Are you looking for ideas to protect your home? You have to learn all you can. You need to use all possible strategies in order to maintain a safe and secure environment. Read this article for some useful home security tips.

Does your dog remain outside while you’re gone? Your pet might just be the perfect place to stash a spare key to your home. Attach your spare key inside the collar of your dog. This is very effective if your pet is afraid of strangers; therefore, burglars are not very likely to notice the key.

Be sure your home always looks occupied. Invest in timers to automatically turn on and off any electronics at various times. This way, your house will always look occupied. This will help to deter burglars.

Buy fire-resistant building materials. This adds more protection to a house, especially if you’re in a dry area with some power lines. Avoiding fire hazards is a great way to keep things safe.

Clear away all the dead and dried out vegetation around your home in the summer. As the summer heat rolls in, there is a higher chance that these can catch on fire, putting your home at risk. Clearing your yard keeps your home, belongings and family much safer.

Protect your spare key by using your dog. Of course, your dog has to be an outdoor dog (or you at least need to have a doggy door) for this to work. Place a spare key on the collar, and when you really need a spare, you know where to go!

Lock your home at all times to err on the side of caution. It may shock you to know this, but a lot of intruders get inside homes through open doors. It does not take long for thieves to steal your expensive stuff.

If you bought any expensive or large items, don’t throw the boxes out until the day trash is scheduled to be removed. Empty boxes for expensive new gear serve as advertisements to potentials thieves; don’t make it easy for them to spot such tempting targets.

Hiding places for spare keys must be chosen with extreme care and caution. Too many people put their extra key under the mat in front of their door; burglars know to check there. Try hiding your key on a lawn statue or in a potted plant.

If you move into a home or apartment that has been previously lived in, the first thing you should do is change the locks. Even if you’ve gotten a key from the previous owner or tenant, there could still be a lot of people out there who have keys to your home. You can install locks yourself to make sure you’re the only one who has a key.

Before letting a home security representative inside, ask for identification. Criminals can easily pretend to be from a security firm as a means to gain entry to the house. This is a danger to your belongings and your family. Caution is always advisable if dangers like this are to be avoided.

Fire-resistant building materials are the way to go, both inside and outside the home. This is a good way to protect your home against fires, for instance if you live near power lines or in a dry area. Lowering or eliminating the risk of a fire is an extremely important home security strategy because a fire can cause extreme destruction very quickly.

Keeping your home very bright during the night hours is an excellent way to prevent thieves. These crooks do not wish to be noticed or seen. When you have a well-lit home, crooks won’t be able to hide and it will be hard for them to break in undetected. Make sure the lights stay on to keep your home safe.

The fact is that no homes are totally immune to criminal threats. However, you can reduce these threats by taking proper measures and protecting yourself and your family. Starting with these tips is a great beginning. Use them to ensure your home is protected.

Don’t open your door when strangers are knocking. People you do not know could have bad intentions or want to get an idea of how many valuable objects you own. Establish a rule where you and your family only open the door for expected visitors.