You’re locking the door behind you, bags in hand, already thinking about your flight. Did you leave a key with the dog sitter? Is there one hidden outside for your cleaner? If your answer involves a flowerpot, a fake rock, or the top of your doorframe, it’s worth two minutes to fix that before you go.
Burglars don’t have to guess where homeowners hide spare keys. Local police departments across the country publish nearly identical short lists of spots to avoid, because people keep using the same handful of hiding places. Below is where those spots actually fail, where security experts recommend hiding a key instead, and something almost nobody mentions: what a hidden key can mean for your insurance claim if it’s ever used against you.
Don’t Hide a Key Here
Do This Instead
Under the doormat
Keypad lockbox mounted away from the door
Flowerpot or garden statue
Magnetic key holder on a hidden metal surface
Fake rock
Fake electrical outlet with a hidden compartment
Mailbox
Empty utility or junction box
Top of the doorframe
Under heavy, movable outdoor furniture
Taped under a windowsill
In or under a doghouse
In your wallet
With a trusted neighbor
Why the “Classic” Hiding Spots Don’t Work Anymore
Every one of these spots shows up in local police department safety guides, over and over. That’s the problem: burglars have read the same advice you have, just from the other side of it.
1
Under the doormat. The Albuquerque Police Department’s home burglary guide lists this as the very first place a burglar checks, before anything else on the property.
2
Inside a flowerpot or under a garden statue. Close to the door, easy to lift, and exactly where anyone casing a house expects to look first.
3
In a fake rock. These are sold at every hardware store, so the shape, weight, and texture are familiar to anyone looking. A rock that doesn’t quite match the ones around it gives itself away.
4
In the mailbox. Not private, not weatherproof, and reachable by anyone who walks up your driveway.
5
On top of the doorframe. Takes no real effort to check, especially on a single-story entry.
6
Taped under a windowsill or patio furniture. Tape fails in heat and rain, and the spot itself is too predictable to rely on.
7
In your wallet. If your wallet is ever lost or stolen, whoever finds it now has your key and your address in the same place.
The common thread is proximity to the door and predictability. King County’s Sheriff’s Office advises against hiding keys anywhere outside the home at all, since the handful of spots homeowners tend to choose are already well known.
Does a Hidden Key Affect Your Homeowners Insurance?
This is a detail most spare-key articles leave out entirely. If someone enters your home using a hidden key instead of forcing a door or window, it’s still legally a burglary, but the lack of visible forced entry can draw more scrutiny during a claims investigation. Most homeowners policies require
