Are you thinking about installing an alarm system or otherwise securing your home? Here are some tips from Miami-Dade Consumer Services:

• Expect to pay $1 to $2 per square foot of your home for a complete alarm system and about $25 per month for monitoring.

• Quality alarm systems combine audible and silent alarms triggered by sensors placed throughout the home.

• Place a sturdy bar in the track of any sliding door in your home.

• Reinforce windows and glass doors with transparent window-security film, security glazing, or roll-down security panels, or install burglar-resistant glass.

• Make sure the door from your home to the garage is equipped with a good lock.

• Prune shrubs so they won't shield intruders from neighbors' view. Trim trees so they don't provide access to second-floor windows. And never leave a ladder outside.

• Install motion-detecting lights outdoors to ward off nighttime intruders.

• Put timers on lights and radios to give the impression that someone is home.

• If you are away for an extended period, have your lawn mowed and your mail picked up. Leave a car in the driveway.

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