As summer approaches, families across the country will make travel plans. In addition to booking flights and finding deals on hotels, one thing can’t be overlooked – home security. One of the best ways to protect your home is installing and activating a home security system. Homes with monitored security systems are reportedly three times less likely to be burglarized.

Another great way to help keep your home safe is by hiring a house sitter. He or she can make sure things run smoothly while you’re gone – and most importantly – make you home look occupied. An occupied home is much less appealing to a burglar than one that looks empty. House sitters are also ideal for people with pets.

Here are a few tips to follow when you hire a house sitter:

Keep them informed. If you have dogs or cats that require medicine, a particular kind of food or something else, be sure to let your house sitter know ahead of time. And be sure to leave the house sitter with a list of emergency contact numbers in case anything goes wrong.

Give an overview of your home security system. The house sitter should know how to arm and disarm your ADT security system. Let them know how the system works and create a plan in case a break-in or other home emergency occurs.

Give clear instructions. Make sure everything that needs to be taken care of while you’re away gets clearly listed or communicated. This will make things easier and less stressful for all parties involved, and clear expectations are always great – even if someone is doing you a favor.

Don’t forget about the mail! If you are going out of town, make sure the house sitter brings in the mail and newspaper. When they start piling up, burglars will realize no one is home.

Home security systems have always been advised by law enforcement agencies and insurance companies.  In recent times, consumers are starting to heed this advisement in greater numbers.  With the rising number of home security systems being sold comes a greater network of protection.  Home security systems have never been more efficient, and the features offered by companies such as ADT help provide homeowners a level of security that is unparalleled. It has never been a better time to invest in an ADT security system.

For starters, ADT has five monitoring centers around the country that are linked to thousands of law enforcement and emergency services agencies.  Offering more than one monitoring center provides a much safer security system in the event of a large scale event or an outage of one of the centers.  This provides homeowners an unmatched reassurance that their ADT home security system can truly help protect them no matter what.

The ADT-monitored home security systems offered through All Home Security come standard with door and window protection as well as motion sensors.  Customers have the option of a touchpad that uses a code or the new SafePass, which relies on programmed tags that can be given to family members.  SafePass tags are waved in front of the touchpad to arm and disarm the system and can be programmed to only function during certain hours for parents who want to provide limited control of the system to children.  There is also a touchpad on your keychain for events such as coming home and suspecting that there is an intruder in the home.

In addition to state of the art home invasion protection, there are a number of other options offered by ADT Security to help protect your loved ones.  Carbon monoxide and smoke detectors are available, as well as water and freeze sensors to alert you to floods or potential pipe bursts.  All systems come with manual police and fire alarms in the event of an emergency that does not involve the door or window sensors.

There are even services available that offer monitoring of elderly or sick people within the home.  Available as waterproof pendants or wristbands, these devices work within a three hundred foot radius of the home and can alert emergency personnel to a fall or medical emergency.  This allows the elderly more freedom to stay at home when faced with medical issues that could require medical attention.

ADT truly goes above and beyond in order to remain the top name in home and personal security.  Whether you believe your home is at risk of intrusion or you would just like the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your family is protected in the event of any emergency, these systems are designed to meet and exceed your needs.