge against you).
  6. If you will be gone someplace, ask someone who is not doing anything to do the above step for you.
  7. Have a big dog tied up in front of your house on Halloween night, only. Be sure the leash isn't too short/or too long.
  8. Sit in chairs on the front porch or in the yard of your home looking around with dim/partially covered porch lights (to be visible but not all lit-up).
  9. Put a sign that says something like this. "You vandalize, you don't get candy."
  10. If you are a police officer, stay in uniform all evening.
  11. Freak the pranksters out! Hide behind bushes or leave a hidden tape of you saying "I see you..." Beware as this may drive nicer people away, too.

Tips

  • This isn't so much protecting your home as it is taking "aggressive-defensive" measures. If your house has already been targeted and vandalized several times on Halloween, or even in general, you should probably call the police.
  • A good way to "hide" the group is to make a haunted house/hall/yard, etc. This will distract the tricksters from doing pranks in a fun and engaging way. For information on making a haunted attraction, try reading this article: How to Make a Haunted House.
  • Work with a group. Siblings, cousins, parents, friends, or just people you know and trust can help you to have a group sitting on your porch.
  • If, despite your precautions, your house does get vandalized, try not to tell anyone about it. Then, if someone happens to come up and ask you about the prank, you know they probably did it! However, if serious damage has been done to your home, call the police! Hopefully, they may find whoever did it, they are still out doing tricks.
  • Bologna on your car will peel the paint off in circles when left out overnight so be diligent and check every so often for malicious tricks such as this
  • Especially, don't forget Halloween is a tradition. Simple pranks are tolerable, such as foam in the mailbox (or anywhere else), the toilet paper routine (it is biodegradable) or any other non-harmful acts. However, do not use or tolerate eggs, guns, paint-ball guns, rocks, paint, mustard on the car or graffiti. Be especially wary at nighttime, when "older kids" come out. Their pranks are not as innocent as the "little kids'" pranks.
  • Be aware that if you treat your neighbors kindly, kids will think that you won't call the cops or do anything
  • If a person who looks like a vandal passes by, look if they are holding anything suspicious. An example can be a large bag or random object.

Warnings

  • If you live in an area where you can expect passers to be carrying weapons, you might be safer skipping the hose step. It is not recommended that you retaliate on individuals carrying weapons; call the cops!
  • Sometimes people will know you're not home and still throw eggs, because no one's going to be inside or out to run and get them. Watch out!

Things You'll Need

  • A hose
  • Tape
  • Porch/lawn chairs

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