Tips for around the yard.

If you can keep your yard in order you can lower the chances that a burglar will target your home.

* Keep ladders, garbage cans, building supplies and tools locked up out of view so you don't provide an intruder with the means to break into your home.
* Put big, bold numbers on your mailbox so your home can easily be identified in case of an emergency.
* Never put your name on your mailbox. Anyone can call directory assistance, get your number, and find out you aren't home.
* Don't hide a spare key near your front door; burglars know all the hiding places. Leave a spare key with a trusted neighbor instead.
* Planting thorny shrubs, rosebushes or cacti around the outside of your home can discourage burglars from entering your property.
* Placing alarm-company signs, neighborhood-watch decals or dog notices on your property tells burglars to steer clear of your home. Having these signs as a deterrent is only good if you can back them up. Don't rely on them or mistake them as doing the job of the real thing.
* Trim shrubs and trees so they do not provide hiding places for an intruder. Remove tree limbs that could allow someone to climb to an upper-story window or balcony.
* A solid privacy fence can provide a burglar with cover to break into your home. Consider an iron railing (topped with spikes, to discourage climbers), picket or chain-link fence instead. If you have a gate, install a strong magnetic lock on it to prevent intruders from easily penetrating the perimeter of your property.
* Keep all points of entry to your home well-lit. Consider installing motion-sensor lights on the rear and sides of your home and position them in out-of-reach places so they can't easily be turned off by a would-be thief.
* Spending most of your day in the back yard may be relaxing, but it leaves you clueless as to what's going on out front. Make sure all entry points are locked in the front of your house.
* If you travel a lot, surveillance cameras around your property — with viewing access through the Internet — will allow you to keep an eye on your home while you're gone.
* Install cameras that operate off a motion sensor to keep from wasting valuable hard-drive space for your video files.
* Consider buying a wireless annunciator, which will alert you — anywhere in your home — when someone comes up your driveway or otherwise enters your property within 50 feet of its range

This tip from http://dsc.discovery.com