If you own or manage a landscaping business, having all the tools your workers need is the difference between an efficient job well done and costly downtime. With criminals targeting outdoor tools and equipment, protecting your bottom line depends on a reliable security strategy. This guide to landscaping equipment security provides the theft-prevention insights you need to maintain productivity and stay competitive.
The Need for Landscaping Equipment Security
Landscaping tools are a prime target for theft because they’re valuable, often untraceable, and easy to steal when security measures are inadequate. Many landscaping tools are small enough to carry and conceal. Still, even heavy equipment is vulnerable to theft since mowers and similar machines often use universal keys and can be loaded onto a getaway vehicle in seconds. Landscaping equipment is also quick to resell, as demand for secondhand mowing and gardening equipment is high.
Demand for landscaping equipment is highest in the spring and summer, so the industry experiences a surge in equipment theft during these seasons. Law enforcement personnel have identified the period around Memorial Day as one of the most active times for equipment thieves. These thieves target landscaping tools and equipment in unsecured yards, lots, and trailers, as well as items left unsupervised at worksites. Once stolen, 40% of landscaping equipment is never recovered.
Beyond equipment, landscaping companies are vulnerable to vehicle theft, parts theft, and equipment pilferage from lots without sufficient perimeter security. Demand for vehicle parts like catalytic converters has surged in recent years, making parts theft from landscaping vehicles another significant threat. One landscaping truck can generate up to $4,000 in daily revenue, money your business could lose daily if one of your trucks is stolen or rendered unusable due to parts theft or vandalism.
Securing your vehicles and the equipment they carry is vital to your landscaping operation’s profitability. The consequences of landscaping equipment theft include:
- Financial losses: Replacing stolen items cuts into your profits. Businesses lose around $400 million annually to equipment theft.
- Reduced productivity: Stolen tools, equipment, and vehicles impact your business’s ability to complete jobs on time, impacting your bottom line.
- Insurance issues: Even if your insurer approves the claim, claiming for stolen items can involve out-of-pocket costs and increased premiums.
- Reputational harm: When theft delays operations, customers become frustrated, which could lead to losing future business.
How to Prevent Theft of Landscaping Equipment
A comprehensive security plan is crucial to preventing landscaping equipment theft. These strategies will help you secure your tools and assets.
Be Proactive
Stopping tool and equipment theft before it happens should always be the goal, even if your company has insurance that covers theft. Insurers often reject claims based on technicalities like maintenance issues or insufficient evidence. Even if they pay out, a single theft claim could increase your premiums by up to 20%. Additionally, while law enforcement can investigate your stolen property report, the recovery rate for stolen equipment is very low.
Instead of waiting for theft to happen, you can take control and protect your business with a proactive strategy by implementing the following security measures.
Secure Your Perimeter
Your most valuable landscaping business assets are vulnerable if you lack adequate perimeter security at your storage and parking facilities. Chain link fencing and padlocks are susceptible to bolt cutters, so your facilities need more robust protection.
The Electric Guard Dog™ Fence from AMAROK is an imposing barrier that delivers a safe but memorable pulsed electric shock. Between its psychological and physical deterrence factors, this solution prevents 99% of external theft. Further strengthening your perimeter with integrated video surveillance, live monitoring, and alarm-based lighting can create a multi-layered security system to deter and detect would-be criminals.
Mark Tools
Distinctive markings and engravings indicating that tools belong to your company can deter thieves by making them harder to resell. These markings can also make your tools more identifiable and increase the likelihood of law enforcement being able to recover them. Implement an inventory system accounting for each piece of equipment with its serial number, and engrave your own unique marker if the tool lacks one. This system helps keep employees accountable for protecting tools.
Lock Trailers and Trucks
Locking your trailers and trucks is an essential security step to prevent opportunistic tool theft from vehicles. Theft only takes seconds, so locking up is non-negotiable, even for quick trips between the vehicle and the worksite.
Use Wheel and Hitch Locks
Installing wheel locks on tractors and mowers can help thwart thieves who would otherwise exploit universal keys to steal powered machinery. Hitch locks on stored trailers prevent criminals from hitching a landscaping trailer to their vehicle and driving away with it.
Install GPS Trackers
GPS trackers on equipment and vehicles can support the recovery of stolen assets by monitoring their location. Secure, visibly mounted units can be a strong deterrent, while hidden GPS trackers help law enforcement find thieves. Some GPS units allow you to set geofencing thresholds, with automated alerts if the equipment exits your designated sites and routes. Investing in GPS trackers along with other security solutions like electric fencing may even allow you to secure lower insurance premiums by reducing the risk of theft.
Train Employees
Employees are at the front line of protecting your landscaping company’s tools and equipment. You can equip them for the job with these steps:
- Educate about crime: Teach employees about common theft tactics and local trends to help them recognize threats.
- Establish procedures: Hold employees accountable for locking vehicles, securing tools, and never leaving valuable equipment unattended.
- Enforce inventory: Implement a sign-in/sign-out system for tools and equipment to increase accountability and make it easier to track missing items.
- Encourage reporting: Train employees on how to report any suspicious activity or attempted theft.
Secure Your Landscaping Assets With AMAROK
Landscaping security starts on your property. Create a layered perimeter security system to protect your valuable assets with AMAROK.
AMAROK is the landscaping industry’s leading provider of trusted perimeter security solutions for lots, storage facilities, and worksites. Our foundational solution is The Electric Guard Dog Fence. This 10-foot-tall barrier delivers a 7,000-volt pulsed electric shock every 1.3 seconds and prevents 99% of external theft. After conducting a free threat assessment for your business, we can offer additional layers of security tailored to your needs, including FORTIFEYE™ video surveillance with live monitoring, alarm-based lighting, and Gate Access Control.
AMAROK customers pay no upfront fees for our perimeter security solutions, and they enjoy a 5x return on average for their monthly subscription by preventing theft and eliminating the need for security staff. Contact your local AMAROK perimeter security expert to schedule your free threat assessment today.
