If you’re worried about home security, you’re thinking right! There is no telling when an intruder may get into your house and steal your valuables or hurt your loved ones. The tips in this article can help you fortify your home against invaders and threats.

Be smart about where you decide to hide spare keys. People will check your doormat and frame first. Hide your alternative key on your dog’s collar.

Providing a key to the person cleaning your home can be acceptable, but you must be sure they are honest and worthy of your confidence. You need to ensure that they are honest and reputable according to references before you have handed over the key. Check their references very carefully. Contact your local Better Business Bureau to find out more about the reputation of the cleaner you hired.

When summer comes around, eliminate all vegetation and dead wood from your yard. These can quickly become fire hazards when hit by direct sunlight, placing your house at risk. Keep these cleared away regularly to maintain your home’s safety and to keep it in good shape.

See what the local police offer when it comes to home protection programs. They often offer home inspections, seminars and even the ability to purchase items. Call them up to find out more.

Home security systems offer other triggering features besides having an alarm sound. They can be programmed to alert the homeowner if a person enters the home. This can be valuable to parents with small children as they are made aware their child has opened or closed a door.

Keep your car in the garage. Keeping the car in the garage can keep thieves from vandalizing or stealing it. Keeping your car in your garage also keeps a thief from knowing whether you are at home or not.

Listen to your intuition as to whether your system is being installed by a trustworthy home security company. If the men who come to your home to do the installation seem untrustworthy, you can change your mind. Make sure that the installer has experience installing your type of security system. At the end of the day, your efforts are so that you feel more comfortable.

Make sure to use caution when deciding if and where to hide an extra key outside of your home. Under the doormat or above the door frame are all too common spaces that will be checked first by potential intruders. Instead, try hiding a key on the collar of an outside dog.

Use the spaces in your home’s walls to store valuables. This doesn’t require tearing into your walls, of course. Many places around your house have areas that are already pre-cut. An unused outlet can be taken apart, and the space used to create a tiny hidden safe.

Lock up your house every time you leave. It may be a little surprising, but most burglaries and break-ins happen because the intruder just walks right through an open door. A thief can steal lots of stuff in a little amount of time.

It is always best to not let people in that just show up out of the blue. It is essential you do not do this, even if the stranger gives you a convincing story or states they need your assistance. Some folks will enter to scout for security systems, and upon seeing you lack one, will resolve to return at a later time.

After bringing home a big-ticket item, such as an appliance or electronic device, avoid leaving the packages on the curb before trash day. Letting such packaging sit out will signal to criminals that there are good things to be found in your house.

Were you aware that your home’s wires are valuable? People often don’t think about this until they have it stolen from their home. Wiring can be removed from the outside of a home in a heartbeat. In order to protect yourself from this risk, make sure wires on your house are difficult to find and hard to access.

Always have your security system checked each year. Ask a qualified worker who specializes in security systems to take a look. Mother Nature and wild animals can also cause issues with your home security system. You might be unaware of problems that arise in some cases.

You can add a great deal of security to your home by installing a system of motion activated exterior lighting. These lights are not only handy when you get home late, they also help deter criminals from entering your home. If they are positioned correctly outside of your home, your motion detectors can make it impossible for strangers to sneak around.

If you’re hiring a company for home security, be sure to read any fine print before you sign that contract. Sometimes, hidden costs can be incurred if you get rid of the service before a certain date. You’ll want to avoid any surprises so be sure and read your contract carefully.

Trust your instincts when it comes to hiring a home security company. This is especially important when it comes to the company employees who will be installing your system. Ask the company to send a different installer or simply change companies. Remember, the new security apparatus is meant to make you feel safe and secure.

Keep safety in mind when doing landscaping. You should have a clear view out of all your windows and an unobstructed path to any doors. With areas like these visible, there will be no hiding while attempting a break-in. Keeping the areas around your windows free of plants can help to deter criminals from lurking too close to your home, without you noticing.

Wireless System

Be sure to secure the skylights to your home. Although skylights provide your home with a lot of light, it is also very helpful for burglars to break in. Be sure that the skylights for your home are durable and reliable.

Consider purchasing a wireless security system for your home. While the wired systems are less expensive, they usually mean rather intrusive wiring for your house, which can also go out during power outages. A wireless system is easy to install and to maintain. Besides, you will still be able to count on your wireless system in case of a power outage.

Discourage burglars by making your garage windows opaque. Cover windows using frosting, which you can buy at large hardware stores, to keep people from peeking in your window. Keep your garage door closed as often as possible, too.

If you’ve recently moved into a house, get any locks changed out. You really don’t know much about the people who sold you the home, regardless of how competent they may seem. Also, there have likely been other owners of the home, and you don’t know them either.

Always keep your shades, curtains and blinds closed when you are not at home. Intruders can see into your home if they are left up. If they spot something desirable, they will seek access. You should also have them down when you are sleeping.

Avoid common hiding places for your spare key. Everyone knows about fake rocks. Doormats are generally the first spot a person would look. Instead, you should keep your spare keys with a trusted neighbor. If none of these options are possible, try to think of an unusual hiding place.

Anytime a security installer comes to the house, make sure they display proper identification. They might not be who you think they are. This puts your household and valuables at considerable risk. Be careful to avoid this sort of danger.

When you don’t want to spend a lot on maintenance, go for a hard-wired system. While wireless systems are great, they do require batteries on a consistent basis. If you neglect to change your batteries, the system can fail. Also, frequent battery replacements can be costly.

If your door is not solid wood or metal, replace it! Those are the doors that last. Few people can kick down such a door. You are probably able to replace your exterior doors for a small price, so do that soon.

Never enter your home if you arrive and find the door open. This is very dangerous due to the fact that the thief can still be inside your property. Just contact the police and sit tight until they arrive.

Instead of wishing that bad things won’t occur, look at everything realistically. Some things are inevitable, making it that much more important to be fully prepared. Use the tips from this article to create a safer place for your family.