Your house must be a safe haven for you and your family at all times. Upon going out, they must feel secure and safe when returning. The best place to start in creating a plan to protect your home and family is to read this article for some great information.

You should always make sure your home looks like its occupied. You could purchase timers and have your TVs, lights, radios and other types of electronics to go on at various times. This will make your home look like someone is in it. This helps you keep your house burglar-free.

Spare Key

Make sure you trust your house cleaner before you provide them with a key. If you do give your housekeeper a key or plan on doing so, it is imperative that they are honest and upstanding. Make sure you check references. If the cleaner has been sent by a company, call the Better Business Bureau to check on the company’s reputation.

Why not give your trusted dog the job of holding onto your spare key? This only makes sense if your dog is outdoors a lot or you have a pet door. Attach the spare key to your dog’s collar. By doing this, you have a handy spare key whenever you need it.

Get a safe to protect your valuable items. If an intruder breaks into your home, at least these valuables will be secure. Hide that safe in a difficult-to-reach place like in a closet inside your basement or an attic.

Buy fire-resistant building materials. This will add an extra protection layer for your house, particularly if you live near power lines or in a dry location. Avoiding fire hazards is a great way to keep things safe.

It’s important to comparison shop for alarm systems. Prices for home security systems can vary and they do not all offer the same services. Get quotes from several companies so that you can get the best price for your home security system.

If your social networking accounts are filled with folks you do not really know, do not announce vacations on the sites. It’s great to see new places and take a lot of photos, but posting them while still overseas lets thieves know your home is empty.

Buy ceiling, roofing and flooring which is resistant to fire. This adds more protection to a house, especially if you’re in a dry area with some power lines. It’s best to prevent a fire before it starts.

Rid the outside of your home from dead wood, vegetation and overgrowth during the summertime. They pose a fire risk. Keep your family and your house protected by regularly clearing out your yard waste.

Get advice from loved ones about home security systems. You can benefit from the experience of others that have gone before you by paying attention to their recommendations and warnings. Make broad inquiries so that you are able to make a well-informed decision.

Use your garage for what it was intended: your car. Protect your car from vandals by keeping it in the garage. Hiding the car from plain sight can keep possible intruders from figuring out when you’re home and also when you are not.

Turn off your phone’s ringer when you go on vacation. A constantly ringing phone lets thieves know that you are not home and could increase the chances of you getting robbed.

Security System

You need to be sure the attached garage of yours is secure. Lots of people are afraid that burglars will be able to break into their garage, which will result in them breaking into the home. Thankfully, you can prevent this. However, you can use a C-clamp to help keep the door secure.

Even if you have a great security system, it must be checked annually. The security company should have a specialist come to look at it. Wild animals or plain old nature can wreak havoc on your home security system. If the problem cannot be seen, you probably won’t even realize there is one.

Your home security system ought to be checked each year. Call the company and have them send someone to check it out. Wild animals, domestic pets, and weather are all factors that can affect the reliability of your home security system. If the problem isn’t visible, you may be unaware of it.

Get to know your neighbors. Speak with your neighbors. Look out for their property, and see if they will look out for yours. Don’t disregard gossip either. You may hear valuable information regarding security, such as if any strangers have been hanging around.

Walls are great for hiding items. You should think about hiding certain small valuables within your walls. You could use a phone jack, electrical outlet or a switch plate. Even if every single plate in your home is being used, you can purchase a fake one purpose-built for concealing valuables.

Change your locks if someone you don’t trust moves out of your home. Has a roommate or ex-lover moved out recently? If so, then you need to change out the locks in order to keep you and your home safe. You can change the locks in a single day, and the hardware is not very costly.

Hide valuables in spaces in your walls. You don’t have to cut pieces out of the walls. Your home should have a few pre-cut areas that can be used. Perhaps you can use an old electricity socket as a place to hide your valuables.

You need to go with your gut instinct when it comes to negotiating and dealing with a home security installation company. If you are hesitant about the company, your gut feeling is especially important. You can decide to use a different company, or ask for a different person to install it. You want the system to make you feel like you’re more comfortable.

Be sure your valuables are not visible from the outside of your house. Having large windows in front of your home may be a great way to see what is happening outside, but it can also give crooks a view inside your home. Be sure to put curtains on your front-facing windows so people can’t see your valuable belongings.

Don’t forget to secure your skylights too. Skylights are a wonderful addition to any home, but they also tend to be weak spots that intruders take advantage of. Check that skylights have heavy duty hardware that can stand up under unwanted tampering.

If you make a large purchase, like a big screen television, don’t simply set the box out in front of your home. Having these boxes outside of your house will give robbers the temptation of robbing your house.

Having read this article, you have lots of good information to choose from. How do you plan to use this advice in your house? Keep reading so you will have all the knowledge you need to protect your loved ones.

Replace rotted wood around entryways. Home invaders interested are able to pry off any rotted wood to get inside. Always replace rotting wood with fresh wood immediately to keep your house strong and secure.