5 Smart Landscaping Tips That Prevent Burglars From Breaking Into Your Home – and Beautify Your Yard at the Same Time

I first heard the term “defensive hedge” when I talked to Basque neighbors in the small town in France where I bought my little home. My land – at that time perhaps 5 wild acres – had exactly three trees on it, all 300-year-old oak trees. I wanted more trees, but every time I planted a young seedling, Basque ponies called pottoks that roam the hillside would hurry over and eat it!

For me, the issue of landscape design was completely interconnected to keeping pottoks out. I ended up installing stake and chicken wire fencing, but doubled up by planting defensive hedging along it, including shrubs with thorns. I have been told frequently over the years that the hedging is the reason I’ve never had any criminal mischief at my little house on the mountain.

But that is far from the only landscaping option that will help keep burglars far from your house. Here are five of my favorite landscaping tips to prevent burglars breaking into your home.

Landscaping Tips to Prevent Burglars

Good landscaping is about so much more than making your home look pretty. Yes, a well-groomed lawn and beds of bright flowers goes a long way toward winning curb appeal and kudos from neighbors. If you are selling your home, quality landscaping can up the sales price, raising your equity in the property.

But even if you don’t care much about popularity among neighbors and you aren’t selling your house, carefully considered landscaping can protect your property from intruders – whether it be Basque ponies seeking green shoots or burglars looking for jewelry. While a little creativity is your best friend in thinking of defensive landscaping, I’ve got some smart tips to get you started.

1. Grow a Defensive Hedge

Okay, why not start with my own greatest success? Pyracantha, also known as firethorn, has been my best friend when it comes to protecting the boundaries of my property.

Pyracantha are evergreen shrubs in the rose family. These shrubs can get to 10 feet (3 m) tall, although mine have stayed below 5 feet (1.5 m). Plant in full sun or part shade. Their leaves are tiny and deep green, and creamy white flowers appear in spring. Pollinators like bees flock to the blossoms.

By autumn, the shrubs are covered with bright red berries that help feed the wild birds well into winter. My bushes produce red fruit, but you can find cultivars with yellow or orange berries as well.

Pyracantha make great defensive hedges because the stems have thorns. They appear in dense groupings of long, spiny, needle-like thorns. The thorns make pyracantha a cheap and very effective barrier against any person or animal seeking to enter. On the other hand, wild birds slip between branches and thorns to build nests inside the hedge because it’s safe from predators.

You can get a red-berried pyracantha shrub from Amazon.

2. Plant Thorny Shrubs Under Windows

You may not want pyracantha under your lower floor windows because birds often leave unwanted droppings from the berries on your windows. But there are lots of other prickly plants to choose from that work well around the base of your house.

Think thorny rose bushes, prickly pear cacti, or even needle bushes as an armed guard to prevent anyone climbing in your windows. Pick plants that work with the sun exposure, soil type, and hardiness zone where you live.

Explore beautiful and protective thorny rose bushes from Jackson & Perkins.

3. Grow Trees That Are Hard to Climb

I love having tall, climbable trees peeking into second-floor bedroom windows like oaks, beeches, or even willows. But if burglars are on your mind, pick trees that are not made for climbing.

In my neck of the woods in France, holly trees grow wild. They flower late in spring, then fill their branches fill with red berries – another good source of food for birds when the worms and insects disappear in winter.

But holly has another great attribute: it is evergreen. Its spiny leaves never drop and they are not kind to animals who would like to eat them or to intruders who may try to climb these trees either. They are lovely and green, yes, but they’re also stiff and spiny. When my daughter was young, she tried climbing a holly and emerged with deep scratches on her arms, legs, and face.

Holly is not the only unwelcoming tree, however. Look for any unclimbable tree, like money puzzle trees or other evergreens with sharp needles and few low branches. California bay tree is another species that offers few low branches. Or try a palm tree, if you live where it is warm all year.

Fast Growing Trees is a great place to shop tons of different types of trees, including hollies.

4. Keep Shrubs Compact

Any burglar that sneaks past a defensive hedge and comes into your landscape will be looking for hiding spots. So it’s a good idea to keep your shrubs, bushes, and inside hedging to 3 feet (1 m) tall or less to make them harder to hide in.

This makes sense as most would-be burglars stand over 5 feet (1.5 m) tall and will have trouble using low-growing shrubs as cover. It’s also reassuring to be able to look over your landscape and feel confident that you can see anyone present.

You can prune existing shrubs to keep them compact, but the best option is to plant dwarf varieties that stay small. Shop a wide selection of dwarf shrubs from Fast Growing Trees to find the perfect one for your yard.

5. Light Up Your Landscape

Many of us like our landscapes natural, romantic, and old-fashioned. But if you don’t mind a little tech, outdoor lighting can work well to prevent home intrusion. Use a motion-activated light, like this highly-rated outdoor security light from Amazon, that is solar-powered for easy setup and good protection in your yard.

If you happen to come in at night, the lights are helpful as well, but criminals on the property will not appreciate suddenly finding themselves in the spotlight. Try one or, better yet, a combination of these smart landscaping tips to prevent unwanted visitors coming on your property without permission.

Another option is to consider a family dog with acute hearing. My own dog Delilah alerted me recently in the middle of the night to two intruders outside my door. Luckily, they were just wild hedgehogs eating the cat food outside my door.