Do you understand how home security systems work? You need to educate yourself so you can make an informed decision when setting up your home security system. This could be an expensive investment and it could mean the safety of you and your family, so go ahead and read more.

You should always make sure your home looks like its occupied. You can purchase timers that can control your household electronics such as lights, TVs and radios. This makes it appear that someone is home. This should help you make your home safer and not attract the attention of potential intruders.

Your dog could carry a spare key for you. Outdoor dogs or pet doors make this possible. Latch the key on his collar and voila–you have a spare key available!

Provide the house key to your professional house cleaner, but only if you fully trust them. If you plan to give them a key so they can clean in your home while you are away, ensure they are reputable and honest. It is best to do a reference check on them. If applicable, call the BBB to inquire about their reputation.

Home security systems offer other triggering features besides having an alarm sound. You can have your system alert you of any movement in certain areas of your home. This can be valuable to parents with small children as they are made aware their child has opened or closed a door.

Before leaving for vacation, turn off the ringers in your house. If a burglar keeps hearing your phone ring, they’ll know the home is not occupied, making it more likely for a break-in to occur.

Be smart about where you decide to hide spare keys. Placing a key above a door or under a doormat is quite obvious! A better place to keep your key is inside your outside dog’s collar.

Keep your car in your garage. Keeping your car secured will prevent people from vandalizing it. Hiding your car away from plain view is a good way to keep intruders from knowing when you are at home or not.

Seek recommendations from friends and family when choosing a security company or system. You can benefit from the experience of others that have gone before you by paying attention to their recommendations and warnings. Ask around so that you can have the advice that you need to make a good choice.

Install lights that use a motion-sensor. If someone enters their proximity, they will light automatically. This is a good way of knowing who comes near your home and keeps you safe if you ever come home late. Remember to keep working bulbs in them at all times.

See what your local police department offers in terms of home protection programs. 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. Speak with the police in your area to see if they have these things.

Don’t forget about the skylights when securing your home. Though skylights bring light into your home and look nice, it is also a very common way for burglars to get into your home. Your skylights need durable and reliable hardware for true protection.

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. Be sure that the skylights for your home are durable and reliable.

The walls of your home make for great hiding spots. You can hide small, valuable items inside the walls of your home. You could utilize an electrical outlet, phone jack, or unused switch plate. If you don’t have unused plates, it’s easy to put in a fake one.

Use your walls as hiding spaces. No need to damage your walls. You can find areas in your walls that are pre-cut and use those. Unused electrical sockets can be great for hiding expensive jewelry.

Don’t put your spare key in an obvious place near your front door. While you may need to prepare if you have a spare key, it is wise to choose ways that do not increase the risk of a criminal gaining entrance to your home. Any thief knows all the typical hiding spots. Instead, have a trustworthy neighbor hold on to your spare key.

Security System

Change all of the locks in your new residence. Regardless of how trustworthy you consider the last owners to be, neither you nor they can be sure that there aren’t others out there with keys to those locks. If the previous owners have never changed the locks, there could be people out there who owned the house before them and still have keys to your house.

If your home security system is installed, be sure its wires are well-hidden. Intruders can easily disable your home security system by cutting or unplugging the wires. This makes it much easier for a thief to get inside your home. Keep the wires protected. This will make you much safer.

Replace rotted wood around entryways. Rotted wood can be easily removed by thieves. Replace dead wood with thick, firm pieces to maintain a high level of security.

Do you know how valuable the wires within your home are? Many people do not realize this until a crook steals it off of their home. Copper wiring is very valuable and susceptible to being stripped from the outside of your home. Hide your wiring to secure it.

If you move into a home or apartment that has been previously lived in, the first thing you should do is change the locks. Although other tenants might not have a key anymore, they could have copied it. You can change the locks yourself if you’re feeling really industrious.

Since reading this article, what is your feeling about home security? The better educated you are on the subject, the more informed decisions you can make. Use the tips you’ve read here to begin.

Use the Internet when you are seeking a new home security company. Check out reviews you find on the web. Once you have selected a few potential home security providers, set appointments to interview them and find out what they have on offer.