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6 Simple Steps to Protect Your Mail Against Vandals

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6 Simple Steps to Protect Your Mail Against Vandals

When it comes to vandalism, there is not a greater item at risk than your mailbox as thieves can easily steal your mail. It’s a perfect target for vandals, hence, there’s no better time to learn how to protect your precious mail from thieves than now!

Secure Your Mail from Vandalism and Theft

Mailbox vandalism has become a lot more common than it used to be. Anybody can knock off your mailbox if it’s not well built and fixed properly in the ground. However, it does not provide you ample amounts of protection and care you need. Therefore, in order to make sure your mailbox gets maximum protection and remains safe from any sort of vandalism, here are six important steps you need to do!

 

1. Always Report Theft

Always Report Theft | Simple Steps to Protect Your Mail Against Vandals
A lot of people do not really report the theft of their mailbox property. They think it’s not worth the hassle of complaining. However, rather than just holding back the report, it would be best for you to make an immediate complaint of any mail theft straight to your postmaster.

By reporting the problem, the post office will try to determine whether it is an isolated incident or one that happens commonly in the neighborhood.

2. Keep Your Mailbox in Good Shape

Keep Your Mailbox In Good Shape | Simple Steps to Protect Your Mail Against Vandals
It would be a wise idea to make sure your mailbox is in good condition all the time. This way, it would give out an impression that you really pay attention to it. As a result, people will be more cautious since they know you check your mailbox daily.

3. Get Label 33

Get Label 33 | Simple Steps to Protect Your Mail Against Vandals
It would be a wise idea to get the Label 33 from your post office and then paste it to your mailbox. The label 33 makes sure anyone who will damage your mailbox will be accountable for a legal crime. This might scare away vandals who are thinking of having fun with your mailbox.

 

4. Reposition Your Mailbox

Reposition Your Mailbox | Simple Steps to Protect Your Mail Against Vandals
Rather than place your mailbox near the street, it would be a very nice idea to remove it and then place it closer to your front gate. This is to ensure vandals would be more cautious if they decide to come near your mailbox. It might seem like a very small step, but it goes a long way in preventing damage to your mailbox.

5. Get a Metal Mailbox

Get A Metal Mailbox | Simple Steps to Protect Your Mail Against Vandals
Most people usually prefer to use wooden mailboxes, as they are more visually attractive and go well with the exterior of the house. However, if you want more protection, it’s better to have a mailbox made of metal near your front gate.

These are sturdier and can effectively take a lot more damage as compared to standard mailboxes. You can even put a lock on the mailbox so thieves cannot steal your mail.

6. Install Cameras

Install Cameras | Simple Steps to Protect Your Mail Against Vandals
Cameras can scare away vandals and deter them from destroying your mailbox. So if you want to make sure your property is safe, installing a camera overlooking your mailbox is a great idea.

There are security cameras capable of capturing audio to accompany the video and some can take photos in complete darkness without using a flash. Catch these vandals and thieves red-handed and file legal actions against them.

 

Want to replace your old or damaged mailbox? Watch this video from Tool Dude Tony and find out how to install a sturdy curbside mailbox and post!

Smashing mailboxes is a form of vandalism that usually happens in rural areas. Vandals drive along and destroy roadside mailboxes with a baseball bat or hit it with heavy objects just for the heck of it. So if you’re fed up of replacing or repairing it over and over again, follow the simple steps above and protect your mail at all times.

Mail | 6 Simple Steps to Protect Your Mail Against Vandals

UP NEXT: 20 Home Security and Crime Prevention Secrets

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20 Comments

20 Comments

  1. Ryan Pridgeon

    April 4, 2013 at 9:33 AM

    You state “you have to make sure that you properly fix your mailbox in” many cities require the mailbox post to be breakable by a car hitting the mailbox so as to reduce injuries. Creating too solid of a post, e.g., concrete block, reinforced metal posts, etc., can be a violation of a city ordinance.

    • Tracy

      April 4, 2013 at 9:14 PM

      Who gives a damn what some idiotic city ordinance says!! I have mine mounted so solid that a city snow plow won’t even damage it.

      • vicw

        November 7, 2017 at 12:53 PM

        Have you signed the necessary paperwork ? If not, the angel of death will pay you a collection visit.

  2. Craig Gunter

    April 4, 2013 at 10:07 AM

    My grandfather’s mailbox got busted up. My dad (a welder) decided to fix the problem. He took 3/4 inch steel and shaped it into a box with a back end and a door. It’s a functioning mailbox that my grandpa still uses. I would have loved to have been there when the idiots tried to smash it the second time. Instead of cheap thin metal that bends and dents, they found cold, hard, unforgiving steel. I bet that shook them up a bit.

  3. kaytee

    April 4, 2013 at 11:20 AM

    In addition to what Ryan said… you may not be allowed to re-position the mailbox away from the curb. Many mail routes are set up so that in order to complete the trip on time, the mail carrier needs to be able to drive up to the box and drop in the mail, without leaving the vehicle.

    If you own your home, and aren’t required to have a curb-side box… consider getting a mail slot installed. Much more difficult to steal mail from one of those.

    • Ruth

      November 7, 2017 at 2:24 PM

      Exactly…it is code to have them on the street curb! Some here have used concrete blocks all around the stem that hold the box up from the ground and then up and around the box itself to make a square and that stops the messing with the box itself..
      Some have placed lockable boxes inside such a concrete stand. But how do the mail carriers get the mail in if there are various keys for these boxes and if they have generic keys, what stops anyone from getting one and opening the box anyway??

  4. richard1941

    April 4, 2013 at 12:34 PM

    I live in Hawthorne California. It is not possible to mail anything here after the post office closes. The outside drop box was vandalized so many times that the postmaster removed it.

    The Postal Authorities lack any will to install security cameras, intrusion alarms, or other defensive measures that might be considered “racist”. When they installed bullet proof windows a few years ago, the postmaster insisted that there was no security problem. “The shield is to protect our customers from violent postal workers.”

    For what it’s worth, the Post Office is across the street from Hawthorne High School, an institution that is consistently in the bottom 10% of test scores.

    • Tracy

      April 4, 2013 at 9:20 PM

      You said it, Richard! “…Authorities lack any will…”
      Welcome to the Spineless States of America. What a damn shame.

  5. JMCERVINI

    April 5, 2013 at 7:53 AM

    What my sister and bro in law did after repeated vandalism to their box is pretty neat:they started with TWO mailboxes-a standard sized one and a larger one.the door was cut off the smaller one,they then held it in place inside the larger one.The space between them was filled with concrete;Sis put little decorative pebbles and do-dads to decorate the concrete…only the postman and whoever gets the mail sees that.There are marks on the outer skin of the box,presumably done by kids riding by with a baseball bat and striking it.Thats been it,no further damage.That had to be a real surprise for whomever hit it when they reinstalled it!

  6. Al

    April 5, 2013 at 10:47 AM

    Our problem was the mailbox was at the end of a 1/4 mile driveway and not visible from the house. The first farm the driveway is through are the problem people. The nearest PO is 13 mountain miles away. We make the run once a week at best and onec a month after a snow.

  7. Duane Rosekrans

    April 5, 2013 at 4:06 PM

    When visiting my folks one day, my dad said he had a project that needed my assistance with. So I was ready to go to work, until I found out that it was to install a new mailbox. My dad and everyone else along the state highway within 3 miles in both directions were constantly getting there mailbox hammered or run over by drunk drivers. So my dad gave me a fence pole digger and told me to dig all the way down to the top of the handle which was about four feet deep. Then he showed me the eight foot long 4 inch diameter galvinized pipe he was going to put in the ground. So we installed the pipe and waited for the postman to drive by to see what the proper height was to be. He said it was fine where it was at. So my dad proceeds to get some steel rebar from a leftover job to reinforce it along with some concrete. Job was done after he put a steel box on top of the platform he designed. Two months later I called to see how he and mom were doing when he told me that the idiot drunk driver who was responsible for damaging a lot of mailboxes along the road met his match when he ran into my dad’s mailbox. Not only did it stop him cold, but it ripped the fender off his car. The State Patrol loved it. That all happened before the day of nanny statism and frivolous lawsuits. Dad’s mailbox still stands today 38 years later.

  8. SOG74

    April 7, 2013 at 8:17 PM

    Some other suggestions from a letter carrier:

    1. If you rent and have an inadequate mailbox, and your landlord doesn’t want to replace it, replace it yourself – the cost is about 4 cups at Starbuck’s. And take it with you when you move.

    2. Make sure the mailbox will hold the largest amount of mail you get on a regular basis. If you get several magazines regularly, make sure they will fit inside the box without sticking out – clearly visible mail makes yours more attractive to vandals and thieves.

    3. If you’re going to be away for even three (3) days, let your regular carrier know it so he/she can make sure to hold your mail and not have a build-up – that’s also a signal to the thieves.

    4. If you get packages on a regular basis, get a special box (like the garden-hose boxes @ Home Depot or Tupperware) so we have a secure place to leave the packages.

  9. Steve

    December 19, 2013 at 1:22 PM

    Thankfully my mailbox is in my garage door. Was attached to my house. All mail goes into container, never have to stop it if I go away.

  10. Me

    May 9, 2014 at 3:27 PM

    Best advice: Rent a Post Office Mailbox at your local PO for important stuff, junk-mail can go to your home.

  11. Yvette Spicer

    November 2, 2017 at 5:52 PM

    The roadside mailboxes are at one of the ways in and out in my area. There’s a row of 25-30 mailboxes right across the street from a School Bus Stop … I have a PO box at about 2 miles away … I feel a lot safer. I haven’t heard of anyone’s mail missing, but I feel safer.

  12. vicw

    November 7, 2017 at 12:56 PM

    Sounds like the survivalists here live on the back of beyond. Good, I feel safer that way.

  13. BadOedipus

    November 7, 2017 at 3:50 PM

    Tool guy Tony, doesn’t have a clue about installing a post. You should never have the post sitting in the dirt. Place a rock, brick or piece of concrete in the bottom of the hole, level the post and position bracing to keep it in that position, then poor the quick-crete to totally encase the bottom of the post. If the post is not totally encased it will rot. Also, green wood, in the application he was using is a bad idea. In 4 – 6 weeks that post will have dried out and shrunk dramatically and will no longer be tight in the concrete. He would be better off using a dry cedar post since the top is encased in plastic or using a metal post instead.

  14. Cathy

    August 13, 2019 at 8:14 AM

    When a drunk trucker took out our mailbox along a state highway, we couldn’t get it replaced right away. To get our mail in the meantime I strapped our leftover box to an old barstool and weighted it down with water filled milk jugs ( tying them up just off the ground). Our 4-legged mailbox looked crazy, but it worked fine.

  15. Dave

    August 13, 2019 at 10:18 AM

    buy some old rail road track about 6 feet tall and concrete it into the ground at the proper height and make a 1/4 inch thick steel mail box welded on top so that it won’t even be hurt by ‘mail box baseball.’

  16. Thomas

    August 14, 2019 at 9:21 PM

    I mounted my box on a steel truck rim I’ve had to straiten the rod connecting box to the rim a few times
    But it has survived 10 years so far

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