Many people picture a tedious and annoying process when it comes to securing your home, especially when installation specialists come into your home. But, there is no need for this process to be an annoyance. Read the following article for some great tips on how to properly secure your home.
Make sure that you change the locks once you’ve taken possession of the house. The previous owners or tenants might have made several copies of the key. To make sure you’re the only person that can get into your home, contact a locksmith. Also, you can contact a locksmith if you ever misplace your keys.
You should always change the locks after purchasing a home. You simply do not know how many keys to the old locks are floating around. Have a locksmith install a brand new lock. Also, if you lose your keys, change the locks.
Provide the house key to your professional house cleaner, but only if you fully trust them. If they will be there over an hour and you are thinking of giving them your home key, be certain they are honest, reputable and hard-working. Make sure you check references. If the cleaner is from a firm, try calling the local BBB to find out about the firm’s reputation.
You should only provide a house cleaner your key if you completely trust them. If you do give out a key to such individuals, be certain you know their reputation for honesty. Go over their references and do some background research on the company they work for. If you’re hiring from a company, call the BBB for more information.
Don’t let everyone in your social network know that you are leaving the home unprotected for your vacation trip; especially the people who you aren’t familiar with. Potential intruders could get a good idea of when you will be gone by monitoring what you share on social networks.
Do not open your door for strangers. 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. Make sure everyone in your house knows not to open the door unless they know the person standing outside.
You should not let anyone inside your home. Even if someone has a good story, requires help or has a great product to sell, ignore them. Some will come to your door just to determine how secure it is, and they may return later if they think they can easily enter your home.
You should clean your yard of vegetation and dead wood. These can pose a fire hazard due to heat and storms with lightning. Clear your yard often if you want to prevent a fire from starting.
Be sure you have secured your attached garage. You can prevent this from happening easily. Place a C-Clamp on the door track near the roller. This will prevent the door from lifting.
You can hide things in your walls. Small valuables fit nicely inside 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.
During summer, remove your landscape’s dead vegetation and wood. This can be a fire hazard, especially if you live in an area with high heat. Therefore, you need to regularly clean your yard so that your home is protected.
Spare Keys
If you have a garage, increase your home security by using it to house your car, rather than just for storage. Keeping your car in your house will deter intruders from vandalizing or stealing it. Hiding the car from plain sight can keep possible intruders from figuring out when you’re home and also when you are not.
Avoid placing spare keys under door mats or in plant boxes. While it may seem like a convenient way to give you access to your home, intruders are aware of this practice. Potential burglars know the usual hiding places. Rather, keep your spare keys with a neighbor you trust.
Have lights that sense motion. When a person walks by your home too closely, these lights will go on. These lights will not only let you know when someone gets too close, they will also stop potential burglars from breaking in. After all, burglars don’t want anyone to know they are there. Test the bulbs frequently, though.
Don’t give outside people the ability to see into your home. Although large windows in your home can provide your home with a lot of light, they can also provide burglars with an excellent view of the inside of your home. If your windows are facing the street, make sure you cover them and protect your valuables.
It is not a good idea to hide a spare key on your property. Though you may think you are giving yourself a way into your home if you lose your key, you are actually inadvertently inviting intruders into your home. Thieves are aware of the best hiding spots. The wisest course of action is to leave a spare key with a trusted friend or a reliable neighbor.
If you have any boxes to discard from large, expensive items, wait until the evening before the trash is scheduled for collection. Having these boxes outside of your house will give robbers the temptation of robbing your house.
Always lock your home, regardless of how short your trip out is. Break-ins are often the result of unlocked windows and doors. It does not take long for thieves to steal your expensive stuff.
Rotten Wood
Be sure to replace all locks on a home you have bought. Even though the person who sold your home to you may seem honest, you simply can’t know for certain. Also, there have likely been other owners of the home, and you don’t know them either.
Be on the lookout for rotten wood anywhere near your doors or windows. Rotten wood can be removed in order to get inside your home. Replace rotting wood with new wood to stay safe.
Don’t let anyone in your house without knowing their work history and checking their references. You should do a background check as well to find out their criminal history. You can’t always be sure that maids, service workers or contractors are honest, and therefore giving out keys can be a big error.
As the company that is doing your home security how long they’ve been providing this service. A company that’s been around for a while has proven that their service is reliable. When you know that you’re dealing with a company of some repute, you can feel more at ease making that decision.
Before signing up for a particular home-security company, find out how long they’ve been around. It doesn’t take long for a quality company to prove itself in the security business, and you should look for a track record of satisfied customers and successful work. When you know that you’re dealing with a company of some repute, you can feel more at ease making that decision.
Make sure that whoever is getting your mail while you are on vacation also retrieves any fliers left on the door. Thieves sometimes place fliers on front doors and then wait to see if anyone removes them. 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.
Dogs are among the most effective home burglary systems. Dogs are quite protective of their masters and home, and they can display quite a bark if someone comes near the house. You will get good results even if you do not have a large or vicious dog. Even tiny dogs that make a ton of noise will deter a potential crime.
Anytime you make a new electronics purchase, keep the boxes off the curb until the very last minute. Burglars will notice these boxes and know what kind of valuables you have. Remember to cut up the boxes when they’re emptied.
Don’t utilize spring latch locks. These locks are easy to break into since they may be opened up with a credit card. Burglars just slip a card between the latch and the door, causing the lock mechanism to open. If your doors sport spring latch locks, add deadbolts to beef up security.
A dog is an excellent burglar alarm. Dogs protect your home by barking if something is wrong. You don’t have to have a huge, violent guard dog, though. Small dogs even scare off intruders as they don’t like anything to make noise when breaking into a home.
Never hide keys in obvious locations. A fake rock or flower pot are simply too easy to guess. The doormat is the first place someone will look. A better idea is to have a friend or neighbor keep your emergency key. If you must keep it elsewhere, be creative with your hiding spot.
Keeping people out of various areas of your home does not have to involve using multiple locks and keys. Instead, key-less key code locks can work just as well. Install them yourself or get a local home security company to do that.
Don’t use your birth date as the password for your security alarm. Anyone could get your date of birth from Facebook and could have access into your house. Try using a number that is the solution to a math problem. Then you can just remember the math problem to arrive at the solution.
Inquire whether a security company offers variable contract lengths. You will probably find there are many pros and cons associated with each different contract. A longer contract might give you a lower monthly bill, but you could be stuck with those monthly costs if you sell your home or decide to discontinue services. While a short contract provides you with extra freedom, it can cost you more for each month.
An automatic device can control your lights, turning them on and off at the time you set. This is quite convenient because you won’t need to turn the lights off and on, and you won’t need to worry if you go away for a spell.
There are a number of steps that can be taken for home security without installing a formal system. Installing a fence, or adding safety locks to your door, are among the many options available to you to consider. Keep these things in mind when thinking about home security.
Be sure to get deadbolt locks with captive key-locks. This makes it impossible to open the lock from the outside because of the thumb latch. Put the key into the lock when home so you can get away if there is a fire.
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