If you live alone and are a woman, you may be particularly concerned about home security. Rather than living in fear, you can take some steps to help protect you and your family. Keep reading to discover some really great home security tips and advice.

If you retain a space key for when you get locked out, consider the place you hide it carefully. Above doors or under doormats are much too common to hide them and potential criminals will check them first. Think outside the box and put the key someplace unusual, like hidden in your dog’s collar.

Keep your most precious belongings inside a safe. This is vital if you don’t want diamonds, gold or other personal items exposed to a home intruder. Keep it hidden in a hard to find location.

Don’t talk about your vacations on social media. You may be very excited about your impending vacation, but there is no need to let potential burglars know when you will be gone.

When planning to go away for a holiday, be sure to turn off the ringers on your home phones. This is because a phone that is ringing and ringing can tip of a burglar that nobody is currently home.

If you will be vacationing for an extended period of time, turn off the ringer on all the phones 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.

If you’ve got a garage, make sure to use it for your car rather than extra storage space. If your car is locked up inside, it cannot be stolen or vandalized. Hiding it will help to deter people from tracking the times you aren’t there.

Don’t be afraid to know the people who live near you. Speak to your neighbors. Watch their houses, and ask if they’d do the same. Don’t ignore the gossip. You may stumble across valuable security information, like if someone has noticed a stranger lurking around the neighborhood.

Avoid placing spare keys under door mats or in plant boxes. A key that is easily found is a convenience for a burglar, not just for you. For obvious reasons, experienced burglars know every possible hiding spot. A better solution is to give your key to a neighbor you trust.

No matter how soon you plan to return home, you should lock your doors. A lot of times, burglaries happen due to carelessness. Thieves can steal thousands worth of your belongings very quickly.

Keep your home security system’s wires under cover. You don’t want a burglar to get access to them and disable your system. Do not make entry into your home easy. Make sure the wires are not exposed either inside or outside your home. Your safety will increase.

Are you aware of the value contained in your home’s wiring? Some intruders could strip your home of every bit of copper. The copper in the wiring is valuable and can be stripped off of the outside of the home in a relevantly short period of time. Hide your wiring for optimum security.

Expensive Items

If you want to make your house even more secure, a cheap way to do that is to buy outside lights with motion detectors. At night, the lights will keep things bright round the house, but they are also efficient and cost-effective ways to help your security. Whenever you properly position these lights, they will make it almost impossible for burglars to sneak in.

If you have purchased any large and/or expensive items, do not throw the boxes away until the day before the trash man is scheduled to come. If you set these boxes out with the trash, thieves will know you have expensive items in your house.

If you come home and see your door ajar, never investigate it alone. A thief might still be in there, which could put you in danger. Go to a neighbor’s or another safe area and call the police.

Just moved in? Time for new 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. Remember that other families may have lived there before that person as well.

Ask your security company about the lengths of contract they offer. There are going to be ups and downs for each one. With a longer contract, your monthly payment is likely to be lower. The downside is you might be stuck for a longer period of time if you decide you don’t like the service or want to move. With a shorter contract, you will have a greater level of flexibility. The downside is you will also have larger monthly bills.

When about to sign a contract with any home security firm, read all the small print. There are sometimes fees if you break a contract or need additional equipment. You can easily avoid these fees if you do your research.

Do not use spring latch locks. These type of lock is the easiest lock to pick, it could even be opened by a credit card. Burglars just slip a card between the latch and the door, causing the lock mechanism to open. IF spring latch locks are already in place, add a deadbolt for that extra layer of security.

Keep safety at the forefront when landscaping your property. Keep your doors and windows clear of any shrubbery. If windows and doors can be easily seen from all areas, then burglars cannot hide as well, which will hinder their plans. This should be planned in advance for your safety.

See if your firm gives you the choice of leasing and/or buying security equipment. Buying it may cost more, but this means there are no monthly charges. Leasing is usually cheaper, but monthly fees can be high and you will need a contract. Compare both avenues to see which one is better suited for your needs.

Ask the home security companies to visit your home and design a system tailored to your needs. Everyone has specific needs and wants when dealing with the security of their house, belongings and family. When you choose a company that pays close attention to detail in creating your home security plan, you will feel very secure.

Your auto registration is best kept somewhere other than your glove compartment. If someone accesses these documents, they can determine your address. You should make sure to keep them on you, or store them somewhere safe in your car. Your papers should be easy to access in case a police officer pulls you over.

The areas outside your home should be kept well lit. Burglars like the cover of darkness to commit their crimes. Be sure all vulnerable exterior areas of your home are equipped with good lighting. This means by the garage, in the doorways, around windows and much more.

If your lights are generally turned off at roughly the same time, consider using a timer. Not only does this save you a step, you can continue the routine even when you are not home.

If you purchase a new, pricey electronic like a TV or computer, don’t leave the empty box near your curb. Burglars will see these boxes and recognize that there are new valubles in your house. Cut up the boxes completely instead.

Replace flimsy doors with solid wood or metal versions. These doors will hold. This makes it much harder for a burglar to kick in a door. It shouldn’t be too expensive to replace all exterior doors, so do it immediately.

When standing in the street, can you see your house numbers? If the numbers aren’t legible, police may drive right by. Thankfully, you can easily fix this problem very quickly and cheaply.

Home alarms are only valuable if they alert the police when a robbery is in progress. The only way to ensure this is to use a system that calls the police for you. It is not easy to rely on neighbors for your safety.

A dog is a great home security alarm. Dogs are quite protective of their masters and home, and they can display quite a bark if someone comes near the house. The dog doesn’t have to be huge or even vicious. Small dogs also have the ability to scare away burglars who definitely don’t want lots of ruckus when they appear.

Also, keep your second floor windows locked at all times. Burglars may not use the front entrance, so this is important for you to do. This could not be further from the truth. A burglar will attempt to get in any way they can.

You need to know your options with companies concerning either leasing or purchasing equipment. Purchasing your equipment may cost more in the beginning, but this is a one-time cost which does not recur. You’ll pay higher monthly fees if you lease the equipment, and that will add up over time. Evaluate both alternatives and choose the best option for yourself.

Deadbolt locks offer the best security, and those with captive keylocks are even better. They have a thumb latch ensuring that reaching through a window won’t unlock the door. After arriving home, you should put your key inside the lock and keep it there. That will allow you to get out quickly if there is a fire.

Avoid keeping your key somewhere expected. It is easy to spot a rock that is fake. Doormats are generally the first spot a person would look. It’s better to have a friend, neighbor or relative keep a spare set of keys for you. If you can’t, be creative where you put the key.

Though inside locks are great, they do little if they cannot also be locked externally. A deadbolt meets this requirement and is a good burglar deterrent as well.

Install a hard-wired system if you want to minimize maintenance costs. Although wireless security equipment is easy to install, it relies on battery power, necessitating constant battery swaps. If you neglect to change your batteries, the system can fail. It can also be pretty expensive to replace batteries.

Obviously, owning a big dog that has a frightening bark has its benefits. Burglars generally prefer to avoid confronting a dog. Therefore, consider owning a large dog so your home can be protected from burglaries. Just make sure this dog won’t attack your family!

Making your home safer through home security does not always have to cost a small fortune. You can find out some great alternatives that are much cheaper that help keep the criminals away. Keep these suggestions in mind in order to protect your home from any threat.

Buy a security system from a reliable company instead of a re-seller. Resellers just want to make money off your purchase, but they don’t give guarantees. Whenever you buy straight from the company, you are assured you are paying the right price and that the equipment will cater to your needs.