Home security: Don't hide your spare key where thieves can find it!!

I love news stories that are really infomercials to sell keyless door hardware ! perhaps they have found a way to be paid for the pitch.

common sense eludes far too many people ..... under door mat really ....... SMH
i was to hide a key it would not even be on the front porch area where anyone could watch you ... a safer bet would be in side yard not even close to door.
 
I have a lock Box safe attached to my wall.. I had it installed after the estranged o/h left in '21... and after I got the back and front door locks changed to prevent him returning or giving a key to someone else..

prior to that..I always hid a spare key wrapped in bubble wrap inside a tin box in my Garden under a rock... and there are many rocks..I have a mature garden with trees and shrubs galore, so a potential burglar would have a ha rd time finding it .. . However one time when I locked myself out I went to find the hidden key and thought I knew exactly where it was, and it wasn't there.. clearly it was hidden too well, and I couldn't find it..
 

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That’s the beauty of having a keypad entry. Actually have one on both doors, so there’s no fear of the batteries dying. There is an emergency key hidden - somewhere. About once a year, I ask my husband to remind me where it is. I should do that today.
 
I've lost small things inside my house like USB memory with special files on it after years have passed. If I lock myself out of my residence, I would need to employ a locksmith to open the door and then have new locks installed. Worse potentially than that cost, would be leaving a hidden key near the residence that some might find while I'm away for days. One needs to consider criminals with electronic metal detecting devices using such both outside and inside homes.

The SFBA urban zones have many adjacent public lands and parks with endless dense brush and forest locations to hide small things no one would ever get within a few feet of, much less find. I store multiple backup computer media in such places that insures thieves can't leave me file-less and even if my residence burned down or some legal entities tried to confiscate it, I would not lose those files. When doing so, I photograph the obscure locations to ensure I can find whatever even years later. Anyone just looking at those images would have no clue where they are because they do not show wider landscapes. Today, uploading such files to cloud services is another strategy.
 
The spare key dangles down inside the chain link post, round the back of the house. A crook would have to go over two fence-lines first to get there.

That key is more for me to use, if I ever pull another stupid stunt, like locking myself out of the house.

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The previous owner of this house had a combination lock box installed at the front door. It was for a visiting nurse who came to check on her since she was hard of hearing. I use that. At least once a year I open it just to be sure it works and I remember the combination. I keep my car keys on a separate fob so if I'm carjacked or loose them at least I'll have the house keys.
 
We need a code to get inside the house. No keys used at all. My son, a computer engineer, said never use your phone for locks on doors or windows as it is easy to hack into these.
 
Years ago, I accidentally locked myself out of the house one night when my husband was working late. It was hot, muggy, and buggy, and I was getting eaten alive. I had to wait, sweating in my car, for him to get home. There was no place else to go. The next day, he hid a key in case it should happen again. It was a very long time before I needed to use that key, but I did last winter when I walked out of the house without my house and car keys. 🥴
 
I've had a few instances of "locked out fun."

One I recall... well for some reason I had gone out to the patio in boxers and tee, barefoot. Shut the sliding door and the lock mechanism kicked in behind me. I turned to go back in and discovered my mistake.

Doors were locked, nobody else lives here, oh crap. Had to go across the street to the (newly moved in) neighbors' house, knocked and asked to borrow some tools. It took a flat and a Phillips screwdriver to get the sliding door opened, and the elderly Indian couple stood and watched me sweat the entire time, tittering away quietly.

When I leave the house I use a stout stick in the track now, notched so less likely to be dislodged easily.
 
Lock doors? Much easier if you don't...:)
I leave my doors unlocked.
When I leave, my phone knows I've left the house and sets the alarm. If it triggers, I get a call from the monitoring company in 1 minute. If I don't answer, they call the police. If I do answer, they tell me which sensor tripped and offers to call the police. Multiple cameras will send me a notification if there is movement both inside and outside the house.....Love technology!...plus I get discount on my homeowners insurance every year.
 
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