If you’re worried about home security, you’re thinking right! You never know when someone is going to try and break in to steal your things and potentially try to do harm to you. Read on to learn how to make your house safer.

You can hide your spare key on your dog. However, this method is only effective if your dog is large, scary, and stays outdoors. Attach the spare key to your dog’s collar. By doing this, you have a handy spare key whenever you need it.

Make sure your home appears occupied. Use timers to make electronic devices and lights turn on and off at intervals. This way it will always look as if someone is home, even when you are away. This is great for keeping a home safer from burglaries.

If you keep a spare key outside to prevent yourself from being locked-out, think carefully about where you hide it. Doormats and door frames are predictable places that burglars will always check. A better place to keep your key is inside your outside dog’s collar.

Get a good safe to store your valuables in your home. You can’t have your valuable personal items and jewelry out in the open for anyone to see. Keep your safe in your basement or attic to make it hard to find.

The materials of your home should be fire resistant. This will help you protect your home under all circumstances. Lowering or eliminating the risk of a fire is an extremely important home security strategy because a fire can cause extreme destruction very quickly.

Before selecting any home-security company, talk to your friends to see who they suggest. This will help you to reduce the stress that you have on your search for a good one. By asking around, you will gain information about the pros and cons of a variety of options.

Contact the local police department to find out more about the protection programs they offer. They may offer neighborhood watch programs, home inspections, engraving tools for marking code numbers onto items so that they will be easily identified if stolen. Call them up to find out more.

Never open the door for a stranger. You have no way of knowing if the stranger on the other side of the door wishes to do you harm. Make a house rule forbidding anyone to open the door for an unexpected visitor.

Store your car in the garage if you have it. This will keep thieves from stealing it or harming it. It will also keep any intruders from knowing when you’re home.

Avoid placing spare keys under door mats or in plant boxes. These are the first places criminals will look when they try to enter your home. Thieves know about all these hiding spots. Instead, have a trustworthy neighbor hold on to your spare key.

Place your valuables in cut-outs in your walls. You do not need to remove segments from your walls. There’s plenty of places in a house with pre-cut areas that can be used. What about un-wiring an electrical socket which isn’t used to utilize as a cover to hide your jewelry?

When choosing an alarm system, consider one that offers protection for more than just your doors. Windows are a way for thieves to enter your home as well. Every single entry point needs to have monitoring on it. This is a way to make sure your family will be safe.

No matter how soon you plan to return home, you should lock your doors. It may be shocking, but many home invasions and burglaries occur by intruders walking through the front door that was left open. It does not take a long time for a robber to pilfer items worth thousands of dollars.

After bringing home a big-ticket item, such as an appliance or electronic device, avoid leaving the packages on the curb before trash day. They show the world you have money and lots of valuables inside.

If you have just bought any pricey new goods, never toss the boxes onto the curb prior to the garbage man’s arrival. If you set these boxes out with the trash, thieves will know you have expensive items in your house.

Replace all the locks in your newly purchased home. You have no way of knowing whether the previous homeowner is trustworthy. Many other people could have keys to the property, and you probably don’t want them to all have access to your home.

Even the wires inside your home are worth something. Often homeowners are unaware of this fact until they find that their wiring has been stolen. The wiring contains valuable copper than can be quickly stripped from a home. Hide your wiring for optimum security.

You need flashlights and plenty of batteries in each room just in case your power ever goes out. Flashlights are very important, as they will give you the ability to move around in the event of an emergency. Your whole family should be trained on the proper use and maintenance of flashlights.

Keeping your home well lit at night can help keep the burglars away. They don’t want anyone to see them. If your home is well lit, thieves won’t have any place to hide, so they may not want to steal anything from you. Keep those lights shining brightly at night.

When seeking out home security firms, the Internet is an indispensable tool. You should look at testimonials from customers and different information you can find. Once you have selected a few potential home security providers, set appointments to interview them and find out what they have on offer.

Be sure to make good use of the Internet when you’re trying to select your home security company. Read through official websites for different companies and look for reviews written by customers. Put together a list of the different home security companies you want to know more about and give them a call.

You should find a home security company that will inspect your home and put together a customized system. Every homeowner has specific needs for their home and their family. When you don’t want to compromise in any way on the safety and security of your home, a custom-built system is usually the way to go.

Landscape around your home with an eye to safety. Don’t provide burglars with cover by planting big shrubs in front of your doors and windows. If they are visible, people won’t be able to hide there while trying to break in. For a beautiful yard that’s also safe, keep the landscaping separated from the house.

Keep the outside areas of your home well lit. Burglars like using darkness to hide. Add lights to any areas you believe are potential entry points for burglars. Don’t forget that this includes ground-level windows as well as doors, garages, and porches.

Prior to purchasing a security system, think about what you need it for. Security systems are a proven method of reducing your chance of break-ins, but it is not always the right choice. In some neighborhoods, it may be better for you to have a dog, or even take self defense classes in order to protect yourself. Ensure that you have considered all your options before making a final decision.

If you arrive home and you see that your door is ajar, never enter to investigate on your own. This can be quite dangerous because the burglar may still be on your property. Call the cops and let them do the initial walk through.

Put up video surveillance. Video cameras are a great deterrent. Cameras that can be seen are an excellent tool for preventing most burglars from breaking into your home. However, if they are brave enough to try to disable your cameras, hidden cameras will capture them. It is possible to use your cell phone to look at your surveillance camera, meaning you can see your house when you’re gone.

If you are going to be out of town for more than a day or so, have someone check your mailbox and door for mail and fliers. Burglars often put fliers on the door to see if the owner removes them. If it stays where they put it, they will know you are on vacation.

Do not put electronic boxes in the front of your house. Burglars will see those boxes and realize that there are valuable things in your home for them to get. Cut the boxes and wait until the garbage truck comes to put them outside.

Put a surveillance system in your home. Installing video cameras, both visible and hidden, are a great way to secure your home. Visible cameras deter the majority of intruders, and if they try to disarm them, a camera that is hidden will keep capturing footage. You can sometimes access security systems using your cell phone, keeping you informed on the go.

If you have roommates or kids who you do not want in certain areas of the house, you do not have to lock the doors and carry around a ton of keys. Some locks will allow you to punch in a code to gain access to the room. Any good security company can provide and install these locks, or you can even put them in yourself.

Set up a timer to turn your lights off and on at regular intervals. This helps the lights stay on and continue to switch even when you’re away from your home.

Don’t utilize spring latch locks. These locks are easy to break into since they may be opened up with a credit card. They can put the credit card in between the latch and door to open the lock. Put in a deadbolt for more security if your doors already contain spring latch locks.

While locks which are sealed up on the inside are dandy, if you can’t lock it from the outside, it won’t be of much use. Ideal locks are deadbolts which lock with both internal and external key locks.

Always keep your shades, curtains and blinds closed when you are not at home. When they’re open, it would be easy to see no one is there. They might see something worth breaking in to get. Always close your curtains and blinds while sleeping.

Dog owners, especially those with large, tough pets, have a leg up in the home security game. Burglars are unlikely to desire an encounter with such an animal. You should consider adopting a large dog that can be trained to protect you and your family.

Don’t hide your keys in obvious places. Fake rocks are particularly simple to spot. Under your doormat is also a common place burglars will look. A better idea is to have a friend or neighbor keep your emergency key. If you have no choice but to hide a spare key, apply some inventive, out-of-the-box thinking when you do it.

Rather than hoping for the best, you need to be realistic. You need to be prepared and expect the unexpected. Use the tips from this article to create a safer place for your family.

Inquire whether or not your security company offers motion sensor lighting. Lots of companies have this, which triggers your exterior lights whenever something or someone moves near a doorway. This is a great way to protect the outside of your home.