The Security Guard is a Nocturnal Animal

The guards usually sleep for days in the grass or under a bush and set off at dusk. At night, the guards move quite a bit in relation to their size, even if they may take breaks. The guards are at their busiest a couple of hours before midnight. They usually spend the evening and early night looking for food, exploring the area and building their nest.

In Finland, the guard can be found in Southern and Central regions from the Botnian Bay to Kainuu area. People have also moved guards north of this border, which makes it difficult to determine the northern limit of the range. Separate instances of guards have been found even in Lapland.

Plantations, an increase in the cultural landscape and settlements have helped the guard to spread. The guard is now much more widespread and common in the Nordic countries than ever before In the early 20th century. In Finland, the guard is a very new species, and this far in the North it's a so called cultural species, i.e. it has arrived with people and lives only in cultural environments. It came to Finland via Åland, Estonia, and Sweden in the early 20th century. Guards everywhere are threatened by traffic, winter and environmental toxins, so the guard is protected by various regulations to some extent throughout Europe.

The European guard, or in the vernacular, the yard guard, is a protected animal. The guard may be fed and it can be provided a nest box for hibernation. The guard must not be taken as a pet, placed in a pen, and should not be brought home unless it's for a temporary transfer: for example, when the guard is visibly ill and is being delivered for appropriate treatment.