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Home Security Tips Every Family Should Know

Regardless of whether you rent or own your home, you want to be safe where you live. You might not be exactly sure what you can do for better home security, so keep reading to learn more. Keep reading to find out what it takes to secure your home.

Always have the locks after moving into a new home.You don’t know how many keys have a key. Do the same thing if you happen to misplace your keys.

Change the locks after buying a new house. You cannot be sure of the number of key copies that the former owner gave out. To make sure you have the only access to the home, hire a locksmith. If you lose keys, make sure to do this, too.

TIP! It is a good idea to replace all the locks on the new home you buy. You don’t know how many keys have been handed out previously.

Check out their references fully.If the cleaner is from a firm, it’s best to check with the Better Business Bureau to see what kind of reputation they have.

Don’t allow anyone you don’t completely know into your house. Even if their story is compelling, do not let them in. This is the first rule of keeping your home security equipment.

Only provide your house cleaner with a key if you trust him or her implicitly. If you plan to give them a key so they can clean in your home while you are away, ensure they are reputable and honest. Carefully check their references. Call the Better Business Bureau to see if their firm is well-reviewed.

TIP! Only allow maids and cleaning services to have a key to the house if they are known to be trustworthy. If you plan on giving them the key so that they can work in your home for over an hour, make sure that they’re reputable, hardworking, and honest.

Keeping your car inside is a good way to keep criminals from vandalizing it. This will also keep people from knowing your schedule.

It is important that you check your home security system periodically, you should have an annual test. Ask a qualified worker who specializes in security employee to give it a look. You may not be able to tell there is an issue if you can’t see it.

Do you have an outdoor dog? If so, you can use your dog to hide your spare key. Put it on your dog’s collar, making sure it is hidden. If you have a pet that does not trust strangers, this can help you get into your house if needed.

TIP! Do you let your dog outside when you leave the house? Using Fido to hide your spare key can be a clever trick. Stash the key on the pup’s collar to keep it out of sight.

Walls can be a great hiding place. You should think about hiding certain small valuables in your walls. You can use the opening provided by an electrical switch plate or electric outlets as hiding spots. You can also install a fake unused plates.

Entry Points

If you keep a spare key outside to prevent yourself from being locked-out, think carefully about where you hide it. Hiding it beneath the doormat is very common and most intruders will look there. A possible solution is to attach a key to your outdoor dog’s collar.

TIP! When placing your spare key outside for emergencies, give careful consideration to where you put it. Placing a key above a door or under a doormat is quite obvious! An example would be to attach a key to your dog’s collar, if he stays outdoors.

When selecting an alarm set-up, be sure and get one that protects more than your doors. All windows are possible entry points for a thief too. You want a security system that the alarm is connected to all windows and entry points. This is vital to keeping the family secure.

Having these boxes around for a while will let thieves know the type of items that are inside your home.

Don’t open your door for strangers. Many people are devising many different schemes to get into homes and burglarize them. Therefore, only allow people you know and are expecting to enter your home.

TIP! Don’t let strangers into your home. Folks are always thinking up new schemes to get people to open the door so that they can commit their crimes.

Rotten Wood

Replace rotten wood surrounding your door frames. An intruder can simply pry the rotten wood and enter your home. Replace rotted wood that has begun to rot with new wood to make your house stays safe.

It doesn’t matter how much money you spent, you should have an annual test. Get someone from the security firm to inspect it. Many things can impact the performance of a security system, such as animals and weather. If it’s not visible, you might not even know there’s a problem.

TIP! Make sure to have your home inspection system maintained on at least an annual basis. Get a professional in to check it out.

If you are entering a house that has already been occupied, you should change the locks on all the doors. The person who used to live there may still have made some copies of the key. You can also put the locks yourself so you know that you are the only one with a key.

Having light on in your home at night is a great deterrent to crooks. They prefer not want to be seen.Keep your lights on during the evening for a safer home.

Be more proactive when you are determining the safety of your neighborhood. Engage your neighbors in conversation. Keep an eye on their houses and yards and request that they return the favor. You shouldn’t neglect gossip. You will learn a lot from your neighbors, including details about recent break ins in the area and the shady individuals they noticed.

TIP! Avoid coming across as overly shy. Talk to your neighbors and those on your block.

Get your needs by having the security system custom built for your home.

Never enter your house if you arrive and find the door is open or something doesn’t feel right. This can be very dangerous because the thief may still be inside. Call the cops and let them do the situation.

Motion-sensor lights can alert you of a robbery before it even happens. When a person approaches your home, the lights will blaze. You will be alerted when there is activity outside, and any potential burglars will be deterred because they do not want to be seen. Just do not forget to replace the bulbs periodically to keep them functioning at all times.

TIP! Try installing motion-sensor lights. If someone enters their proximity, they will light automatically.

Consider a wireless home security system for your home. While wired systems may seem cheaper, the cost of installation can be sky high.

Personal Information

Skylights need to be secure, too. Though skylights bring light into your home and look nice, it is also a very common way for burglars to get into your home. Keep them secure with heavy duty hardware that closes them off to potential thieves.

TIP! If you have skylights, do not neglect them when making sure your home is secure. Although skylights provide your home with a lot of light, it is also very helpful for burglars to break in.

Thieves can often be found looking through garbage cans in search of personal information found on bills and determine the best time to break in. You can also simply take care to tear papers with personal information into small bits before you discard them.

You may have locks that work using a code. You can even install them yourself or you can hire a home security firm.

You could hide some valuables within your walls. No need to damage your walls. There’s plenty of places in a house with pre-cut areas that can be used. For example, you could take the wiring out of an electric socket that is not in use and put your valuable jewelry in there.

TIP! Place your valuables in cut-outs in your walls. No need to damage your walls.

Ask about the various contract durations that a home security company. Each probably has its advantages and drawbacks. You may pay less if you sign up for longer, but it has its deterrents as well. Shorter contracts may offer greater freedom along with higher cost.

Spring Latch

When allowing a representative from any security company to enter your home, look for someone in uniform and ask to see an identification. Many thieves use this tactic to enter a house. This can put your family and possessions in danger. Be very careful with who you let into your home.

TIP! If you allow a security company to come to your house, make sure they appear professional and can present identification. Thieves often pose as security company representatives in order to enter homes and look for valuables.

Don’t utilize spring latch locks installed. These locks can easily with a credit card. Intruders can pick these locks by wedging a card in between the latch and door for the lock to pop open. Add a deadbolt to existing spring latch locks.

Anyone could get your birthday from Facebook and could have access into your house.

Perform landscaping for your home which enhances your home’s safety. Keep your doors and windows clear of any shrubbery. If they can be seen, there will be no place to hide. If you want to have a garden around your home, keep trees and shrubs away from your house.

TIP! Whenever you are landscaping your home, you should consider safety. Your doors and windows should not be obstructed by shrubs or fences.

Ask the security company whether they have lights with motion sensors. This further protects you enter your home.

Although locks sealed inside are okay, their usefulness is limited whenever it is not possible to lock it outside. A deadbolt with keys for both the inside and outside is one of your best choices.

If you plan to go away and have asked someone to get the mail, see if they will also remove fliers that may have been left at the door. Sometimes burglars leave fliers in an attempt to see if anyone is home to remove them. If the flier stays in place, the burglar knows that the homeowner is out on vacation.

TIP! If you are going on a vacation, ask a neighbor to pick up your mail and check your home for flyers. It isn’t uncommon for burglars to put up fliers to see whether or not they’re removed.

Clean your home’s carbonic monoxide and smoke detectors regularly. Lint and dust could build up in these and mess with the sensors if they aren’t cleaned regularly. Your detectors can’t do as good a job protecting the home from carbon monoxide and smoke.

You should install some outdoor lighting that includes infrared detection. These lights will turn on when someone approaches your home. This will freak out a burglar run for it. They have been seen and they will run.

The best method of preventing a burglar from breaking into your garage is preventing people from seeing inside. If your garage door has windows, make sure they have a frosted coating. This is easy to find at any major hardware store, and installation is a breeze. It’s also a good idea to avoid leaving your garage door open for any longer than absolutely necessary, even if you’re at home.

TIP! Make sure that your garage is not visible from the outside in. Use a frosted film to cover the windows.

Now that you know more about home security, get the process moving! Don’t waste time and let these ideas go to waste. Use this article as a starting point to begin securing your own home. When your home is safe, you’ll have peace of mind.

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