What are you willing to pay to keep your home and family safe? Do the large home security companies seem outside of your range price-wise? Are you looking for a cheaper alternative? Now you are going to see them right in front of you. This article contains some inexpensive home security tips.

Make your house look like it’s always occupied. Buy timers so that lights, radios, TVs and all other electronics turn on and off at various times. This will make your home appear as if someone is there. This is an excellent method for avoiding burglary and keeping your home secure.

Have your home always look occupied. Buy timers so that lights, radios, TVs and all other electronics turn on and off at various times. This will give your home the appearance of someone being there. This will help safeguard your house to the best of your ability.

Is your ceiling resistant to fire? What about your flooring or roofing? Your home will get added protection, especially if your environment is dry and has power lines. Fire is such a destructive force that it makes excellent sense to reduce fire hazards in your home whenever possible.

After getting a new home, make sure to change its locks. It’s important to know everyone who has a key to your home. Having a locksmith replace the locks will ensure that no strangers have a key. This is also a good idea in the event that you misplace your keys.

You need to be sure the attached garage of yours is secure. There is a way to stop thieves from entering your home from the garage. Using a C-clamp on the garage door will prevent it from opening by staying on the door’s track.

Be smart about where you decide to hide spare keys. Under the doormat or above the door frame are all too common spaces that will be checked first by potential intruders. Try hiding your key somewhere more unique, like your outside dog’s collar.

Have lights that are motion-sensor installed. These are lights that turn on whenever any living thing gets too close to your home. You will be alerted when there is activity outside, and any potential burglars will be deterred because they do not want to be seen. Remember to keep working bulbs in them at all times.

Never allow str4angers to enter your house. This includes a salesperson or people looking for help. Some criminals will come in, case your house and then come back when you are away.

Walls are excellent hiding spots. You can hide small valuables inside the walls. All you have to do is place them behind any unused phone jack, electrical outlet or switch plate. You can also just put in a false plate to cover a hiding place.

Walls are a great hiding spot for your valuables. If you have valuables that are small in size, you may want to hide them within your walls. Just use an unwired electric plug, light switch or phone box. If there are no unused plates, you can easily install fake ones.

When you pick an alarm system, it’s a good idea to get one that provides protection for both doors and windows. Burglars often enter through windows as well. Each point of entry for your home should be monitored by the system. You want the best security possible for your family.

You could hide some valuables within your walls. You needn’t tear down your walls to do this. There’s plenty of places in a house with pre-cut areas that can be used. How about unwiring your electric socket and using that as an area to stash your jewelry?

Don’t allow the wires of your home security system to be visible to others. Burglars can easily cut the wires if they are visible. Do not make things simple for a burglar, but rather bury all wires or hide them in the wall. That will make you safer.

Be certain the wires to your home security system are neither visible nor accessible. Easily-accessible security wiring is a definite weak point in your home’s protection; the best alarm system in the world is useless if it’s easily disabled. To provide maximum security, wiring should be laid underground or installed safely within the walls of your house. It will keep your family safer.

If you are throwing away the box an expensive item came in, wait until trash day to put the box out. Having these boxes around for a while will give people an idea of what is inside your house.

Are you aware of the value contained in your home’s wiring? Lots of people fail to appreciate this until they are hit by thieves. Copper is expensive and most wiring is composed of it, so stripping it is a great way for crooks to make a quick buck. Hide the wiring and make it harder to access to prevent this from happening.

Are you aware of the value of your home’s wires? Some intruders could strip your home of every bit of copper. Copper wiring can easily be removed. Hide your wiring to secure it.

Your flashlights should always be equipped with good, working batteries. Flashlights are very important, as they will give you the ability to move around in the event of an emergency. This can come in handy if someone has cut your power and is attempting to break in.

Replace rotten wood near door frames. Anybody wanting to break into your house can just pry off rotted wood and get inside. Replace rotting wood with fresh wood to improve your home’s security.

Before allowing any security company reps to come into your home, make sure they have on a uniform and they have valid ID. You would be surprised how many thieves will impersonate security representatives to get into your house. This can lead to harm befalling your family and possessions. Be very careful with who you let into your home.

If the home you are moving into is not brand new, you should change the locks on all the doors. Although the tenant before might have turned their key in, they might still have a duplicate key. If you own, you can have the locks replaced and only you will have had the key.

Keeping your home very bright during the night hours is an excellent way to prevent thieves. They do not want to be seen. Making your home’s exterior nice and bright will make it impossible for crooks to go undetected. Keep lights on during the night.

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. If positioned correctly on the exterior of your home, the motion detectors make it virtually impossible for an intruder to sneak onto your property.

You should find out how many years of experience your home security service has. Companies with a long history can give you the best service for many years. Knowing you are not dealing with a fly by night company gives you extra peace of mind when making this important decision.

Be sure to read all of the fine print to any contracts you plan on signing for a security company. Sometimes there are hidden costs involved if you decide to let your service go before the contract expires or add additional equipment at a later point. It’s best to know about these fees in advance so that you can avoid them when possible.

If you don’t own a paper shredder, get one. Your trash contains so much personal information a thief would love to have. Rip important documents in small pieces before throwing them away if you do not have a paper shredder.

Shred any documents and junk mail that contains identifying information. Thieves often dig through garbage to obtain personal data that will help them enter the house. Rip important documents in small pieces before throwing them away if you do not have a paper shredder.

If someone looks after your house when you’re gone, have them remove fliers from the door. Some intruders will place a flyer at your home to see if the flyer is removed immediately or not. Intruders can get a good idea of what your schedule is like or figure out that you are on vacation if the flyer stays on your door for a long time.

Your precious pooch is one of your best home security weapons. They are protective about their territory, plus they make noises that keep burglars at bay. There is no need for a mean, big dog either. A small or medium dog will bark to alert you if it is properly trained.

Home security comes down to what you can afford. If you can’t afford any of the expensive solutions, you can at least use some of the cheaper methods to keep you safe. The article you just read gave you some great ideas. These tips will prove to be invaluable.

Discuss various contracts offered by any home security provider you are exploring. There are benefits and drawbacks to each. Longer contracts can lower your monthly bill; however, you may have to continue paying the bill even if you move or discontinue with their services. If you want more freedom, it is best to purchase a more expensive but shorter contract.