Bad things can happen when you actually least expect them to happen. Don’t risk your home and family’s safety by being negligent. Continue reading this article to help you keep your home safe from those criminals.

Change all of your locks when you move in. You’re not aware of any copies that have been made by the previous owners of the house. Have a locksmith install a brand new lock. Do the same thing if you misplace your keys.

Make your home look occupied at all times. Have electronics and lights with timers and set them to go off at various times. This makes people think you’re home. This can be a terrific method of securing your home and keeping burglars at bay.

Buy a safe so you can conceal your valuables in it. If an intruder breaks into your home, at least these valuables will be secure. The safe should be situated in an inconspicuous area of your home.

Talk to people you know for referrals when choosing home security systems. This will help you to reduce the stress that you have on your search for a good one. Ask a number of people to get a several different opinions.

If someone comes to clean your home, only give them a key if they’re trustworthy. If you plan on giving them the key so that they can work in your home for over an hour, make sure that they’re reputable, hardworking, and honest. Check references thoroughly. If it is a known company, check with your local BBB.

If you’re going on a trip for an extended period of time, switch the ringer off on all home phones. Intruders might be attracted by a phone that rings constantly without anyone picking up.

Never open up your door to a stranger. People are coming up with all sorts of ways to convince people to open their door to them, with the intent of committing burglary or worse. Create the rule that you just open a door to people that you expect to arrive.

Shut off the ringer for all of the telephones in your home if you are planning to go on vacation for a long time. When burglars hear phones ringing for an extended period of time in a home, they know that there is no one there to answer.

Police Department

Contact the local police department to find out more about the protection programs they offer. There are plenty of things that can be done, from a safety walk to cataloging expensive items to help protect your investment and your family. Ask your police department to see if these types of programs are available.

Don’t allow anyone you don’t know to look into your house. Even if their story is compelling, they need assistance or want to sell you something. Even home security representatives could be intruders who want to check the kind of protection you have.

Try not to have a shy attitude. Be friendly with people that live in the neighborhood. By knowing the people in your neighborhood, you can rest a little easier knowing that people are looking out for each other. You shouldn’t neglect gossip. You will learn a lot from your neighbors, including details about recent break ins in the area and the shady individuals they noticed.

Your home may be equipped with skylights, and if so you must not neglect them in your security planning. While they are nice and help with lighting, they also provide the burglars help with access to your home. Any skylights in your home should be secured with strong hardware.

Always have your security system checked each year. Ask a home security employee to give it a look. There are many things that can be problematic with regards to home security systems, like wayward wild animals and the environment. The problem might not be obvious to you, though.

You could hide some valuables within your walls. You don’t have to cut out pieces of the wall to do this. Many places around your house have areas that are already pre-cut. How about unwiring an electricity socket and using it as cover for a place to stash valuable jewelry?

Ask the home security companies to visit your home and design a system tailored to your needs. Everyone has different needs, and your security system should be designed to protect your home and family. Doing this helps you get the best security you can get from the company, helping you to relax.

Avoid coming across as overly shy. Meet your neighbors. Ask them to keep an eye on your home, and do the same thing for them. It does not necessarily pay to steer clear of gossip. You could learn important security information, such as if strangers have been lurking around the neighborhood.

Keep your home’s exterior areas illuminated well. Burglars tend to commit crimes at night. The most important parts of your home to light are all of its potential access points. This includes porches and doorways, the garage, as well as ground floor windows, which can invite an intruder.

If you don’t own a paper shredder already, you might want to get one. Your trash contains so much personal information a thief would love to have. Cutting the papers into small pieces with a pair of scissors is another option.

Alter the combination of the locks in your home. Not everyone who leaves your house will leave happy, and a fresh set of locks will protect you from both former residents and acquaintances of your own looking to cause mischief. Changing locks is not very expensive and should be done within a few hours.

Can you locate your house number if you are standing on the street? If you need assistance, emergency vehicles may not locate your home in a timely manner if the numbers don’t stand out. This is a very easy issue to have rectified.

Spring Latch

Always go with your gut when it comes to choosing a security firm. This is particularly true if you’re uneasy with those that install your actual system. Make sure that the installer has experience installing your type of security system. The point of having a security system is to make yourself feel at ease.

Do not use spring latch locks. These type of locks can actually be opened by using a credit card. Intruders simply wedge a credit card between the door and latch, triggering the lock to open. A deadbolt can be retrofitted to a door with a spring latch lock if you want to make it more secure.

Your security company might give you the option to lease and eventually buy your security equipment. Buying outright costs a lot more in the beginning, but one time costs might lower or eliminate some monthly fees that add up over time. Sometimes it’s more affordable to begin with a lease, even though a continued lease may be costly in terms of ongoing higher monthly fees. Check out both options to discover the best one for you. The option that’s best for one person may not be best for another.

Don’t forget to secure your skylights too. As nice as they look, they’re a prime target for thieves. Make sure that you use safety hardware when the skylights are installed and maintained.

Think about a security system that is hard-wired if you really have concerns about maintenance costs. While there is a greater level of convenience if you go wireless, there is also a requirement that several batteries be changed, sometimes multiple times a year. Your home security system will not function properly if you do not change the batteries. It can also be pretty expensive to replace batteries.

Criminals are tough to predict, and you never know when you may be targeted. Rather than assuming you won’t be this unlucky, be prepared and utilize strategies to ensure your home’s safety. Keep these tips in mind when researching more about protecting your home from crime.

If you have just moved into a new home, have every single lock replaced. The old owners may seem nice, but you don’t know everything about them. Besides, other tenants or owners might have copies of the key if the previous owners did not change the locks.