Snowbirds’ Security Checklist: How to Protect Your Home While You’re Away This Winter

As win­ter rolls in, many Cana­di­ans begin plan­ning their sea­son­al migra­tion to warmer cli­mates. For snow­birds, escap­ing the cold offers well-deserved relax­ation, but it also leaves homes unoc­cu­pied for weeks or even months. That kind of vacan­cy can attract unwant­ed atten­tion, mak­ing strong home secu­ri­ty more impor­tant than ever. Whether you’re rely­ing on your exist­ing sys­tem or con­sid­er­ing a few upgrades, here’s how to ensure your prop­er­ty stays pro­tect­ed until you return.

How to Use Home Security to Protect Your Property This Winter

Leav­ing a home unat­tend­ed dur­ing the win­ter months comes with its share of risks. From break-ins to burst pipes, your best line of defence is a proac­tive approach. These sim­ple yet effec­tive steps can keep your home safe while you enjoy your time away.

Assess and Maintain Your Existing Home Security System

Start by giv­ing your cur­rent sys­tem a once-over. Are your cam­eras posi­tioned prop­er­ly? Do motion sen­sors respond as expect­ed? Is your alarm mon­i­tor­ing active and ful­ly func­tion­al?

If your sys­tem includes bat­tery-pow­ered devices, check and replace bat­ter­ies as need­ed. Many sys­tems also require occa­sion­al firmware updates to improve per­for­mance and fix bugs. A quick call to your home secu­ri­ty provider can sched­ule a sea­son­al inspec­tion to make sure every­thing is run­ning smooth­ly before you leave.

Also, test your system’s remote access fea­tures to ensure you can mon­i­tor alerts and receive noti­fi­ca­tions while abroad. This may involve sync­ing your devices with your phone or updat­ing your mobile app per­mis­sions. These sim­ple checks can help pre­vent avoid­able gaps in your win­ter safe­ty plan.

Upgrade to Smart Security Features for Better Control

Smart devices offer greater flex­i­bil­i­ty, espe­cial­ly when you’re away. With remote access, you can mon­i­tor your home in real-time, lock or unlock doors, and receive alerts when activ­i­ty is detect­ed.

Smart locks, app-con­nect­ed cam­eras, and video door­bells all enhance your win­ter safe­ty with­out requir­ing a com­plete over­haul. Many mod­ern sys­tems are designed to inte­grate with exist­ing home secu­ri­ty setups, mak­ing upgrades sim­ple and effec­tive.

Some smart devices allow you to set cus­tom rules; for exam­ple, receiv­ing alerts only dur­ing cer­tain hours or acti­vat­ing inte­ri­or cam­eras when a door sen­sor is trig­gered. These options give you more con­trol while reduc­ing unnec­es­sary noti­fi­ca­tions.

Con­sid­er installing a smart ther­mo­stat to man­age indoor tem­per­a­tures and reduce ener­gy usage. A sud­den drop in tem­per­a­ture can cause pipes to freeze, a sig­nif­i­cant con­cern in Cana­di­an win­ters. Remote tem­per­a­ture con­trol adds anoth­er lay­er to your vaca­tion check­list.

Use Timers and Automation to Create the Illusion of Presence

Bur­glars look for signs that a home is emp­ty. With automa­tion, you can cre­ate the appear­ance of activ­i­ty.

Use smart plugs and pro­gram­ma­ble timers to con­trol lights, tele­vi­sions, or even radios. Set them on ran­dom sched­ules that mim­ic your reg­u­lar rou­tines. Out­doors, motion-acti­vat­ed light­ing can deter unwant­ed vis­i­tors by illu­mi­nat­ing dri­ve­ways, walk­ways, and entry points when move­ment is detect­ed.

The key is vari­ety. Avoid repet­i­tive sched­ules that make it obvi­ous the lights are auto­mat­ed. Some smart light­ing sys­tems even offer fea­tures that sim­u­late nat­ur­al dai­ly rou­tines, which adds real­ism and fur­ther strength­ens your home secu­ri­ty.

Secure Entrances and Vulnerable Access Points

Before head­ing out, check all doors and win­dows. Are locks in good con­di­tion? Are there any weak spots where forced entry would be easy?

Install dead­bolts on exte­ri­or doors and con­sid­er rein­forc­ing slid­ing doors with secu­ri­ty bars. Sec­ondary devices like win­dow sen­sors or glass-break detec­tors pro­vide addi­tion­al lay­ers of pro­tec­tion, mak­ing it hard­er for intrud­ers to enter unno­ticed.

If your garage has win­dows, cov­er them to obscure the view inside. Also, dis­able the garage door open­er or use a smart garage door sys­tem that alerts you if the door is opened unex­pect­ed­ly. Don’t for­get to secure back entrances, base­ment win­dows, and oth­er less obvi­ous points of entry.

Don’t Forget About Mail, Deliveries, and Maintenance

A pile of mail or a snow-cov­ered dri­ve­way is a clear sign that no one’s home. Both can com­pro­mise your win­ter safe­ty and make your prop­er­ty a tar­get.

Use Cana­da Post’s mail hold or for­ward­ing ser­vices, or ask a trust­ed neigh­bour to col­lect pack­ages and fly­ers. Sched­ule snow removal or lawn care ser­vices to keep your home look­ing cared for. If you’re away for an extend­ed peri­od, con­sid­er hir­ing a prop­er­ty man­age­ment com­pa­ny to check in reg­u­lar­ly.

Also, con­sid­er installing a secure par­cel drop box if you receive fre­quent deliv­er­ies. Some mod­els even alert you when a pack­age arrives, help­ing you man­age your vaca­tion check­list remote­ly.

Why Winter Poses Unique Home Security Risks

Win­ter intro­duces chal­lenges that aren’t as promi­nent dur­ing oth­er sea­sons. Snow build-up can block secu­ri­ty cam­eras or pre­vent access to emer­gency exits. Cold tem­per­a­tures can affect bat­ter­ies in out­door sen­sors or freeze locks, poten­tial­ly ren­der­ing them use­less.

Pow­er out­ages are more com­mon in win­ter, which could tem­porar­i­ly knock out parts of your home secu­ri­ty sys­tem. To pre­vent inter­rup­tions, ensure back­up bat­ter­ies are charged and invest in surge pro­tec­tors or even a small gen­er­a­tor for crit­i­cal sys­tems. Win­ter­iz­ing your home secu­ri­ty is just as impor­tant as win­ter­iz­ing your plumb­ing or HVAC.

In addi­tion, snow can mask sus­pi­cious activ­i­ty, like foot­prints lead­ing to doors or win­dows. Make a note to check cam­era angles dur­ing win­ter weath­er to ensure key areas remain vis­i­ble and free of obstruc­tion.

The Benefits of Professional Monitoring During Long Absences

While smart devices allow for remote man­age­ment, they can’t match the reli­a­bil­i­ty of pro­fes­sion­al mon­i­tor­ing. With 24/7 sur­veil­lance, your provider can con­tact author­i­ties imme­di­ate­ly if an alarm is trig­gered, even if you’re unreach­able.

That lev­el of sup­port can make all the dif­fer­ence in pre­vent­ing or min­i­miz­ing dam­age. Whether it’s a break-in or a burst pipe, know­ing some­one is always watch­ing brings peace of mind to any vaca­tion check­list.

Pro­fes­sion­al mon­i­tor­ing often includes fea­tures like emer­gency dis­patch, sys­tem health checks, and inte­gra­tion with fire or flood detec­tion. These added ser­vices help ensure noth­ing falls through the cracks while you’re away for the sea­son.

Stay Protected All Winter Long with Help from Protection Plus

No snow­bird should have to wor­ry about their home while enjoy­ing a warm escape. With the right com­bi­na­tion of exist­ing sys­tems, smart upgrades, and expert sup­port, win­ter trav­el doesn’t have to mean sac­ri­fic­ing safe­ty.

Stay pro­tect­ed with trust­ed home secu­ri­ty solu­tions from Pro­tec­tion Plus. Reach out to Pro­tec­tion Plus today at 1–855-365‑7587 or click here to get in touch online.