You never know who might know you have valuable items in your home. Guard against burglaries by increasing the security of your home. Review these ideas for making your home safer.
You should always make sure your home looks like its occupied. Buy timers so that lights, radios, TVs and all other electronics turn on and off at various times. This will make your home look like someone is in it. This is an excellent method for avoiding burglary and keeping your home secure.
TIP! Don’t ever let it be apparent that there is no one at home. Purchase timers for electronics, lights, radios and TVs so that they will turn on and off at varied intervals.
Get a good safe to store your valuables in your home. This is vital, as you want to safeguard your valuable items in case of home burglary. Your safe should be placed somewhere it is not readily noticeable.
Do you keep your dog outside if you leave the home? This pet may be an excellent storing spot for your spare key. The key can be attached to the collar of your dog. This will ensure that burglars cannot see it. This works especially well as storage if your pet isn’t too fond of strangers.
TIP! Do you keep your dog outside when you aren’t home? They can help you with your spare key. Simply put the key onto your dog’s collar so that robbers cannot locate it.
Buy fire-resistant building materials. This adds an extra layer of protection to your home, especially if you live in a very dry area with power lines. Fire prevention should be taken seriously because it can stop a major disaster from happening.
If you like to have a key hidden in case you lose yours, place it in a safe place. It is very common for homeowners to hide them under a mat or above the framing of their door, and intruders know this. You should hide it in your dog’s collar.
TIP! Hiding places for spare keys must be chosen with extreme care and caution. Intruders will more than likely check under your doormat or above your door frame.
Don’t open your door for strangers. People you do not know could have bad intentions or want to get an idea of how many valuable objects you own. Make it a rule in your home that you only open your door to people who you were expecting.
Your flooring and roofing should be fire resistant. This is a good way to protect your home against fires, for instance if you live near power lines or in a dry area. Fire prevention is always a good idea, and sometimes it can be a lifesaving idea!
TIP! Your flooring and roofing should be fire resistant. This will give your home added security.
Your garage needs to be secure. A common concern expressed among homeowners is that someone might enter their garage and use that as an entrance to their home. There is a solution, however. If your garage door happens to lift on a track, using a C-clamp can help. the C-clamp prevents the door from opening if it’s tightened on the track close to the roller.
A skylight is another area that needs to be protected for home security. While they are an excellent source of natural light, they are also an easy way for thieves to enter your home. Be certain that skylights in your home can be locked securely.
TIP! Understand certain safety precautions when it comes to having skylights for your home. Although skylights provide your home with a lot of light, it is also very helpful for burglars to break in.
In the summer, remove all the dead trees from your yard. As it gets hotter, the chances of these igniting and putting your house at risk increase. Clear up your yard so it looks good and is safe.
Walls are great for hiding items. This is a great way to hide jewelry, for example. You could use a phone jack, electrical outlet or a switch plate. If you have no unused plates, you can put in a fake one.
TIP! A secure hiding place can be created in a wall. You should think about hiding certain small valuables within your walls.
Don’t ever put your spare key under your doormat or in a planter. Remember that you are not the only one who is aware of these sorts of hiding places. Thieves know about all these hiding spots. A better solution is to give your key to a neighbor you trust.
Hide your security system’s wiring. An intruder can easily disable your security system by cutting the wires. Hide them in the walls or bury them underground to keep people from tampering with them. This helps keep you and your family safe.
TIP! After installing a security system in your home, make sure any wires are hidden. An intruder can cut the wires or disconnect them and avoid the system.
The alarm system you choose should protect more than just the doors to your home. Each window represents a possible entry for your thief. Be sure your home alarm covers all entry points into your home. You want the best security possible for your family.
You should change all the locks if you just bought or rented a new home. While the person you bought the home from may seem on the up and up, you have no idea who they really are. Keep in mind that other people may have lived in the home prior to the seller.
TIP! When moving into a house, ensure that each lock has been replaced. Even if the previous owner or tenant seems trustworthy, you have no way of knowing how many copies of the key they made and distributed.
Are you aware of the value contained in your home’s wiring? Many people have their wires stripped each year. Wiring can be removed from the outside of a home in a heartbeat. Be sure that your wiring is concealed or difficult to access in order to keep your wires safe.
If the home you are moving into is not brand new, you should change the locks on all the doors. Previous tenants may have given the keys back to the landlord, but it is always possible to make copies of keys. It’s easy to install locks, so you can just purchase them at the home improvement store and swap them out to be sure you have the only keys.
TIP! If you move to a place that was occupied before, you should change the locks right away. Although the tenant before might have turned their key in, they might still have a duplicate key.
Security Company
Before you think about home security, consider personal security and safety. While these systems are great and can help protect your family, they are not necessary for everyone. Sometimes just taking a class in self defense or adopting a loud dog is enough, while at other times a full fledged security system might be the way to go. Understanding your neighborhood, risks and budget constraints can help you to make the best choices.
TIP! You need to think about what you need as far as home security before you look at different systems. Security systems are a proven method of reducing your chance of break-ins, but it is not always the right choice.
Make sure to ask for identification for any home security company representative. Potential burglars can easily claim they are security company representatives so that they can enter your home. This leads to danger. You want to use caution to prevent danger.
If you haven’t bought a paper shredder yet, make it a point to do so. Your trash contains so much personal information a thief would love to have. Rip paper into tiny pieces if you can’t afford to purchase a paper shredder.
TIP! Buy a paper shredder. Unshredded documents can offer up a wealth of valuable personal information to thieves, including enough of your schedule to allow them to pinpoint the best time for a burglary.
As you work on your home’s landscape, don’t forget about safety. Your doors and windows should not be obstructed by shrubs or fences. If they can be seen, there will be no place to hide. Keep landscaping away from your house for safety reasons.
If you are out of town for awhile, ask a friend to take a look at your door for any fliers. Some intruders will place a flyer at your home to see if the flyer is removed immediately or not. If the flier is not taken down, the burglar assumes the homeowner is not in town.
TIP! If you will be going out of time, have someone you trust get your mail. Also, have them look for fliers stuck in your door.
Never enter your house if the door is open or something doesn’t feel right. This is dangerous because the thief may be right inside. Call the cops and let them do the initial walk through.
Keep burglars on the outside of your garage by making sure nobody can actually see inside the garage. Use frosting to cover the garage window, so people cannot peer inside. Make a habit of keep your door closed and locked.
TIP! A smart way to prevent burglars from entering the garage is to keep them from seeing what is inside. Frost your windows so people cannot look inside your home.
If you don’t have a paper shredder, you might want to buy one. You would be surprised at how often thieves look through trash to find personal information to find out when you will be away from home so they can break in. Cutting the papers into small pieces with a pair of scissors is another option.
Do not buy spring latch locks. These locks are very easy to pick with something as common as a credit card. This is achieved by sliding the card into the space between the latch and the door. This causes the lock to click open. Add a deadbolt to doors with spring-latch locks.
TIP! Spring latch locks are not a good option. Spring latch locks are the easiest locks to gain entry with, as they can be opened with a simple credit card.
Err on the side of caution when you are dealing with home security. Don’t live in fear all the time, but try taking precautionary steps. Keep these ideas in mind as you go about boosting the security of your home.
You need to inquire about whether you can buy or lease the home security equipment. Purchasing equipment outright will cost more initially, but may offer savings over the long term. Leasing usually proves cheaper at first, but it comes with strings attached through contracts or continuing fees and charges. Check out both options and determine which is best for you.
TIP! Does your security company offer leasing and buying? While you will pay more to buy, you don’t have to keep paying for it month after month. Leasing is cheaper, but there may be hidden fees and contracts.