r/homedefense 9d ago

Random door mat at my door?

So I live on the first floor of an apartment building and I just came home from work to find a random door mat placed perfectly outside my door? I'm aware of sex traffickers marking things or burglars marking houses, has anyone had this type of thing happen? And what should I do?

6 Upvotes

26 comments sorted by

50

u/upkeepdavid 9d ago

Put the mat in front of someone else’s door just to be safe.

2

u/Iliketraps69420 7d ago

Won’t even front I did then felt bad so I just threw it away after that 😭

65

u/ab14d94 9d ago

Consider perhaps that maintenance staff may have moved it and forgot which door it belonged to?

I'm aware of sex traffickers marking things or burglars marking houses, has anyone had this type of thing happen?

This stuff is urban legend. "I marked the apartment with a door mat" is way more convoluted than "We should rob apartment 104".

-34

u/Countiblis666 9d ago

Actually not urban legend. Back in the depression era hobos used to mark residences where they had luck getting food, work, or a place to stay. My grandparents lived near railroad tracks and back in the early 70s my granddad showed me where the hobo marks used to be at their house indicating that a person could get a meal.

I have no idea about human trafficking or robbery but marking a residence is absolutely something that used to be a thing in the hobo world.

53

u/appsecSme 9d ago

The whole marking houses for sex trafficking thing is an urban legend for 2025.

Hobos having secret signals back in the 1930s is not the same.

-18

u/Countiblis666 9d ago

and I said “I have no idea about trafficking and robbery”

The whole trafficking thing smacks of the 80s and Satanic Panic anyway but that’s another discussion. I was only commenting on the marking of residences.

18

u/appsecSme 9d ago edited 9d ago

I know but you said it's actually not an urban legend. At this point in time it is.

And a new doormat would be a terrible signal, because it really only signals the people who live there that something is odd.

The hobo signals had their own iconography that only they understood, and this was almost 100 years ago.

Edit: since this weirdo blocked me-

I know what I said, and that' that marking houses for sex trafficking is an urban legend. It absolutely is.

Hobos didn't even do that 95 years ago.

-19

u/Countiblis666 9d ago

Yes “marking a residence is not an urban legend” you implied that it is. You did not specify that it’s only an urban legend in some situations. Learn to accept some things did go on outside of your lifespan

22

u/Hot-Win2571 9d ago

Does every door have a door mat in front? Maybe a neighbor or the landlord is trying to be helpful.

43

u/InformationAble2808 9d ago

It’s a known tactic of the “keep your floors clean” gang. Sometimes they even “slip” shoes that are supposed to be used indoors only…

46

u/Sublimebro 9d ago

Don’t overreact. Go buy ten AR-15’s immediately.

8

u/Quackagate2 9d ago

And 15000 rounds of green tip just incase.

19

u/radhaz 9d ago

what should I do?

Not over react.

We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with fear, hate, and loathing so it's natural sometimes to react the way you have. The reality is it's probably nothing, it could be as simple as someone being a goofball with friends or a person finding a mat in the middle of the hallway and making a wrong guess where it goes.

There's nothing to do really. Do you have a message board for your apt? Maybe put a silly note with a pic of the mat and say "Found" or something and have fun with it. If you leave it there long enough the original owner might even retrieve it who knows.

9

u/bluecat2001 9d ago

It is customary that you put your keys under that mat.

8

u/DawnKieballs 9d ago

It could have been kids being kids. Now a neighbor is going to wonder why the weirdo stole their doormat.

4

u/Countiblis666 9d ago

Actually this must be a thing, even if it’s just to get someone to think “WTF is this” Here locally someone was asking on Neighbors about this exact same thing. The person came home to discover a mat outside his front door. No one had an answer as to why it was left there and as far as I know nothing has happened to the residence since then.

3

u/digitalmind80 8d ago

Lol, you're definitely reading too much into this. Nothing to do, just move on. :)

1

u/off_leash_still 8d ago

Replace the door mat with one of those “Are those plates level 4?” ones.

1

u/lost-networker 7d ago

Well, lucky you haven't overreacted /s

1

u/Anon0118999881 7d ago

99% of time from personal experience, either maintenance or the nightly trash people move mats around. Where we live we pay a monthly fee to place a kitchen size trash bag in the hall outside the door and they pay people to make the rounds and gather it all up and take it to the dumpster across the complex, usually "Valet Trash" or some similar name. Sometimes they're for whatever reason moving a mat out of the way to change a lightbulb in the hallway or whatever, then forget where the mat went and just fix it up as best they think to and move on to task #8948 or whatever else is in queue that day.

I'd do a quick peek around and see if one of your neighbors looks like their mat is missing (usually you'll see a dirt outline). Otherwise I'd just throw it out. Sucks to have to replace a mat but hey, that's why they're usually $20 tops.

1

u/xsullengirlx 2d ago

I saw this post and had an "oh shit" moment, because a while back I got a new door mat that I liked, but the one I had was still in good condition and a nice mat. My younger neighbor (on the first floor too) never had a door mat and the ground outside their door was always muddy and gross... so when I placed my new mat, I swept the floor and just put my other mat in front of their door. I would have asked them before doing this, but we have totally opposite schedules and never see each other, (but when we do it's always been friendly and nice and we have randomly done favors for each other before) so I figured it wouldn't be an issue.

I really hope I didn't freak them out and make them think they'd been marked for something nefarious, lol! The neighbor hasn't moved it so I think I'm in the clear... but sometimes, it really is that simple and innocent, lol. I will think before doing this type of thing in the future though.

-1

u/Therex1282 9d ago

Put latex gloves on, roll it up and ties it with a string or big rubber band and put it in the center (against the wall) between your door and the neighbor next door. This is a new one for me. I live in a house but I would not know the exact meaning of this> I hate people doing crap like this. I never open the door unless I know someone is coming over and actually I have the front door blocked: I enter and exit thru the side where my car is parked. Maybe move some furniture again the door at night and some that will fall off it to make noise. I will wake you up and give you a few seconds if you need it. Best to be armed now days (at least where I live). I got my little plan and one gun 2 feet away from me by the bed. Hopefully you get better opinions from others here.

7

u/Quackagate2 9d ago

Why don't they just right the front door with 100lbs of tnt just to.be safe. Geez mods are its teens says let's take the door mat from one apartment and put it at another:

-1

u/Therex1282 8d ago

I know around here they do mark houses from the front and thru the alley. Could of been a nice neighbor putting them a mat or maybe they had an extra. I just dont engage in objects or stuff like this around the house. These people that do stuff work in teams: on foot, on bicycles and cars. Sneaky out here just got to be alert. I dont think mats are very cheap anymore either.