Home Security: Keep Your Home Safe

Home Security: Keep Your Home Safe

While we hear about the need to protect our homes from attack or intrusion, few people actually know what precautions are most effective. You have to know all you can to really be secure. Read on for some helpful tips that you can use to secure your home. Put your spare key on your dog. Of course, your dog has to be an outdoor dog (or you at least need to have a doggy door) for this to work. You can purchase a special collar that will hold your spare key, so when you forget your keys your dog can let you in. If you want to have a spare key hidden outside of your home, hide it carefully. Doormats and door frames are predictable places that burglars will always check. Try hiding the key in your outside dog's collar. Never allow any strangers into your home. Even if the person has a compelling story, needs help or has something to sell, they should not be given access. Some criminals will use any reason to gain access to look for security systems and easy entryways into your house. Don't let strangers into your home. Criminals can be endlessly inventive when it comes to generating a convincing story to force their way into your home. No matter how sympathetic the story, remember that it could all be a put-on. Enforce a rule within your house that no one opens the door to unexpected people. Do not open your door for people you do not know. Many people are devising many different schemes to get into homes and burglarize them. Create a rule where you only allow those you've invited to your home inside. Remember to have an annual inspection of your home security system. The security company should have a specialist come to look at it. There are many things that can be problematic with regards to home security systems, like wayward wild animals and the environment. You may not be able to tell there is an issue by yourself. Do not be reluctant to meet your neighbors. Engage your neighbors in conversation. Keep watch of their homes when they are away, and ask if they will return the favor. Do not ignore gossip either. You will learn a lot from your neighbors, including details about recent break ins in the area and the shady individuals they noticed. An extremely important tactic for keeping your home safe is changing out the locks. Anyone from an old roommate to a former tenant could have access to your home if you leave the old locks in place. It is not expensive and you can do it in less than a day. The first thing to do is get your locks changed out. As time passes, keys end up getting into the wrong hands. This doesn't usually cost much, and it can be accomplished in less than a day. When dealing with companies that install home security systems, it's important to trust your gut. If the installers give you the heebie-jeebies, it's not a good sign. Ask for someone else to come out or switch companies. You need to feel secure with the entire process. Never place a spare key in a plant box or under your welcome mat. Though you might think that you're giving yourself something you could use to get into your house when you've lost your keys, you're actually inviting intruders inside your house. Thieves are aware of these hiding spots. Rather, keep your spare keys with a neighbor you trust. When securing your home, don't forget about skylights. Skylights are excellent for beauty and light, but it's easy for burglars to gain access to your home through them. Be sure that the skylights for your home are durable and reliable. After bringing home a big-ticket item, such as an appliance or electronic device, avoid leaving the packages on the curb before trash day. Empty boxes for expensive new gear serve as advertisements to potentials thieves; don't make it easy for them to spot such tempting targets. Use your walls as hiding spaces. You do not have to damage your walls to keep your valuables safe. Most homes are pre-equipped with these handy spaces. What about un-wiring an electrical socket which isn't used to utilize as a cover to hide your jewelry? If the home you are moving into is not brand new, you should change the locks on all the doors. The previous owners or tenants might have made some copies of the key. You can do your own installation to make sure that no one else has a key. Don't put your spare keys under floor mats or plants. These are the first places criminals will look when they try to enter your home. Rest assured, thieves have a good idea about these hiding places. Give it to a neighbor you trust instead. Before allowing someone into your house, be sure to carefully check their references. A background check which includes any criminal history is warranted. Someone can seem nice and professional on the outside, but they may not be so nice on the inside. Equipping each room in your house with a reliable flashlight (charged with good batteries, of course!) is an excellent safety investment. Flashlights are essential since they let you move around in an emergency. Your kids should know how to work the flashlights so that everyone can help. When searching for methods of improving your home's security, a great, inexpensive method of doing this is purchasing exterior lights with installed motion detectors. During the night hours, these lights help light up the outside of your home, which makes them an excellent addition to your home security strategies. In addition, they are very affordable. If you position motion detectors properly, it is very hard for someone to sneak onto the property. 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. With that information, you can make your appointments with the top three companies you've chosen so that you can compare pricing and look at specific monitoring and plans. Before signing up for a particular home-security company, find out how long they've been around. Companies with a long history can give you the best service for many years. It will make you feel better knowing that the company you choose is not fly by night. The areas outside your home should be kept well lit. Burglars like committing crimes in the darkness. Put a light anywhere where an intruder can enter your home. This includes doorways and porches, the garage, and windows on ground floors which may invite intruders. Make sure a surveillance system is part of your home security system. Both hidden and visible video cameras can help keep your home safe. Intruders can be deterred to visible cameras, but hidden cameras are better if criminals damage the other cameras. Many surveillance systems may be easily accessed through a cell phone so that you can check on your house while you're away. Consider a surveillance system for your home and property. Video cameras are an excellent way to keep your home safe. Visible cameras scare intruders while a hidden camera could capture footage. There are surveillance systems that you can access and check by cell phone. Could burglars see inside your garage? Make sure that they can't! 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. Never leave the front door open for very long. A smart way to prevent burglars from entering the garage is to keep them from seeing what is inside. Frosted windows will keep a burglar from being able to see inside. The material needed to do this can be found at home improvement stores. Don't let your door hang open for lengthy periods of time. You don't have to have a giant key ring full of keys just because you want your home to be secure. You can have key-less locks which require a code. You can have your home security company install it for you, or you can do it yourself.

Birth Date

Inquire about various contract lengths which your security company might offer. There are sure to be both good points and bad points about each option. Long contracts are cheaper every month, but can outlast your stay in the home. There's more freedom with a contract that's shorter, but the monthly payments may be higher. If your door has a numeric keypad lock, never make its password your birth date. People can easily access your birth date in order to gain entry to your home. You should choose a number no one else will be able to guess and change it regularly. Don't get spring latch locks. Defeating a spring latch lock is a trivial endeavor; experienced burglars can get through one using nothing more than a credit card. Intruders can just wedge the credit card in between the latch and the door, causing it to open. If you have spring latches already installed, consider adding deadbolts too. Keep valuables that are irreplaceable secure. Items like passports, family photos, financial records, expensive jewelry and legal documents are best kept in a secure location. You can buy a cheap floor safe to put these items in. You may even choose to store them outside your home in safety deposit box. Always keep your shades, curtains and blinds closed when you are not at home. By failing to do so, you are granting a prime view of your house and your belongings. They may break in if they see things they like. Also lower them while you are sleeping. If your door is not solid wood or metal, replace it! This sort of door will deter intruders. A burglar trying to kick in such a door is going to be in for some pain. It shouldn't be too costly to replace your exterior doors, so go do it. See if your security company only sells equipment, or if they will lease it to you instead. Buying the equipment might cost more up front, but it means a one time cost that does not continue every month. The cost of leasing is lower at first but adds up over time. Check out both options to discover the best one for you. The option that's best for one person may not be best for another. Motion sensitive lighting can be provided by your security company. Some do, and installing these lights means your property will be illuminated if anyone walks nearby. This can offer you additional safety as you are entering your home, and it can also deter an intruder. If you use a door lock with a numeric keypad, do not use your birthday as the pass code. Your birthdate can be found on Facebook or pieces of mail and you have given entry into your home. Instead, make it a number which you can figure out through a math equation so you remember the equation instead of the number. People know that their home has to be safe. Many don't know how to go about protecting their homes. Hopefully, this article can be a great resource on how to secure your home 24 hours a day. Always keep your irreplaceable valuables secure. This may include things like pictures of your children, heirloom jewelry or birth certificates. A floor safe is a great place to keep these items within the home. For ultimate security, of course, such items can be kept in an off-site location like a bank's safe deposit boxes.