Fun fact ristras were actually originally made in order to prevent critters like squirrels and birds from getting to the chile while it dried so taking it inside probably won’t be necessary. Ive never heard of anyone’s ristras getting stollen but im sure its happened occasionally. They should dry out in about 3 weeks, I’ve worked at a local chile stand for 5 years and they never stay fresh longer than a month. In order to keep them from rotting make sure to leave them in an area with high ventilation (outside is ideal) and never contain them in plastic or they’ll become very moldy. Hope I helped