  The next Galactic core-collapse supernova (SN) is a highly anticipated
observational target for neutrino telescopes. However, even prior to collapse,
massive dying stars shine copiously in "pre-supernova" (pre-SN) neutrinos,
which can potentially act as efficient SN warning alarms and provide novel
information about the very last stages of stellar evolution. We explore the
sensitivity to pre-SN neutrinos of large scale direct dark matter detection
experiments, which, unlike dedicated neutrino telescopes, take full advantage
of coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering. We find that argon-based detectors
with target masses of $\mathcal{O}(100)$ tonnes (i.e. comparable in size to the
proposed ARGO experiment) operating at sub-keV thresholds can detect
$\mathcal{O}(10-100)$ pre-SN neutrinos coming from a source at a characteristic
distance of $\sim$200 pc, such as Betelgeuse ($\alpha$ Orionis). Large-scale
xenon-based experiments with similarly low thresholds could also be sensitive
to pre-SN neutrinos. For a Betelgeuse-type source, large scale dark matter
experiments could provide a SN warning siren $\sim$10 hours prior to the
explosion. We also comment on the complementarity of large scale direct dark
matter detection experiments and neutrino telescopes in the understanding of
core-collapse SN.
