The safety of your home and family is of utmost importance. Sadly. burglaries are all too common, as are fires and floods. The following article has some great information to help keep your home safe and secure.

Make sure to use caution when deciding if and where to hide an extra key outside of your home. Common places to hide a spare key are above your door frame or underneath your doormat. Therefore, thieves are more likely to check these places out first. One idea is to hide your key inside the collar of your outdoor dog.

Have your dog protect the spare key. This will only be ideal if you have a dog door or an outdoor dog. Hide a key inside the collar of your dog in case you need a spare.

Social networking sites are great for keeping in touch, but post information sparingly. For example, you might avoid broadcasting when you are going out of town, especially if your friends list contains casual acquaintances. While these platforms are there for sharing, this is announcing to the world that your home is an open target.

Make sure you trust your house cleaner before you provide them with a key. Be sure any home cleaner you give your key to is trustworthy and reputable. Do a background check on them. If they work through a larger firm, you can check up on the company with your local Better Business Bureau.

If you’ve got a garage, make sure to use it for your car rather than extra storage space. Keeping the car inside is a good way to keep criminals from stealing or harming it. Keeping your car out of sight is also good for thwarting burglars’ attempts to determine when you are likely to be away from home.

Compare different systems when looking into home security. Prices vary greatly in regards to the same protection for each company. Be sure and get a minimum of three quotes from different companies prior to choosing one.

Regardless of the type of home security system you choose, be sure to have regular inspections and maintenance performed. The security company should have a specialist come to look at it. There are many things that can be problematic with regards to home security systems, like wayward wild animals and the environment. Sometimes it is very difficult to see the problem if you don’t know where it is.

Check out your garage to ensure that it is secure. Often people are concerned that burglars can enter the home via the attached garage . Happily, there is a solution to this problem. Using a C-clamp on the garage door will prevent it from opening by staying on the door’s track.

Always go with your gut when it comes to choosing a security firm. You should be very picky when it comes to letting people inspect your home. You can decide to use a different company, or ask for a different person to install it. You want your new system to protect you, not be the way the thief gets into your home.

Those that live in rural area are not as concerned about having their home invaded as those who are located in the city. Others think that living in the country is more risky than other areas because houses are so far apart. You need to do some research on the areas where you live to get an idea of how frequent break ins are.

Place your valuables in cut-outs in your walls. You do not have to damage your walls to keep your valuables safe. You can find areas in your walls that are pre-cut and use those. Consider unwiring an electrical socket that isn’t used and storing your valuable jewelry.

Use the spaces in your home’s walls to store valuables. It is unnecessary cut space into your wall. Find a place where there is already a hole to get in through. Consider unwiring an electrical socket that isn’t used and storing your valuable jewelry.

Be sure your expensive belongings are not visible from the home’s exterior. While having huge windows may be good for letting in light and viewing what is outside, it also gives potential thieves a good look in your own home. If your windows face a street, be sure they’re always covered and have your valuables safe.

Do not let people on the street see valuable items in your home. 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. Keep your windows covered and your belongings private.

Once you’ve moved to a new house, make it a priority to replace all locks. 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. And, other people could have lived in the home previously to them as well.

Be sure to replace all locks on a home you have bought. 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. Also, there have likely been other owners of the home, and you don’t know them either.

If you move to a place that was occupied before, you should change the locks right away. Although it’s normal for owners / tenants to surrender their keys when they leave, there’s no way of knowing who else might have copies. You can install locks yourself to make sure you’re the only one who has a key.

Are you aware that the wires located on the exterior of your house have value? Some intruders could strip your home of every bit of copper. Copper wiring is quite valuable, and it’s quick and easy for criminals to strip it right off the outside of your house! Hide your wiring to secure it.

If you have your home brightly lit, burglars are likely to avoid it. They do not want to be seen. Making your home’s exterior nice and bright will make it impossible for crooks to go undetected. Have lights that come on when they detect movement for best results.

Replace rotted wood that surrounds your door frame. An intruder could pry the rotten wood easily to open the door. Replace this old wood if you want to keep your house safe.

If you plan to go away and have asked someone to get the mail, see if they will also remove fliers that may have been left at the door. Sometimes burglars leave fliers in an attempt to see if anyone is home to remove them. By your neighbor taking the flyer, it appears as if you got it yourself.

You can keep intruders away by always having your house lit up. That’s because they want to remain hidden. Thieves have a hard time stealing things when there are lots of lights around. Keep the lights on if you want your home to be secure.

You need to get a good home surveillance system. Both hidden and visible security cameras are effective in protecting your home. Visible cameras scare intruders while a hidden camera could capture footage. Many surveillance systems can even be accessed via cell phone, allowing you to check up on your home when you are away.

You should think about your own safety when comparing different home security options. They aren’t the right fit for everyone. In some neighborhoods, you might be better off taking a self defense class or owning a dog, while in others, the latest innovations in home security will protect you best. Be aware of your risks to make an intelligent purchasing decisions.

When you are out of the house, your drapes and blinds should be fully closed. By failing to do so, you are granting a prime view of your house and your belongings. If they notice something valuable, they’re more likely to invade your home. Close your drapes or blinds while you are asleep, too.

If you arrive home and you see that your door is ajar, never enter to investigate on your own. This is dangerous since the thief may still be on your property. Your best bet is to contact the authorities and wait outside for them to get there.

Ask the company if they offer systems for lease and sale. Buying your equipment may cost more initially, however it can actually save you money over time. On the other hand, while leasing is more expensive overall, it can get you a better system if you don’t have funds available immediately. Think about both options before making a decision.

Look into wireless security systems. Although wired systems are usually more affordable, they usually involve changing out the wires of your home. As a result, if a power outage occurs, these wires will probably not be effective. Wireless systems tend to be easier for installation and maintenance, and they will not go out if your power does.

Don’t put the registration to your car in your glove box. Anyone with access to your car can find out where you live, so it is not a smart thing to do. Hide them somewhere else in the car, or carry them with you. They’ll always need to be close by in the event you get pulled over.

If you are going on a vacation, ask a neighbor to pick up your mail and check your home for flyers. Crafty burglars will leave fliers on homes, and check to see if they’re being removed as a means for determining whether or not the home is vacant. If their fliers are not moved, the crook knows the home is unattended.

If you’ve got a type of numeric keypad on the front door, don’t use your birthday as the password. Anyone can get your birthdate off mail or your Facebook page and will therefore have access to your home. Try making the number one that can be remembered by doing a match equation in order to remember that equation instead.

Keep burglars on the outside of your garage by making sure nobody can actually see inside the garage. Frost your windows with film bought at a hardware store. Also keep your garage door closed whenever possible, especially if you will be stepping away from it for an extended period of time.

If you want to minimize the maintenance required by your security system, go with one that’s hard-wired. Sure, wireless options are easier to use, but they consume battery power quickly. The system will cease to work properly if the batteries are not fresh. What you spend on batteries, additionally, can really add up!

Are you able to see the numbers on your house from your street? In an emergency situation, first responders won’t be able to locate your house quickly if the numbers are hidden or are too small to see clearly. There is a cheap and quick fix if you see an issue.

You should invest in a timer to turn lights on and off at regular times. This is simpler for you to avoid flipping the switch and can make the lights turn off and on even if you’re gone a long time.

Due to the many threats that can affect your house, you need o do whatever it takes to ensure your home;s safety. You can find out some great ideas in this article to help keep your home safe. Use these concepts as a means to increase the safety level of your home.

Put in a door that is solid wood or metal. Doors made of these materials are sturdy. If a robber tried to break in, it would be hard for him to do that. Make sure to replace exterior doors for the cheapest amount possible.