Stop Hiding a House Key. Here's Why.
Hello Friends!
Today I want to talk about hiding house keys.
I know I've written about this before in the newsletter, but it never gets stale. So many people hide a key and see it as innocuous, convenient, even. In fact, I am currently trying to talk my friend's son out of the practice. Hence this post.
Hiding a house key is an open invitation to a thug to walk into your home and take whatever he wants.
Here's the thing: a seasoned thug knows exactly where to look. Under the mat. Over the doorframe. Inside the fake rock that looks like every other fake rock sold at the hardware store. In the grill, behind the shutter, under the third flowerpot from the left. He also knows where you keep your valuables, and he knows how to be back out the door in under ten minutes.
The numbers
The FBI counted 405,776 residential burglaries in 2024. That figure has been dropping for years, which is genuinely good news - but it is no comfort whatsoever if you're one of the 405,776.
And here is the part that surprises people: more of those break-ins happened in daylight than after dark. 216,601 during the day versus 174,053 at night. The common window is late morning through mid-afternoon, when most people are at work or at school.
So if you work from home, or you're home with a baby, or you're home because you're unwell, the "nobody's there anyway" logic does not protect you. According to Bureau of Justice Statistics data, someone is home during roughly one in four residential burglaries. Don't be a statistic.
In other words: if you're leaving your wife and your newborn at home with a key "hidden" outside, you are putting them at risk. And if you're counting on your alarm system, understand that the police will arrive long after your thug has departed - locks are your actual first line of defense, not the siren.
The better solution
Put a digital lock on your high-traffic door and re-key the others.
Now you don't need to hide a key at all, and you know exactly who has access to your house - hopefully no one, because you won't need to hand out keys. Everyone who needs to get in gets their own code. Many digital locks also offer biometric options. Best of all, you can delete a code the moment someone no longer needs it, which is more than I can say for the key you gave the dog walker three years ago.
This is exactly the conversation we recommend having when you move into a new home. Rekeying and going digital at move-in means you start fresh - no mystery copies, no hidden spares, no key under the mat from the previous owner's cleaning lady. And if you're not sure whether your current locks are even worth rekeying, a quick look at what's already on your door is always the right starting point.
A standard key in the wrong hands creates other problems too. That's a post for next time. In the meantime, if you're ready to stop hiding keys altogether, our residential locksmith team can walk you through your digital lock options and get everything rekeyed in one visit.
If you're in the DMV area and thinking about upgrading your home or business security - cameras, locks, smart access, or all of the above - we're always happy to talk it through.
Mike's Locksmith proudly serves homeowners and small businesses across Maryland, Virginia, and DC.
Also published on The Locksmith's Wife - read it on Substack
