Do you have a crawl space or basement under your house? How can it be accessed? How easily can it be accessed? Do you know who has been down there? Could someone be down there right now without you knowing? Can they get into your house from there?
Most people don’t even think about their crawl space until they have a need to go under the house because there’s a plumbing or electrical problem. They may see the crawl space entrance every day, but not really notice it – and not consider the ramifications of such an easy access point to the inner workings of the house. Take a look at these two recent incidents in the Bay Area where someone has used a crawl space to avoid police capture…one suspect found under his own home, the other under someone else’s house!
One of the things I did shortly after moving into my house was to seal off the exterior entrance to the crawl space under my house. I also created a new entrance inside the house, but I specifically selected the location so that even if someone did manage to get under the house from the outside, they would not be able to get into the house.
While out walking my dogs in my neighborhood, I have seen at least five houses where their crawl space is easily accessible by anyone walking by. What things could someone do under the house? Do you have copper pipes? Those could be stolen while you’re away on vacation. Or maybe they can set up their own little home there, trying to stay warm, like in this real life situation: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/09/velma-kellen-73-woman-stranger-living-crawl-space-marijuana_n_2441091.html
Do you have a teenager who might want a convenient place to stash something? Heck, it doesn’t even have to be your own kid…
So you don’t live in a house and think this doesn’t apply to you? It still might. Some apartments, condos, and townhouses have crawl spaces or basements as well. I once lived in an apartment complex that had a basement that spanned the multiple buildings with entrances into each downstairs apartment. Think about that for a moment… a person in that situation could exit their apartment into the crawl space and enter their neighbor’s apartment, all without ever stepping outside. Creepy!
Raise your hand if you might be checking out the security of your crawl space this weekend.
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