The best places to hide your spare key
Homes around the country are burgled due to the fact that homeowners hide their spare key in an obvious place outside their house. The two most popular choices are under a doormat or plant pot, or inside a fake rock in the garden, but these will be checked first!
Unfortunately thieves know this and these are the first places they will look if they target your home, meaning you are likely to fall victim to theft if you don’t hide your key in a more secure place.
If you’re trying to think of a better place to hide your spare key, then check out these top ideas:
Wind Chime
The one thing that scares away burglars is noise. If something in your home or garden is attracting attention due to the noise it makes, then burglars are likely to stay clear of it.
Some wind chimes have hollow part or holes inside, where a spare key can easily be placed. You can always put more than one key in the space, as a burglar will really struggle if they have more than one key to try, as this will make a whole lot more noise in itself.
Trees
The trees in your garden are the perfect hiding place to put your spare key. Some trees already have holes and bits of bark missing where you can store your key, but if not it’s quite simple to create your own.
Cut out a chunk of bark that’s bigger than your key and dig out a hole on the inside of the bark that your key will fit inside. Replace the chunk of bark and enjoy your newly camouflaged hiding place. If you have lots of trees it might be worth putting a small nail just above the hollow chunk of bark so you don’t end up losing the place altogether.
Neighbour
If you know your neighbours well, then the safest place you can hide your spare key is in their house! This may seem obvious but you would be surprised how many people would rather not bother their neighbours and risk their home security instead.
Once you know your spare key is only a call or knock away, you never have to worry about being away and leaving your key at risk of being found. The only problem can come if you need to get into your house and your neighbour is out, but it’s still worth considering.
Between Bricks
It can be frustrating when the mortar in your brickwork chips away and you are left with holes between bricks, but in terms of providing a good hiding place for your spare key, it can actually end up being quite handy.
If the hole in your bricks is big enough for a door key, then it could be a very conspicuous hiding place – just make sure that once the key is in the gap that it is easy enough to get out again, as you don’t want to spend hours trying to fish out the key with a twig.
Car Lock Box
The majority of burglaries take place between 10am and 3pm when you’re at work. This tends to be a period of time when neither you (or your car) are at home, thus making your car a great hiding place for your spare key.
You can get magnetised lock boxes, which allow you to hide your spare car keys in, but there is no reason you can’t put your house keys in them too. The box sticks to the bottom of your car and can only be opened using a code or a key, making it a very secure place away from burglars.