Do you want to protect your family and your home? If so, you have made a good choice, as you never know what could happen to your house. Use every option at your disposal to ensure the safety of your home. Look at this article to become more knowledgeable about home security.

If you have an extensive online presence that includes a lot of people you don’t know too well, avoid announcing upcoming vacations. You may be very excited about your impending vacation, but there is no need to let potential burglars know when you will be gone.

Always make your house appear to be occupied. You can buy timers to have radios, TVs, lights and other electronics go off and on at different times. This will make it look like someone is home. This is a simple way to give people up to no good think that you are home.

Shut off phone ringers inside the home if you’re going to be gone for quite a while. 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.

Place the spare key that you make on your dog. This will come in handy if your dog is outdoors most of the time or if it can go outside through a pet door. Just hide a spare house key on the inside of your dog’s collar. Then when you need an extra key, you will be able to access this one.

Don’t open your door if a stranger is on the other side. Burglars have many clever ways to convince householders to open the door. Make a house rule forbidding anyone to open the door for an unexpected visitor.

Get rid of all of the dead wood and vegetation in your yard during the summer months. This can be a fire hazard, especially if you live in an area with high heat. Always clear the yard to ensure safety.

Don’t forget about the skylights when securing your home. Skylights are commonly used by thieves to enter a home. Skylights need to be installed correctly and safely, with hardware that will keep intruders out.

Make your home safer by storing your car inside the garage. If your car is locked up inside, it cannot be stolen or vandalized. Keeping your car out of sight is also good for thwarting burglars’ attempts to determine when you are likely to be away from home.

Walls can be a great hiding spot. Small valuables fit nicely inside walls. Just use an unwired electric plug, light switch or phone box. Anything not used currently makes a good spot for hiding.

Get to know your neighbors. Talk to the people who live in your neighborhood. Look out for their property, and see if they will look out for yours. Also consider listening in on some of the neighborhood gossip. You may learn some great information about security, such as if any strangers have been hanging around.

Believe it or not, the wires on your house are worth stealing. This is something few homeowners realize until they become victims of wiring theft. Copper wiring is very valuable and susceptible to being stripped from the outside of your home. Make sure the wiring is concealed or difficult to access in order to keep this valuable item safe.

Before doing anything else, install new locks in your home. Changing the locks will ensure that you are the only one who knows the combination. It is usually inexpensive and can be done in less than 24 hours.

Replace rotten wood near door frames. Rotten wood is easily removed and can give an intruder a way into your home. Replace wood that is starting to rot with fresh new wood to keep your home as safe as possible.

Find a home security company you can trust. This is definitely the case if you’re not quite sure about the actual installation people. Don’t hesitate asking for another technician or get another company. The point of having a security system is to make yourself feel at ease.

When allowing a representative from any security company to enter your home, look for someone in uniform and ask to see an identification. Intruders can easy pass themselves off as an employee of a security company just to get inside your house. This situation presents danger to your home, family and belongings. You want to use caution to prevent danger.

No home is immune from threats. Nonetheless, there are steps you can take to increase your home security. The above article has provided great suggestions on home security. Make good use of them in order to make certain your home is protected.

Before you let anyone into your house, thoroughly check their references. Perform a background check to learn about their criminal history, too. You don’t know whether the contractor, maid, or repairman that you’ve hired is trustworthy and handing them your keys could be a costly mistake.