Outdoor furniture is an expensive patio accessory that must be secured from theft and weather elements. Imagine going out to your garden for a nice break, and you glance at your expensive patio furniture, only to see they are gone. Yes, you have lost all that money on your patio furniture. So how do you prevent your outdoor furniture from being stolen in the first instance or when it is replaced?
If you have several outdoor pieces of furniture, then you probably know how much of a nuisance it is when the furniture gets stolen.
You spend hours searching the internet in hopes of finding the best deals on furniture, only to return home one day to discover that your patio table, lounge chair, and several other outdoor furniture items have been stolen.
Anyone who has furniture in their backyard will tell you that they have no intention of allowing it to go missing.
Still, many people leave their outdoor furniture out with little to no security. The good news is that there are several ways to prevent your outdoor furniture from disappearing, which are listed below.
How to prevent outdoor furniture from being stolen
Lock your outdoor furniture down
If you’re worried about your outdoor furniture being stolen, one of the best ways to protect it is to chain and padlock. This will not only prevent people from stealing your furniture, but it will also keep it in place when it gets windy. You can also use cable locks for patio furniture, but chain locks are much more effective.
First, find an anchor point for your chain, the best place for this is usually on the ground or buried in the dirt. Then, if you want to keep your furniture from being stolen, you’ll want to attach the other end of the chain to your outdoor furniture.
Next, wrap the chain around your outdoor furniture and fasten it with a padlock. This will make it much harder for anyone to steal your outdoor furniture without breaking down or cutting through the chains themselves.
Keep Your Yard Well Lit
If you want to prevent theft from happening in the first place, make sure your yard is well lit at night.
Keeping your yard well lit is a great way to deter burglars and thieves from coming onto your property. In addition, lighting up your yard in various ways will make it more difficult for criminals to remain undetected, so it’s important to have plenty of light sources throughout your property.
You can use motion-activated lights or put lights on timers so that they come on automatically at night. In addition to these options, you should also consider using solar-powered lights because they are less likely to be damaged by vandals than other types of outdoor lighting.
Outdoor solar lights are easy to install without the need of an electrician and are mostly usable out of the box. You can also light up your walkways with solar lights to make your home more secure.
Secure Your Chairs to the Ground
The most common way outdoor chairs are stolen is by simply picking them up and walking away with them. You can use bolts and nuts to attach your chairs to the ground to prevent this. This is a simple solution that will help effectively prevent theft.
You can do this by drilling holes in the legs of your furniture and then putting large, heavy bolts through the hole and into the ground. This will prevent theft and wind from moving the entire piece of furniture. Secure your chair through this simple method
- Using a drill, make holes in the legs of your outdoor furniture.
- Insert an eye bolt into each hole, then tighten a nut around the bolt with a wrench.
- Put a washer between the bolt and the nut, and then secure them with a lock-washer on either side of the nut to prevent theft.
Use an Outdoor Motion Detector Light
Motion detector lights are designed to turn on when they detect movement, so they’ll light up when someone walks by them, giving potential burglars pause when they try to break in. Point this light to your outdoor furniture to light up the area when a movement is detected.
Motion-detector lights aren’t expensive, and they’re relatively easy to install. They come with brackets that attach them to walls or fences, and they require little maintenance other than replacing batteries every once in a while.
Thieves are often looking for quick and easy targets that won’t be hard to break into, so they tend to avoid houses with security systems and cameras. Motion-activated outdoor lights scare away potential thieves because they think someone is home and make it clear that your house is protected.
Install a Taller Fence
Another good way to secure your furniture and home is to install a taller fence. This will make it more difficult for thieves to get your furniture over the fence.
For example, if your fence is 5 feet tall, then thieves might be able to get over it if it’s just made of wood and they’re not too tall. However, installing a fence with metal bars that are 6 feet tall will make it much more difficult for thieves to get into your yard and take your furniture.
If you have a wooden fence, you complement it with steel mesh on top of the wood in order to make it more difficult for someone to climb over. If you don’t want to put up an entirely new fence, consider adding additional fencing around areas that are likely targets for theft, such as pool and hot tub areas.
Store it away while traveling
It can be tempting to leave your outdoor furniture out when traveling. But if you want to protect your investment, it’s best to store it away while you’re gone.
If you have a shed or garage, they can be stored there; if not, try tarping it or covering it with a sheet. You can also take in the cushions and store them up on shelves so they don’t get ruined by rain or snow.
It may be inconvenient to pack up your outdoor furniture before traveling, but it’s worth doing. Not only will this help prevent theft of your items, but it will also protect them from wear and tear.
Make Your Patio Furniture Look Old and Outdated
Make it look as old as possible when you’re done using your patio furniture. If a thief sees that your furniture is not new, they will most likely not bother stealing it. If it’s old and worn-looking, they may assume that it’s been there for years and will not be missed. Here are a few ways to do this:
- Remove cushions and covers. If they’re gone, they can’t be sold as new.
- Use dirt and/or rust to stain the wood. This will make it harder for someone to resell your furniture as new.
Install an Outdoor Security Camera
One of the easiest ways to prevent your outdoor furniture from being stolen is to install an outdoor security camera. Thieves don’t want to risk being caught because security cameras will easily spot them if they try to take something from your property.
The camera will record any activity near your property, which can be used as evidence when reporting the theft. In addition, the presence of security will give your home a sense of security which will scare them away.
A good outdoor security camera will capture high-resolution images of people and vehicles in the area to see who is coming and going from your property. If a person or vehicle is on your property without permission, you can use this evidence to file a police report and get help finding the thief.
However, this will not stop someone from stealing your items if they are determined to do so; it is just a way to help you identify who stole them.
Let the Dog Out
Dogs are natural protectors, and they have a keen sense of smell. So they’ll know if someone enters their territory and starts barking loudly to alert you.
This can help deter potential thieves from taking things that don’t belong to them. The best part about this solution is that it’s free.
If you’re worried about them running away, tether them to a fence or tree with a long leash so that they’ll be close by. For extra security, you can also consider putting out bowls of water and food for them; they’ll be less likely to wander off if they’re busy eating their snacks.
Insurance
Many insurance companies offer a policy that will cover your outdoor furniture if it is stolen. This will protect you financially if something happens to your outdoor furniture.
If someone steals something and it’s insured, the insurance company will pay for the loss. But there are two important caveats: first, you must have proof of ownership (such as receipts or photographs), and second, you must have proof of value (such as an appraisal).
To ensure that your insurance policy covers theft, ask your agent about theft coverage in general (not just burglary). Also, ask about the deductible, the amount of money you’ll have to pay before the insurance company starts paying out and whether there are any exclusions for certain items (like outdoor furniture).
If you’re looking for insurance for your outdoor furniture, here are some things to consider:
- What is covered by the policy? Does it cover theft? Normal wear-and-tear? Accidents?
- How much do different types of policies cost? Are there discounts if you have multiple items insured under one policy?
- What are the deductibles? Is there coverage available for low deductibles as well as high deductibles?
Use an Alarm System
An alarm system is another effective way to prevent theft of your outdoor furniture. Even if you don’t want to invest in an expensive one, inexpensive options are available that will serve the same purpose.
Alarm systems are designed to detect motion and sound, and when they do, they can alert you or even call for help. As a result, your property will be protected, and you’ll feel safer.
The best part is that you can get alerts on your phone while away, notifying you of any problem so you can inform the police.
Put up a sign
One of the most common ways to prevent outdoor furniture from being stolen is to put up a sign that says “Do Not Trespass” or “beware of dogs” in a visible location. This will discourage thieves from taking your furniture since they will know that they will be caught.
If you want to make sure people will read this sign, make it bright and colorful. The more eye-catching the sign is, the more likely it is that someone will read it and follow the instructions.
If you want to be extra sneaky, you can also put up an “Alarm” sign (this is optional). The idea is that if someone tries to break into the compound where you store your patio set and see the alarm sign, they’ll think twice about it and move on to another target.
What to Do If Someone Steals Your Patio Furniture?
If you’ve been the victim of a furniture theft, you’re not alone. It happens all the time. But what should you do if you find out someone has stolen your furniture? Here are some steps to take:
But you should also be prepared: there are some things to do right away in the event of theft and other things that can wait until you’re ready to deal with them.
First, contact your homeowner’s insurance company. You should have a policy that covers theft or vandalism of your outdoor property, so even if the police don’t catch the thief, your insurance will cover the cost.
Next up is contacting the police department and filing a report. If you have security cameras around your house or business (and you really should), make sure they’re recording before filing your report. The video footage may help police identify the thief and recover your property.
If you have any leads on where your stuff might be, try contacting pawn shops in the area to see if anyone’s trying to sell it off, you may get lucky.
Conclusion
You can prevent your furniture from being stolen with one or more of the above methods and avoid investment loss. Furthermore, this furniture is made to last a lifetime, so they will surely save you some bucks if they are not stolen. This reason needs to be always considered when you feel nonchalant.
When trying to secure your furniture, you can use two or more methods above. The best method to secure your furniture is to prevent access to your property. Then, you can complement it with an adequate security light, which gives your compound a good security sense.
