4. BURN THEM LONG ENOUGH Have you ever seen a three-wick candle that looked like Mickey Mouse? For pillar candles, make sure you burn them for at least one hour for every inch in diameter. Skip this step and you’ll end up burning a tunnel through your candle.

5. EXTINGUISHING THE FLAME To blow out a candle, a candle snuffer works best. If you don’t have a candle snuffer readily available, you can blow out candle by placing an index finger in front of flame and blowing gently. This causes air to surround flame and minimizes splattering of hot wax from wax pool.

6. SAFETY FIRST Keep all lit candles out of reach of children and pets. Never leave a burning candle unattended. And always burn candles in a well-ventilated room.

7. CLEANUP If wax has spilled on carpet best way to remove it is with paper and an iron. Place a paper towel or brown grocery bag over spill. Place a heated iron over paper towel. The heat from iron will cause wax to melt and be absorbed into paper towel.

Another subtle invitation to a burglar is a security sign in yard but no related stickers on windows. “Homeowners all too often think that placement of a security sign in yard will, in and off itself, convince burglars to move on.

This isn’t case,” Smithers says. “If a professional sees that there are no window stickers accompanying that sign, he may take a closer look. It’s an easy task to view through open curtains to confirm presence of window sensors and/or motion detectors.”

Apart from basics, Smithers also recommends homeowners attend to foliage adjacent to home. “If bushes can be used to conceal burglar’s actions, they will be used,” he said. “I don’t recommend cutting them down, but a good trimming once a year will deprive a burglar opportunity to use them to conceal his actions.”

According to Smithers, greatest defense lies in getting to know one’s neighbors. “The first step to home security involves neighborhood awareness. If everyone in neighborhood is in habit of attending to presence of strangers, less likely burglar will bother to stick around,” he said.

“While I don’t recommend confrontation,” he continued, “every stranger should know when he walks or drives through a neighborhood that he is being watched.”

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