Home security systems are great, with their state-of-the-art equipment and 24-hour monitoring, but a system alone won’t keep your home secure. You’ll need to practice good security habits and avoid common home security mistakes if you want to protect your home and family in the best way possible.
Lock Your Doors
It sounds simple, but an alarming number of burglaries happen because of unlocked doors. Also, if your door is unlocked, you might have a harder time with the insurance claim (oh, that’s a good one too–make sure your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance is up to date!). Lock your door behind you whenever you enter and exit the house. If everyone is inside, and you have no plans of going out (as in you’re not going back forth getting groceries from the car), then lock the door when you’re home too—it’s a good habit to have.
Hide Your Key
You’ve got a spare key in case you get locked out of the house and you need to hide it. Where do you put it? Under the doormat? In the bottom of a flowerpot? In one of those cheesy fake rocks? The answer is none of the above. Those are some of the most common spots for spare keys, and the first spot an intruder would check. If you can, give the key to a neighbor you trust. If that’s not an option, get creative with the hiding spot. Put it somewhere no one will look, like taped under the weed eater in the shed.
Test Your Alarm
Another simple no brainer; your home security system won’t do any good if it isn’t activated or working properly. It’s a good idea to make sure your home security equipment is working properly every few months. Let your home security company monitoring home know that you’re testing your system before you start triggering alarms though.
Lock the Garage
If you’re a homeowner and you have a garage or shed, you should keep them locked at all times, especially if they are connected to your house. If a burglar tries to infiltrate your home and is stopped by locked doors and windows, it’s possible they could find the necessary tools to get the job done in your shed or garage.
Get to Know the Neighbors
Back in the day, getting to know the neighbors was step number one when moving into a new home. People seem to be a bit more insular now, but that shouldn’t stop you from knowing the people near you. At least find out your neighbor’s names, what they do for a living, and how long they’ve lived in the neighborhood. Friendliness spreads, so take the step to make your community a friendly one that watches out for each other.
