Every homeowner needs to keep their family and home safe. Burglaries, fires and natural disasters can all damage or destroy your home. This article will show you a few ways to keep yourself safe.

Consider using your dog as a place to store your spare key. This is only true if yours in an outdoor dog, or your house is equipped with a doggie door. Place a spare key on the collar, and when you really need a spare, you know where to go!

You should invest in fire-resistant roofing, flooring and ceiling. This will add an extra protection layer for your house, particularly if you live near power lines or in a dry location. You can enhance home safety with excellent fire precautions.

Do you have an outside dog? Your furry friend is also a great storage place for your extra key. The key can be attached to the collar of your dog. This will ensure that burglars cannot see it. This works very well if you have a pet that is not very fond of strangers. You will get the access you need without having to worry about your safety.

You should not let anyone inside your home. Remember that intruders have a lot of experience with tricking people. It’s quite possible that your charming guest is only interested in evaluating the security of your home; if they find it lacking, they may be back later to relieve you of some of your possessions.

Remove old plants and debris from your yard. These can pose a fire hazard due to heat and storms with lightning. Therefore, you need to regularly clean your yard so that your home is protected.

Police Department

Compared to city dwellers, you might feel more safe in your rural home. There are some who believe country folk are more at risk because neighbors are not nearby. You need to do some research on the areas where you live to get an idea of how frequent break ins are.

Contact the local police department to find out more about the protection programs they offer. There are many that offer programs that include items, such as home inspection, how to use engraving tools to mark code numbers to identify valuables if yours are stolen, and protective measures advice. Your police department will be able to help you find out what is available in your town.

A skylight is another area that needs to be protected for home security. As nice as they look, they’re a prime target for thieves. Be certain to have skylights that incorporate strong, durable hardware.

When it comes to securing your home, start by changing your locks. Maybe you’ve had a roommate leave or a bitter ex-lover, so changing the locks can keep you safer. It’s generally cheap can can take less than a day to do.

Don’t put spare keys inside plant boxes or beneath the welcome mat. Though you may think you are giving yourself a way into your home if you lose your key, you are actually inadvertently inviting intruders into your home. Thieves are aware of the best hiding spots. Rather, keep your spare keys with a neighbor you trust.

Skylights should be secure. Though skylights bring light into your home and look nice, it is also a very common way for burglars to get into your home. Check that skylights have heavy duty hardware that can stand up under unwanted tampering.

If you are new into a house, replace all the locks. While the person you bought the home from may seem on the up and up, you have no idea who they really are. 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 you purchase big-ticket items, don’t throw their boxes in the trash before trash day. Having these boxes around for a while will give people an idea of what is inside your house.

Did you know that the wires on your home are valuable? Lots of people don’t know this until their wires are stolen. Experienced criminals can make a decent amount of money quickly by stripping copper wiring off of houses in order to sell it at a scrapyard. Keep your wiring hidden or inaccessible to potential burglars.

Change the locks on any new place you move into. While you may trust those who lived there before you, you have no idea who lived there before them. It’s easy to install locks, so you can just purchase them at the home improvement store and swap them out to be sure you have the only keys.

Before letting a home security representative inside, ask for identification. Intruders could disguise themselves to inspect your home. This is a danger to your belongings and your family. Be careful if you want to avoid danger.

Before letting someone from a security company into a house, get some sort of official identification. Burglars are creative, and they often pose as a member of the security team to get inside. This could be quite dangerous. Be careful to avoid any potential dangers.

Having a bright and lit-up home at night deters crooks. That’s because they want to remain hidden. When you have a well-lit home, crooks won’t be able to hide and it will be hard for them to break in undetected. Have lights that come on when they detect movement for best results.

If you hire a security company, read any fine print. There might be hidden costs or other things you should know about. Avoid nasty charges or fees regarding early termination, contract expiration and additional features or equipment.

Ask about the history of any home security company you are considering. Companies in business for many years engender great confidence and trust. You’ll find it a lot easier to put your faith in the professionals if you take the time to verify their trustworthiness.

Keeping the home illuminated during evening hours helps keep criminals away. Most intruders avoid anything that could reveal their identity. A well-lit home will make it hard for intruders to hide and take your valuables without being detected. Keep your lights turned on during the night.

Your home’s exterior needs to be well lit. Burglars seek darkness so that they can stay hidden. Install lights in areas that possible criminals can use to enter your home. This will include doorways, porches, your garage, and ground floor windows that criminals can use.

Request that prospective security firms design a system specifically for your home. You need some features which other families may wish to do without. The right company will make you feel more safe and secure in your home.

Arrange for someone to pick up your mail and remove any fliers from your door if you are out of town. It isn’t uncommon for burglars to put up fliers to see whether or not they’re removed. If the flier isn’t removed, the burglar knows the homeowner isn’t there.

Purchase a paper shredder to prevent your discarded papers from providing burglars with valuable information. Thieves can often be found looking through garbage cans in search of personal information found on bills and credit card slips. If paper shredders don’t fit into your budget, you can manually rip up important documents yourself.

Don’t leave the boxes of any high priced electronics on the curb of your house. Burglars will instantly take notices of these boxes and what used to be in them, making you an easy burglary target. Break the boxes down, or take a scissors to them to help them fit in your trash can.

Many things can be threats to your home, which is why you need a good security system. The ideas in this article will keep your residence protected. Use the ideas you’ve read to help you make your home much safer.

Make sure that your house number are visible from the street. If there’s an emergency, it will take longer for the police to locate your home if the numbers are concealed in any way or too small. Fortunately, it doesn’t require much to fix this problem.