Just like motion detectors and dead bolts, the placement of a prickly plant or a holly bush can help keep bad guys out of your house.

Homeowners can motivate intruders to stay out without turning the outside of your house into a fortified castle with a moat.

Environmental design can make a house less appealing to burglars who are usually lazy and adverse to pain. Plants with thorns or sharp leaves present a perimeter that few will enter.

Landscaping and plants should not function as an aid by becoming a screen to shield them from view when entering a walkway or breaking in to a building.

Fences, walkways, and plantings set psychological and physical boundaries to stay away.

A good place for a thorny shrub is underneath a window. Windows are easy access but thorns can help burglars away. The height of the shrub also shouldn't create a hiding place either.

Do make sure that the shrubs are cut below the window in case you have to escape a fire. Proper air circulation and access for maintenance can be provided if you allow some distance between the shrub and the wall of the building.

Law enforcement also suggests the "3-7 rule," which says to trim bushes down to three feet and have no tree limbs lower than seven feet. The cut-down shrubs provide no cover and the chopped limbs keeps burglars from climbing trees to get to the second story.

Just as ladders shouldn't be left outside, neither should garden tools or bricks which can be used to smash a window to gain access. A trellis that could support someone's weight could be inviting to someone eager to sneak in upstairs.

A home inviting to burglars means easy access but with the right landscaping, you can make your home less attractive. Let Embark help you before you go on vacation. Call 713-462-3261 or make an online request. http://www.embarkservices.com/request.php