Is home security important to you? Are major security companies and systems beyond your budget? Is it your hope to find something more affordable? They are out there, and they’re waiting for you to notice them. Read this article for helpful and cheaper security ideas.

Do you have an outside dog? Your pet might just be the perfect place to stash a spare key to your home. Attach the key inside their collar and make sure it can’t be seen. Your dog is an especially good key hiding spot if he doesn’t react well to strangers, since they won’t approach him, but the key will be there if you need it.

Have your dog protect the spare key. This will only be ideal if you have a dog door or an outdoor dog. Hide a key inside the collar of your dog in case you need a spare.

Buy ceiling, roofing and flooring which is resistant to fire. These materials will protect your home from both internal fires and the spread of fires that start on other properties. Fire is such a destructive force that it makes excellent sense to reduce fire hazards in your home whenever possible.

Don’t open your door if a stranger is on the other side. Many people are devising many different schemes to get into homes and burglarize them. Make sure everyone in your house knows not to open the door unless they know the person standing outside.

You should invest in fire-resistant roofing, flooring and ceiling. This helps protect your home when you dwell in a more dry climate. Fire prevention is always a good idea, and sometimes it can be a lifesaving idea!

Your garage should be as secure as your home. Often people are concerned that burglars can enter the home via the attached garage . Happily, there is a solution to this problem. Try putting a C-clamp on your garage door track. This will stop the door from rising if you want to keep it closed.

Is your garage used for storage? Consider removing those items and keeping your car there instead. It will be far more secure against thieves. This will help to keep your vehicle safe. Storing your car in the garage will also make it difficult for anyone casing your home to figure out when no one is going to be there.

Don’t make a habit of giving strangers access to your home. No matter how innocent a person may seem or how interesting the product he or she may be offering, you must not allow access. These people might want to actually do you harm or could be casing out your house for a future break-in.

Always change the locks if you have someone move out of your home. Whether an old roommate left or a relationship ended, changing your locks is a good idea. It is usually inexpensive and can be done in less than 24 hours.

Compared to city dwellers, you might feel more safe in your rural home. Some people feel that rural residents lead riskier lives because they are far away from neighbors. Still, many believe that rural environments are less frequently targeted by burglars.

Remove all of the vegetation outside in the hotter months. These are vulnerable to fires and put your home in danger. Therefore, you need to regularly clean your yard so that your home is protected.

Don’t put your extra key under you doormat, in a planter, or in a cleverly disguised false rock. You may believe you are making life easier for yourself, but you may just be giving thieves simple access to your house. Intruders know about the usual hiding spots. Try having your trustworthy neighbors hold spare keys.

The number one thing you must do if you’re moving into a new place is have the locks changed. You do not want anyone to have a copy of the key. You can do your own installation to make sure that no one else has a key.

An extremely important tactic for keeping your home safe is changing out the locks. Perhaps you aren’t sure who owned the home before you or maybe an old roommate has a key and never returned it. Regardless, changing the locks will ensure your security. It is pretty cheap and the job won’t take more than a few hours.

Your home’s exterior needs to be well lit. Burglars tend to commit crimes at night. Install lights by each and every entryway to your home. This will include doorways, porches, your garage, and ground floor windows that criminals can use.

If you are going on a vacation, ask a neighbor to pick up your mail and check your home for flyers. Crafty burglars will leave fliers on homes, and check to see if they’re being removed as a means for determining whether or not the home is vacant. If the flier is not removed, it’s easy for a burglar to suspect that the owner is away.

Trust your instincts when it comes to hiring a home security company. This is very true when you feel uneasy about the person installing the system. If you simply are not comfortable with a company’s technician, request for another technician or simply hire another company. At the end of the day, your efforts are so that you feel more comfortable.

Do not put electronic boxes in the front of your house. This will just alert criminals to the fact that you have expensive items in your home. Cut up the boxes completely instead.

A dog is an excellent burglar alarm. These pets are usually territorial and want to protect their masters. Keeping a huge and ferocious canine is not necessary. A small or medium dog will bark to alert you if it is properly trained.

A skylight is another area that needs to be protected for home security. Skylights are great for making a home brighter, but they can make it easier for burglars to access the house. The hardware that secures your skylights should be sturdy and durable.

Keep your car registration papers on you at all times. These documents contain a lot of sensitive personal data, like your home address. Keep them with you or hide them elsewhere. Keep them close to you in case you get pulled over.

Think about hard-wired security systems if you’re worried about long term maintenance costs. Wireless systems are of course convenient, but unfortunately you have to change numerous sets of batteries regularly. If you do not stay on top of your wireless security system, you run the possibility of it failing when you need it most. It’s also very costly to replace a lot of batteries at once.

You want an alarm system that protects more than your doors. Windows need to be monitored too. Be certain they are also alarmed and monitored. This is just one more thing you can do to protect your home.

Secure valuables that are truly irreplaceable. This can include items like important photos, passports, pricey jewelry, and legal documents. You can buy a cheap floor safe to put these items in. To be even more cautious, you can get a safety deposit box at your local bank.

If your family room window is facing the street, keep the curtains drawn every night. You shouldn’t be inviting people to look at your stuff through the window. When your valuables are on display, burglars will see it as a veritable buffet. Try being discreet about what everyone sees to reduce the chances of being targeted by burglars.

Don’t throw away boxes for expensive or valuable items until the garbage collection day. If you leave the boxes out all week, it lets people know what type of items you have in your home.

Keep the windows on the second floor of your home locked. People think no burglar will get up to that floor. They do use this method of entry though. This is the weak point of home security and criminal generally know this.

It all boils down to what is affordable. If the pricier solutions are out of your budget, put some of these cheaper options to work for you. Read on to learn more about affordable home security options. They might just do the trick.

When searching for methods of improving your home’s security, a great, inexpensive method of doing this is purchasing exterior lights with installed motion detectors. In the dark hours, these lights will provide the illumination necessary to protect your home and also save money by staying off when they’re not needed. Properly-situated motion detectors will give your home a complete field of protection and make it impossible for a miscreant to approach undetected.