Outsmart Intruders With These Clever Home-Security Tips.

While it may not be easy to protect your home from professional thieves, most home burglaries are done by amateurs. These thieves are more easily thwarted if you employ some of these clever home security tips:

• 1. If you have a security system, don’t put one of those “Protected by ADT” stickers on your door. Knowing which brand of security system can provide enough info on how to disable it. Get a generic sticker.
• 2. If there is decorative glass in your front entrance, install your security keypad in a spot that’s not visible from the doorstep. Then, burglars will not be able to peer in and observe if the alarm has been set.
• 3. If you have valuables, store them in your child’s sock drawer and not in your room. Burglars often tend to scour the master bedroom and leave the kids’ bedrooms relatively untouched.
• 4. Plant a thorny shrub beneath the ground floor windows. This will make it difficult for thieves to get in or out via your windows.
• 5. Try and avoid the conventional mail slots – they usually go against the grain of the door and make it easier to kick in. Instead opt for a mailbox or a slot that is closer to the bottom of the door.
• 6. If you go on vacation, ask your neighbor to check daily for flyers stuck in your front door. Crafty criminals have been known to leave pizza ads to see how long it takes the homeowner to remove them.
• 7. Another tip for a vacationer, don’t leave your front porch light on 24 hours a day or leave the trash out on Friday for pick up on Monday. These are all classic signs that will tell a would-be burglar you are not home.

Of course there are so many other things you can do to prevent your home from being the target. But most important, remember that most of the best home protection simply involves smart thinking and common sense!