To make the best choice in terms of securing your home, it is important to familiarize yourself with the range of options that are available. This shouldn’t be a slap-dash decision. Take the time to educate yourself and learn what you need to do in order to keep your family safe.

Make sure that you change the locks once you’ve taken possession of the house. You simply do not know how many keys to the old locks are floating around. Get a locksmith in right away. When you lose your keys, have your locks rekeyed.

Be sure your home appears to always be occupied. You could purchase timers which make lights and TV’s, as well as other devices, power on or off at varying intervals. This will make your home look like someone is in it. This is great for keeping a home safer from burglaries.

Replace any wood surrounding your door frame that is rotting. Anyone hoping to enter your home can very easily do so by just prying away the rotted wood. Replace it as soon as possible.

Change the locks after buying a new house. You simply do not know how many keys to the old locks are floating around. Have a locksmith install a brand new lock. This is also a good idea in the event that you misplace your keys.

If the home you are moving into is not brand new, you should change the locks on all the doors. Though the prior occupant may have relinquished their keys, there may be copies out there. You can purchase and install locks yourself to make sure only you have the key.

Only provide your house cleaner with a key if you trust him or her implicitly. Be sure any home cleaner you give your key to is trustworthy and reputable. One way to do this is to check their references. If you are using a cleaning firm, make sure it has an excellent Better Business Bureau rating.

Before you let anyone into your house, thoroughly check their references. A background check which includes any criminal history is warranted. You might not know that the maid or contractor entering your home is a crook, and this could be a very bad mistake.

Good home security systems sound a loud alarm when breached, and that’s not all. Most of them can be programmed to alert you to anyone entering your home. This can be useful if you’ve got small children that are able to open doors.

When you hire a type of home security company, read the contract’s fine print before signing. There might be hidden costs or other things you should know about. You’ll definitely want to avoid these types of fees if you can, so read carefully.

Buy ceiling, roofing and flooring which is resistant to fire. This ensures your home won’t be a tinderbox. Fire prevention should be taken seriously because it can stop a major disaster from happening.

As you work on your home’s landscape, don’t forget about safety. Don’t obstruct windows or doors with shrubs, plants, fences or trees. These types of places provide the perfect cover for prowlers. This should be planned in advance for your safety.

Don’t ever put your spare key under your doormat or in a planter. You may believe you are making life easier for yourself, but you may just be giving thieves simple access to your house. Rest assured, thieves have a good idea about these hiding places. Try having your trustworthy neighbors hold spare keys.

Be sure to get a home security service that will inspect your home and tailor a home security system just for you. Everyone has specific needs and wants when dealing with the security of their house, belongings and family. If you are able to secure a company willing to tailor a system to your needs, there is a good chance that you will be satisfied.

Be sure your valuables are not visible from the outside of your house. If you have big windows near your big entertainment system, it can seem like an invitation to thieves. By reducing visibility into your home, you protect your belongings, safety, and you improve the interior beauty of your home.

One effective home security trick you can use is by installing outdoor motion sensor lights. Burglars love to operate in the dark. Install lights in areas that possible criminals can use to enter your home. This can include the garage, doorways, porches and other areas which invite an intruder in.

Always lock your home when you leave it, no matter how soon you plan to return. In a lot of cases, home intruders enter through unlocked doors. It doesn’t take long for a thief to steal thousands of dollars worth of stuff.

Invest in a good paper shredder. Thieves can often be found looking through garbage cans in search of personal information found on bills and credit card slips. If a shredder is too expensive, at least tear relevant paperwork into small bits.

Whenever you move to a new dwelling, make certain to get each lock replaced. Although you may trust the previous homeowner, you cannot be 100% sure of their character. Bear in mind that other people may have lived in the home before the previous owner.

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. If the flier stays in place, the burglar knows that the homeowner is out on vacation.

If you move to a dwelling that has had prior occupants, make sure you get the locks changed. 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 purchase locks and install them yourself to ascertain that only you have a key.

You need a home security system. Video cameras are a great deterrent. Visible cameras deter the majority of intruders, and if they try to disarm them, a camera that is hidden will keep capturing footage. Many surveillance systems can even be accessed via cell phone, allowing you to check up on your home when you are away.

A reputable security company will send a representative to your home to design a custom system. Every homeowner has specific needs for their home and their family. You will get the best home security system possible if you use a service willing to work with you to create a tailored system.

A great security system for your home is a dog. Dogs can be extremely protective of their space and are great at barking when something is afoot. The dog doesn’t have to be huge or even vicious. Even the barking of a tiny dog can repel potential burglars, who want to avoid noises as they carry out their crimes.

Consider buying a paper shredder for your home. Thieves often look through garbage, trying to find credit card information or other important documents. If you can’t afford to buy a paper shredder, tear your papers up into tiny bits before throwing them away.

If there are parts of your home you want no one else to enter, there is no need to lock doors or have a set of keys on you at all times. You can instead get key-less locks that work using a code. You can either install these locks by yourself, or have them professionally installed if you are not that handy yourself.

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. Thieves have put them up in order to see if people are home to take them down. If the flier is not taken down, the burglar assumes the homeowner is not in town.

If your door has a numeric keypad, don’t use your birthday as the password. Anyone can find your birth date in your mail or on your social networks and can then access your home. Choose a math equation and make the answer your code, and make sure to keep the equation in mind.

The best way to keep a burglar out of your garage is to ensure no one can see inside. Cover windows using frosting, which you can buy at large hardware stores, to keep people from peeking in your window. Don’t leave your front door unlocked or standing open when you are working in the garage or yard.

When you don’t want to spend a lot on maintenance, go for a hard-wired system. Systems that are wireless are convenient, but the batteries required can be cumbersome. Also, your home will not be protected if you neglect to use fresh batteries. It’s also very costly to replace a lot of batteries at once.

When you’re not in your house, all of the window coverings (blinds, curtains, shades, or what have you) should be tightly shut. Intruders can look into your house if the blinds are up. If burglars see items in your home that appear valuable, they’ll likely break in to steal them. Keep them down when you’re asleep, too.

Ask your security company if they offer motion sensitive lighting. Many companies do offer this and it makes lights outside the home turn on just as soon as a person approaches them. Motion sensitive lighting can scare off an intruder and allow you to safely enter your home.

Avoid common hiding places for your spare key. Everyone knows about fake rocks. Someone is going to look under your doormat. It is probably best to find someone you trust to hold a key for you. If you cannot do that, at least find an unusual place to hide the key.

Deadbolts are the best locks you can install, as they have captive keylocks. A thumb latch prevents outsiders from accessing your door locks through an adjacent window. When you’re at home, you can leave your key in the keyhole so you’re able to leave in the event of an emergency.

You should never use your birthday as the password for your numeric keypad. People can easily access your birth date in order to gain entry to your home. Choose a math equation and make the answer your code, and make sure to keep the equation in mind.

Women have more chances of being the target of a home invasion if they live alone. Consider displaying large boots outside your home to make others think that you have a man living in your home. This can discourage burglars from choosing your home for a robbery.

Having read the article above, you should now have a better idea about home security. You should no longer make blind decisions in keeping your home safe. Keep in mind that your decisions will affect the safety of your home and family. Remember these things as you go about securing your home.

Regardless of how pleasant the previous tenants of your home are, it is important to replace the locks in your new home. This is definitely true when it comes to rentals and new home purchase, so make sure you hire someone to help, or change the locks on your own.