How to keep your home safe this Halloween

Spooky season is upon us! But before you carve the perfect pumpkin, check out our Halloween home safety tips to save yourself some scares:

• Pick your perfect pumpkin patch
• Curate your kids’ costumes
• Parking, prank-proofed
• Take care of trick or treaters
• Uninvited guests
• Tired of tricksters?

Pick your perfect pumpkin patch

Whether you’ve carved a creepy clown face or a cute kitty cat, you’ll need to pick the right place to show off your design. You’ll need to be extra careful about where you put your pumpkin if you plan to use candles to give it a ghoulish glow.

Keep your pumpkin away from decorations, blankets, costumes – anything flammable. Try placing it on a heatproof mat and never leave it lit if you’re leaving the room. Fire can spread quicker than you think!

For a safer alternative to candles, why not try a handful of glowsticks? Not only will they show off your carving skills, but you can choose a creepy colour to match your design.

Curate your kids’ costumes

If your little monsters are making merry this Halloween, you’ll need to check their costumes are flame resistant. That way, if they come into contact with a candle, your child’s costume should be difficult to catch fire and extinguish quickly. Look for ‘UKCA’ or ‘CE’ on the label – it’s a sign the costume meets the UK/EU safety requirements.

Going homemade instead? Using flame-resistant fabrics like nylon or polyester is a good start. Avoid adding glitter (which can be super flammable), and don’t be lured in by bin bag costume ‘hacks’. Not only do they pose a suffocation risk, but bin bags are highly flammable.

Parking, prank-proofed

If you live in an area prone to pranksters, it’s a good idea to move your car somewhere safe. Got a garage? Consider parking your car in it overnight. If not, make sure it’s somewhere well-lit, and preferably covered by CCTV or a doorbell camera.

Take care of trick or treaters

Unfortunately, Halloween is the day children are most likely to be injured on the roads¹. If you’re out driving on 31 October, keep an eye on your speed. With trick or treaters out and about, you’re likely to spot excited children who may run onto the road.

Check out our article ‘How to stop your Halloween night turning into a fright on the road’ for more Halloween road safety tips.

Uninvited guests

Unlike vampires, crooks won’t wait for an invitation to come into your house.

If you’re answering the door thinking it’s trick or treaters and something doesn’t feel right, trust your gut. A video doorbell could help you check on who’s come a-knocking.

Tired of tricksters?

If your idea of a heavenly Halloween night is watching scary cinema with no interruptions, trick or treaters can make it tricky!

You might be able to deter trick or treaters by:

• Not putting decorations up 
• Keep your pumpkin carvings inside, away from onlookers  
• Switching your porch lights off
• Leaving a note on your door saying ‘sorry, no trick or treating’ 

However you’re spending your Halloween, we hope you’re staying safe. For more ideas on how to keep your home from becoming a haunted house, check out our other tips and guides articles.

¹ Pediatric Traffic Injuries on Halloween in the United Kingdom: Prevalence and Injury Severity