Your home is your castle, and these security tips from highly rated companies might be the next best thing to a moat:

• Watch out for overgrown bushes, tree limbs or landscaping that can provide cover for burglars. “All shrubs near windows should be at or below windowsills,” says Mark Smith, owner of highly rated Yard Right Landscaping LLC in Columbus, Ohio. “Anything higher will allow potential burglars to enter a house 
or business without being seen.”
• Look at your house as a burglar might see it. Ultimately, the best deterrent is a house that doesn’t seem like easy pickings. “Make sure you lock the house and close the garage door when you leave,” says Kevin Grubb, owner of A-rated Sure Lock & Key in St. Louis. “Most of the burglaries I see are not from forced entry. The door’s just left unlocked. You should also have 
deadbolts on your doors — and use them.”
• Consider your neighborhood, your house and your needs. 
“If you buy a house, have the locks rekeyed,” Grubb says. 
“You don’t know how many keys are out there or who has them. If you need to hide a key outside the home, get a lock that requires a combination to open it and get the spare key. Even 
if a potential burglar finds the lock, they can’t get to the key.”
• Don’t try to turn your home into Fort Knox overnight. “Start your home security system with sensors on the 
front and back doors and a motion sensor,” says Al 
Leong, owner of highly rated West Coast Security 
in San Francisco. “You don’t have to get everything 
all at once. You can start with the basics and add 
to your system over time.”