For the sake of your family, your home should be as safe as you can possibly make it. Whenever the family is away from home, it is important that they home be safe upon their return. The best place to start in creating a plan to protect your home and family is to read this article for some great information.

Be sure your home appears to always 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 will help to deter burglars.

Does your dog like to play in your yard? Using Fido to hide your spare key can be a clever trick. You can attach your key to your dog’s collar in order to keep the key hidden. This works especially well as storage if your pet isn’t too fond of strangers.

Your dog can keep your spare house key for you. This is only true if yours in an outdoor dog, or your house is equipped with a doggie door. Put a key on the dog’s collar so you have access to it when necessary!

Is your ceiling resistant to fire? What about your flooring or roofing? This adds more protection to a house, especially if you’re in a dry area with some power lines. Stopping fire hazards is a key precaution to take since the damage it causes can be considerable.

Home security systems have different kinds of features that can sound an alarm when someone breaks into your house. Most of them can be programmed to alert you to anyone entering your home. This isn’t just for burglars; parents with young children can also use it as a valuable tool to know when their child has come inside.

When you’re going away, turn off your phone ringers. 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.

Buy a safe to keep all of your valuables in one place at home. This is very important, as you do not want your gold, diamonds and personal items exposed if someone were to break into your house. Keep it hidden in a hard to find location.

During the summer, remove all vegetation and dead wood from your yard. These can pose a fire hazard due to heat and storms with lightning. Clearing your yard keeps your home, belongings and family much safer.

Talk to people you know for referrals when choosing home security systems. They have likely had interactions with home security providers that they can tell you about, saving you time and stress. Ask a few different people to help you make the best choice.

Get to know your neighbors. Speak with your neighbors. Keep on eye on their home and ask neighbors to return the favor. It’s best to be in on any rumors in the area. You might find out valuable information related to security, like if there have been any strangers hanging around.

You need to secure your garage if it is attached to your home. Often people are concerned that burglars can enter the home via the attached garage . Happily, there is a solution to this problem. Simply attach a C-clamp near the roller on the door track.

Any program to improve the security of your home should begin with complete replacement of your door locks. This could be an ex-spouse or roommate you got into a fight with. Changing locks is not very expensive and should be done within a few hours.

The police department in your area may offer a home protection program. 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. Ask your police department to see if these types of programs are available.

If you’ve got skylights, don’t forget about it when it comes to home security. While they are there to let light in, if you do not care for it properly it could also let in a thief. Your skylights need durable and reliable hardware for true protection.

Install lights that use a motion-sensor. The motion sensors turn on the lights whenever anyone approaches your home. You will be alerted to movement, but most importantly, it will deter burglars or at least make you aware of their presence. Get in the habit of checking and replacing the bulbs as necessary to ensure the lights remain effective.

A secure hiding place can be created in a wall. If you have small valuables you want to protect, consider hiding them inside your walls. Simply take advantage of an unused switch plate, electrical outlet, or phone jack. If you have no unused plates, you can put in a fake one.

If you live in a rural area, you may not be as concerned about home break-ins as people who live in the city. Some think residents of the country are even more vulnerable because there are no close neighbors. Others feel rural residents have a lower risk of being burglarized.

Never place a spare key in a plant box or under your welcome mat. You might think that you are providing yourself a safe way into the house if you misplace your keys, but you are really inviting attackers inside. Burglars are well aware of these hiding places. Instead, trust a neighbor to hold your spare key.

Always ask for references before letting a contractor or a maid in your home. You need to do background checks in order to find out about their criminal history. It is not a good idea to give anyone a key to your home, even contractors or repairmen.

Do not let people on the street see valuable items in your home. It is wise to invest in coverings for large windows that can give criminals a large view of your home. Windows facing the street need to be covered to keep inside possessions safe.

It’s smart to use the Internet when you are looking for a good security company for your home. Look at many websites and read customer reviews about the various services. After reading about these services, you can narrow down the results and use appointments for price comparisons.

Always lock your home, even if you plan on coming back within a few minutes. This is often a surprise, but the majority of burglaries are due to someone just waltzing right into an unlocked home. A thief can take plenty of valuables in minutes.

Your home’s exterior needs to be well lit. Nothing is as attractive to a burglar as a dark, deeply-shadowed house. Light up the dark spots around your home. All doors, porches, garages and windows should be well lit.

Rotted Wood

A wireless security system for your home is a great option. Wired systems might be a bit less expensive, but they often involve intrusive rewiring of your home, and can become faulty during a power outage. Wireless systems don’t need your home’s power in order to properly work. In addition, they can be usually be installed and maintained easier.

Replace any wood surrounding your door frame that is rotting. Rotted wood can be easily removed by thieves. Keep your home secure by replacing rotted wood with fresh timber.

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. Burglars sometimes tack these up and watch to see whether or not they are removed. By your neighbor taking the flyer, it appears as if you got it yourself.

Make sure you have several flashlights that are charged and ready to go in the event of a power outage. If the lights go out, they will ensure everyone stays safe. Make sure everyone in your family knows where the flashlights are.

Keeping people out of various areas of your home does not have to involve using multiple locks and keys. You can instead get key-less locks that work using a code. Many home security companies will install these, and there are also do it yourself kits available.

If the home you are moving into is not brand new, you should change the locks on all the doors. While you may trust those who lived there before you, you have no idea who lived there before them. You can purchase and install locks yourself to make sure only you have the key.

Don’t keep your car registration inside the glove compartment. This isn’t smart since anybody who gets them is going to know your address. Instead, keep the registration in your wallet or a lock box in the trunk. They’ll always need to be close by in the event you get pulled over.

Always ask for references before letting a contractor or a maid in your home. A background check which includes any criminal history is warranted. Avoid giving keys out to contractors, maids and repairmen.

If you are concerned about the cost of maintaining your security system, then you may find that a hard-wired solution is a good option. Wireless systems are convenient, but they require multiple sets of batteries that have to be changed out on a regular basis. The system will cease to work properly if the batteries are not fresh. Replacing all of those batteries will cost a lot, too.

Consider installing a surveillance system. You can have great home security with both hidden and visible video cameras. Intruders will stay away from your home if they notice cameras and hidden cameras can help identify intruders if they disable the most visible cameras. As an added security bonus, most modern systems will allow you to monitor your cameras remotely (via cell phone) for round-the-clock protection.

If your door isn’t either metal or solid wood, replace it with one that is. These doors are strong. It would be very hard for a burglar to kick it and go inside. Make sure to replace exterior doors for the cheapest amount possible.

You should not keep your auto registration papers in the glove compartment. Anyone having access to this information can see where you live. Instead, keep the registration in your wallet or a lock box in the trunk. If a cop pulls you over, you will need them anyway.

Always lock the windows in your home, no matter what floor they are on. A lot of people forget to lock the windows on the second floor, but intruders will use these windows. This isn’t so. Criminals know very well that people think this way, and they will take advantage of that.

Put in a door that is solid wood or metal. Doors such as these stand their ground. If a thief tried to kick the door, he would not be successful in doing so. You ought to be able to get new exterior doors fairly cheaply, so make this a priority.

A dog trained to bark will keep you safe. Burglars don’t want to worry about getting attacked. A good big dog will protect your home and provide companionship for your family.

Now after reading the above article, you have a myriad of good quality ideas to help you secure your home. How are you going to use it for your home? Continue investigating the many options open to you until you find the right system for your needs.

Get security systems directly through the company. Middlemen tack on extra charges and offer very little in the way of guarantees. Dealing with the company directly can help ensure that your system will be installed and serviced correctly.