Lawn Mower Theft Prevention: Tips to Keep Your Mower Safe


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Securing your lawn mower and yard equipment can be achieved with very little effort. Many people pay little attention to mower security because they falsely believe it costs too much money or requires a lot of effort. 

Lawn mower theft prevention can be essential if you own expensive equipment and it’s even more important if you’re using a mower in some kind of lawn care business. If you’ve just put your new Scag ztr on your trailer, the last thing you need is to be set back thousands of dollars and without a mower. Its absolutely critical.

I recognize that there are a wide variety of mowers too. Pretty much all non-riding mowers don’t require a key which makes them easy to take for personal use or to sell to someone else. Push mowers are pretty small to in comparison to zero-turn mowers and are obviously much harder to steal but you should never underestimate thieves.

A lot of the below is really just common sense but certainly deterrence is the name of the game here.

I’m lucky enough to live in a place that has an alarmed garage and anchors to secure my lawn mower in. But if you’re not so fortunate, I’ve written up some simple steps that you can take to secure your mower and yard equipment.

How much money you are willing to spend on security is really up to you…

How Do You Prevent Lawn Mower Theft?

You probably won’t need to do all of these things but the more you can do the better off you’ll be:

Get Insurance for Your Mower/Trailer

You might want to consider insuring your trailer and lawn equipment so you’re not at a complete loss from theft or another type of accident. This is really the best option you have to be as safe as possible.

If you’re going to be spending thousands of dollars on a lawn mower and/or if you’re going to be relying on it for a business purposes, it’s probably sensible to go get insurance on it. Insurance won’t prevent someone from stealing your equipment, rather it’s kind of the last resort option if you want to be as safe as possible. 

Secure You Mower in an Alarmed Garage

One of the best things you can do is store your mower in a locked and secure garage, preferably somewhere that is alarmed. Storing your mower in an open yard shed where it can be easily rolled out won’t really deter thieves!

Chain or Lock Your Mower

When your lawn mower is resting in your garage, it’s a great idea to lock it up or chain it to something. You could go get a ground anchor and chain it to that really but anything big and heavy should be ok. It’s really more of a deterrence. 

What I’ve found to work best is this Jungle Jim’s boot small mount bracket on amazon. This works great for push mowers. It not only keeps it safe from theft but also works well in securing it during transport too.

For trailers or ride-on mowers, your best bet is to go with something like this Titan Grip Wheel Lock-Heavy Duty Anti Theft Wheel Lock Clamp

I’ve found this to be an absolute must.

Keep the Mower Away From Windows

If you’ve decided to keep your mower in in the garage, I’d recommend keeping it away from any windows so it can’t be seen when looking in. You may even want to consider covering it up so it can’t be seen at all. You never really know who’s looking through your window at night and if they can see something valuable there’s a much higher chance of theft!

Write Down the Mower Numbers

It’s always a good idea to take a photo the model/serial number on your mower. You’ll want to keep your receipt papers to be able to prove it’s your mower if it gets stolen. It’s a good idea to keep these numbers anyway because some repair shops but require the data plate to get the correct parts for it anyway. This information is usually located at the back of the machine but it can vary a lot from mower to mower

If you don’t know your numbers it’ll be really hard to be able to prove someone has lawn mower. If you are able to show serial numbers and you have a receipt for the purchase of the mower, it’ll be much more difficult arguing against you.

Some other precautions you can take:

  • Try to avoid doing any manual work on your mower in full view of any who may pass by. You may feel great showing it off but not so good when its gone.
  • If you’re looking to sell your lawn mower, you need to be super careful about allowing people to test it first. Make sure they have left their own vehicle with you as security in case they try and run off. If really recommend keeping them in sight at all times. There’s been cases where a buyer will purposely damage the equipment and try to use that to bargain for a lower price.
  • If the worst happens and your mower does get stolen lawnsite.com has a stolen equipment forum where you can post info about what was stolen such, where it happened, when, description and the serial number etc. You never know, if its regular thing happening in your area. You might be able to spot somone trying to resell in your country.
  • It’s never a bad idea to consider getting yourself criminal-eating mutt. These work great for keeping your stuff safe.
  • If you’re operating a lawn care business and you have a trailer. It’s a good idea to make sure you can see it from where you’re working. If you don’t have someone on watch, make sure you close up the whole thing and lock it. I’ve heard of stories where someone has tried to hook up a trailer to their truck so you’ll want to watch out for that too.

How To Keep Your Other Lawn Equipment From Getting Stolen?

Some of your other valuable lawn equipment is a lot more likely to get stolen than your mower. Things like string trimmers and leaf blowers can be a lot easier to steal while they’re still valuable and can be sold for decent cash. 

My old business partner actually had his backpack blower stolen from the front of his trailer. The thief had to walk all the way past his hurricane blower and his Gravely too so it’s a miracle those didn’t get taken too! The guy was out trimming a property and didn’t hear a thing. Worse yet, this property was out in a cul de sac so doesn’t think it won’t happen to you to.

All that I really know is this suck bad! The last thing you want is to be hit with an unexpected $400 (or worse) expense to replace an essential piece of yard equipment.

Conclusion

Never underestimate thieves! Those who have been in the lawn care business for long enough have heard of property that’s been stolen even in the middle of the day and on the side of a major road so make sure you stay sharp at all times.

Most of these lawn mower security tips are common sense. The less people that know about your mower or of any other expensive yard equipment, the better. 

Let me know your thoughts on this post and shout if you have any questions. Feel free to give it a share too!

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