Home invasions can be an extremely unnerving experience. Coming back to a home that has been turned upside down can cause a fair amount of anxiety and even depression. Though burglaries can happen during the daytime while you are at work, home invasions are more likely when you are on a vacation. This is mainly because many people do not think ahead about home safety or plan with regards to the things that they need to ensure before they leave for the long vacation.

The first thing to do whether or not you are going on a vacation in the near future is to burglar-proof your house. This would mean a home security system, an alarm and a surveillance camera to see who is visiting your house in your absence. Installing new gizmos like a home security device and an alarm does not mean that you should not take certain preventive measure to ensure that your house is not the prime target of burglar while you are away. The idea is to create a perception that there are still people in the house and that it is not empty. You can do this by ensuring minor aspects of the home situation before you leave for the vacation.

- Ensure that you have informed the postal department and keep the mail on hold. A letter box on the street that has not been cleared for days is a sure shot sign of the fact that there is no one in the house. Even if you have a slot in your door where the mail is drooped, make sure that you cancel the mail and keep it on hold. This is mainly because people can look in though the window and see piled up mail.

- Cancel your newspaper and milkman for a few days. Newspapers and milk bottles are similar to mail and can pile up in front of your house. Non removal of these each day at the regular time is again a sign that no one is in the house.

- Home defense also includes aspects like attaching a timer to some of your lights and the television perhaps. If you have seen the movie 'Home Alone', you would know how an illusion can be created by using lights and proper sound by turning on the television based on a timer. Make sure that some lights in the house are always burning. The timer needs to be sophisticated so that it can be programmed properly to switch on and switch off the devices based on the programming.

- As a home defense tactic, ensure that you do not leave an answering message on your phone that states that you are on vacation. Just program the machine to ring for some time before a safer message can be recorded. Alternately forward your calls to a mobile phone that you can use while on vacation.

- Home defense requires you to padlock your gates. Even though these may not keep the thieves and burglars away, they form good hindrances when someone is trying to remove heavier items like a stereo or a television.

- Last but not the least, hire temporary help to visit your house regularly or even sleep-in. Young teenagers form a natural choice since they are responsible enough to ensure that the leaves are raked, porch cleaned, lawn mowed and the like.