Where to Hide a Spare Car Key: Forget the Obvious


Garden Key Hider Ladybug Outdoor Lawn Yard Cast Iron

You don’t want to get locked out of your car, and in an emergency or survival situation, you can’t afford it. The answer seems so obvious; hide a key, but where? You can’t just have a neighbor or family member hold it as they did in older generations. Unfortunately, if they aren’t home or not available, then you could end up with no bug-out vehicle when things go wrong. Evacuations, storms, and simple runs to the grocery store can cause a severe problem. Thus, you should not risk your life or those of the people you love on a maybe. I’ll help you skip right past the flawed and too-obvious solutions so you can have a key when you need it without handing it to home invaders.

Where to hide a spare car key? Hide your spare car key likes housekey, inside a clever container somewhere out of the way. Sadly, the first places thieves look are under your doormat, and around the frame. Instead, choose a location that is more out of the way, and a container blends into your yard, making it harder to find. 

Problems With Hidden Keys

Everyone knows a relative, friend, or coworker who hides their keys right where you’d expect. Maybe you do it too, but I hope not. Your grandparents may have stashed a car key beneath their bumper, but that’s the last millenniums’ solution. Hence, it won’t work in the digital era, let alone an SHTF scenario where ordinary people might be the ones looking.

The first problem with TEOTWAWKI key hiding is that the ‘enemy’ who wants your key could be anyone. From a former friend to another emergency prepper or even that sweet older lady next-door, not all desperate people are professional thieves. Hence, some of them will think just like you.

Secondly, it simply doesn’t occur to most people is that keys are far from perfect. They’re made of metal, and that is susceptible to rust. Hence, picking a random rock in your yard, or tossing it in the birdbath is a lousy plan.

Finally, people frequently forget how vital it is to be unseen. Naturally, I mean you, not just the key. A rock in a bed of stones by your front porch could seem stealthy. Regrettably, when you grab it, that is undoubtedly not inconspicuous. Stick your rock under a tree, or by a shed out back instead. Better yet, don’t use a fake rock.

Better still, forgo the often used fake rock and get a cast iron Key Hider Ladybug instead. Like most lawn ornaments, this cute, yet incredibly sturdy outdoor accessory will blend right into your yard without drawing attention. Order this simple solution from Amazon by clicking here.

You Need A Container to Hide Your Key

Once you find the right place to stash a car key, there are three good reasons it must be hidden inside a container. First, I already mentioned rust. You also don’t want the weather to wash your key away if the yard floods. Finally, you don’t want to put it somewhere a person could stumble on it and steal your car.

Preventing Deterioration

You could coat your key in wax to seal it in. Likewise, you could pack it in oil. However, merely placing a standard key out of the elements is enough. The brass, nickel, and silver of standard car keys are reasonably durable. Unfortunately, the plastic on the top is subject to photodegradation, so it needs to be out of the sun.

Like all emergency supplies, you should check on your backup car key semi-regularly. Because of the blend of metals, it will take a while before the coating wears off, or the protected key rusts. Luckily that means you don’t need to check often, but you should make sure it hasn’t shifted, gone missing, or taken any damage at least twice a year.

Visual Trickery

We’ve all heard it said that hiding something in plain sight is the best plan. However, when it comes to keys, you need to get creative. Using a sneaky container that blends right in and looks like nothing special is a great plan.

Because most people look for car keys inside a house, or in the garage, you need to avoid that entirely. Meanwhile, thieves expect to find door keys hidden outside. This very simple switch will help prevent car theft.

Choose the HomeChamps Hide a Key Sprinkler Head from Walmart to stash a key in the back yard, especially if you have sprinklers already. The spike on the bottom makes it easy to install. Plus, there’s enough room inside to hide more than one key. You could stash a little spare money, an additional house key or other small valuables where you can reach them easily. Find out more when you click here.

Easier Reach

If you’re short, trying to get a key from a doorframe or the top of a beam on your porch can be a problem. Similarly, if you have knee or back problems, the perfect location might not be the same as it is for those who bend more easily. Using the right stash container allows you to place your key where you can reach it easily.

Get Sneaky

People look for familiar fake rock hiding places. They check under flowerpots and under your car bumpers for magnetic holders. You’ll have to do better than that if you want your car key hidden really well. Walk around your yard and home and look at everything.

Once you’ve done that, try to think about the places where you did not look. Up in a tree, or an electrical box come to mind for me, but you’ll have to get sneaky on your own to decide what most people look right past where you live. When in doubt, you can always bury your key holder somewhere only you know to find it, like under the edge of a sidewalk.

Learn What Thieves Know About Keys

One of the best ways to decide where not to hide a key is by thinking about where you want to stash it. First, throw out the first five to ten ideas you have. Then check the internet for tips. Wherever the worldwide web says you should place the key, find somewhere else because the average housebreaker probably saw that tip too.

According to ApartmentTherapy, thirty-five percent of people use fake rocks to hide keys. Additionally, most people choose a spot near the front door. Sadly, if you think the grass or shrubs nearby is an excellent obscure location, then you’re going to be disappointed. However, it may surprise you to learn that only about eighteen percent of people hide a key at all.

You should have that spare car key somewhere easy to access. Keeping it outdoors will help you make a quick getaway if something happens in the house, like a fire. Here are some of the other most-used hiding locations to avoid.

Don’t Hide Keys Here

In addition to some of the no-go locations I’ve already mentioned, there are plenty of other not so sneaky places that most people think are clever for a key-stash spot. Do not place your hidden keys in any of these places, unless you want someone to break in. Even if you’re only leaving it for a weekend for the house sitter, make a different arrangement.

  1. Under a Stepping Stone
  2. On Top of the AC Unit
  3. Inside an AC Unit
  4. Within Your Grill
  5. Firepit
  6. In a Porch Light
  7. Rain Gutter
  8. Near the Backdoor
  9. Mailbox
  10. Window edges
  11. Magnetic Holders on Metal Railing

You may as well leave the door unlocked if you plan to place a key where anyone could guess. It needs to take more than five minutes to find the key if you want it safe.

A Better Place for Keys

If you don’t have the sort of yard decor that lends itself to secure car key hiding, there’s still a great way to keep your emergency ingress safe. Choose a locked box. You may have seen real estate agents use a similar technique. They leave what looks like a giant padlock on a door.

The keypad on the front of these lockboxes has a programmable code. Only the real estate agents know how to get to the key. Hence they can show the houses without needing to mess around with bulky keyrings and a bunch of very similar-looking keys. Steal that trick.

I recommend the Kidde Access Point Safe Lock Box from Amazon. Not only will this ten-digit lockbox hold a spare car key, but you could easily fit a spare house key and other small items inside as well. You’ll love how easy it is to mount and use. Plus, it comes with all the screws you need and instructions. Get a key safe by clicking here.

Final Thoughts

There’s no single perfect location to hide a car key. Regrettably, if there were, then someone would tell the wrong person or post about it on the internet. Then, home invasion specialists would find out, and it would just be another used up ploy, like hiding a safe behind the picture over your mantle.

Car key hiding is the ideal time to get creative. When you think of a better location or a less likely one for a thief to check, put your key container there. After that, all you need to do is keep mum about it, so no one knows.

The best-kept secret hiding place is one no one knows about except you. So long as you don’t rat yourself out, you’ll have the perfectly hidden key.

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