How to fortify your home

How to fortify your home before crisis

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Above is an interesting spider hole idea from one of the Episodes of
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Happy endings...
Fortify your home now since the day may come when the world
goes dark and the rule of law is gone. A prepper's home is a
fortress and it's filled with preps intended for the occupants ~
you! As a prepper, must spend time planning and fortifying their
home against looters in clever ways.

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Home Fortification
How to fortify your home to protect your preps and family

Defend what's rightfully yours with home fortification...
Holding your ground is an important part of prepping and there's
lots to consider from barbed wire and boobytraps to barricades
and bull dogs ~ as well as bomb shelters and bunkers. Your
home is your castle. Give yourself the "home field advantage" by
fortifying your home. Hold your ground with the ideas below...

Home Fortification
What's your p repper's home defen se strategy? Before crisis,
ensure you have ways to fortify your home before it's too late
and the looters come and take what's intended for you and your
family. Have a contingency plan for how to defend what's
rightfully yours, but remember that there are varying levels and
methods of fortifying your home.

Here's how to build an impenetrable home defense system:

#1: Barbed-wire.
Barbed wire isn't something Realtors or your neighbors would like
to see surrounding your home because it has a prison-like
appearance, but you can use barbed wire effectively. Your home
defense setup should have layers of protection and a barbed wire
fence can be a layer of defense to use in an apocalyptic scenario
where it's every man for himself. Barbed wire is something you
can store and keep handy in case extreme turmoil strikes and you
need to defend your homestead in a world without rule of law.
The good thing about barbed wire is that it's relatively
inexpensive.

Unfortunately barbed wire also tells would be intruders that you
have something worth defending. Whether you want to use
barbed wire as part of your home defense strategy depends on
the level of conflict at the time. It's well worth considering
having handy. Jim Cobb, author of Prepper's Home Defense,
above right, argues that such "security measures may serve to
cause potential aggressors to seek more vulnerable targets of
opportunity." In other words, intruders may seek to find the low
hanging fruit from your neighbor's home. It's an excellent
deterrent.

Armed with a few techniques to deter, delay and defend your
homestead, you will surely find some new and clever ways to
guard your property in good times and in bad. Read on, because
there are many ways to fortify your home, and we have a way to
use barbed wire so that it isn't ugly. It's a boobytrap!

#2: Boobytraps.
In combat terms, a boobytrap is an explosive charge that's
contrived when an unsuspecting person disturbs a setup that's
fired as a trick device. You can set up boobytraps as a strategy
to confuse and distract looters, not just harm them. Whatever
you set up must be at a low risk for you, your family and friends,
so consider the idea of boobytraps carefully.

Take time now to learn how to assemble, use, detect, and
remove boobytraps in almost any situation with the bible of
boobytraps ~ the U.S. Army Guide to Boobytraps, pictured right.
While the manual outlines procedures and techniques specific to
soldiers in combat situations, it also provides valuable advice on
employing safety measures, improvising and employing factory
produced devices. You can learn to disguise explosive in
furniture, landscaping, walls, televisions, cars and more.

In times of civil unrest and in a world without rule of law,
employing use of boobytraps can be an effective home defense
strategy. It's not a task to leave for the last minute because
setting up a boobytrap requires careful thought. Ultimately, you
also need an objective. Is your boobytrap to confuse, to kill, to
scare, to ward off intruders? There are many tools you can use to
set up a boobytrap.

Here are some clever uses to help fortify your home:

Anti-climb spikes. Have a professional install anti-climb
spikes if legal in your state. Anti-climb spikes could provide
you with extra peace of mind that intruders won't easily gain
entry to your home. Check with local laws as these are
extremely dangerous and may be highly regulated in your
locale. The defender spikes, pictured right, keep birds, cats,
mice, raccoons, rats, and squirrels off your property and they
are legal. Say goodbye to ugly razor wire and other inhuman
methods with the defender spikes. These simple and
effective deterrent spikes can stop unlawful intruders (cats
and birds too) without causing any harm or looking awful.

Barbed wire boobytrap. Aforementioned as a way to build
your fortress in times of extreme turmoil, consider barbed
wire as a boobytrap and here's how: as a surprise element
place barbed wire inside your fence top. Hiding barbed wire
on the inside of the fence will cause a severe cut and the
intruder will leave. You have every right to do this.

Bed of nails or tire spikes. You can also set out a bed of
nails as an "unwelcome mat" for intruders. Use plywood with
a bed of nails as a surprise element someone could step
into inside a gated entrance. Create a bed of nails by driving
them into a piece of plywood. Set up your boobytrap only in
crisis. Another way to make such a boobytrap is with
thumbtacks. You can throw thumbtacks in entryways when
defending your home in crisis on the fly. Neither method will
kill the intruders, but it will deter them just enough enabling
you a chance to grab your firearms and defend what's yours.

Motion lights. Motion lights trigger just when someone is
walking on your property. Frankly, they will do little to deter
someone from getting on your property, but the real value is
that they could alert you to the presence of an intruder.
Think of it this way, they are as about as effective as car
alarms. In the beginning a car alarms did a good job of
alerting people to call police about a break in, but eventually
they became annoying because people set them off
accidentally. It's the story of the boy who cried "wolf."
Motion lights will alert you if you are home and this is the
real value.

Snare wires. A snare wire is a boobytrap used for trapping
animals, but you don't need to limit use to animals. This
type of snare was first issued to U.S. pilots during World
War II, and continues to see wide use to this day. The snare
wire kit, right, os the right size for small game like squirrel,
weasel, marten, grouse, rabbit, and woodchuck. For best
results, learn a little about trapping and set many snares
and check local laws.

Trip wires. Trip wires are a type of wire that's stretched
close to the ground, much like a snare wire. It's a working
trap that triggers an explosion or alarm when someone
disturbs the wire. This kind of a device serves to detect or
prevent people and animals from entering an area. Trip wires
don't need to be made of wire, you can use paracord as a
tripwire, but the Kevlar trip wire right, is extremely effective,
ridiculously strong, low priced and near invisible trip wire!
Also, trip wires need not be deadly. Trip wires can also be
set with alarms to ward off intruders and alert you.

Kevlar trip wire

Camouflage netting

#12: Plywood.
Plywood is handy to have on hand for storms, and it sells out
quickly at the hardware stores when you need it, so it's good to
have enough plywood stocked up and ready to go for storms.

While plywood can help fortify your home for a hurricane, it can
be a death trap if you use it to blockade your home in civil
unrest. Not only will it keep you in the dark about what's going
on outside, but it would remove a necessary escape route for your
family.

Don't block your escape routes with plywood, in case of fires or
other perils you need easy access out, but make sure you have
plywood handy to fix broken window or help patch up roofs in
crisis. Always have several escape options.

#13: Sandbags.
Sandbags provide a layer of protection: the more mass the better
to shield against radiation or bullets.
Sandbags are a simple and effective way of fortifying your home.
Best of all, you can do it last minute if you have the supplies and
sandbags are pretty inexpensive. You can fill them with dirt
instead of sand, but why consider making sand pit in your back
yard.

Why not just get Sandbags now, fill them later? Sandbags don't
take much space and you can fill them with gravel or dirt when
you need it. Sandbags can secure gates and doors from opening
easily helping to stall the intrusion.

Defend what's rightfully yours with home fortification against
looters, but also fortify your home against nuclear attack and
more using sandbags.

#14: Signage.
Signs are an interesting home defense idea. First, they are
inexpensive, but they could also be a good deterrent. Hang a
foreboding sign.

Home security sign: The first layer of defense should be a
home security sign, even if you don't have a home alarm
system. It keeps thieves guessing.

Beware of dog sign. Place a BEWARE OF DOG sign at the
entrance to your home or GUARD DOG ON DUTY sign. Even if
you don't own a dog this could be a scare tactic, particularly
if you place a large bowl of water and huge bone at the
entrance of the back yard. This "evidence" may be enough to
thwart looters to an easier target home. However, in times
of famine, a dog might be considered pray and you'd not
employ this tactic.

No trespassing sign. A NO TRESPASSING SIGN is another
great deterrent. Where to place a "no trespassing sign"?
Prioritize your defenses on the right-hand side of your
property. Human instinct is to head in the direction of their
dominant hand and since 90% of the population is right-
handed, you know where intruders will attempt first to
strike. Secure the right hand entrances first!

Nothing worth dying for sign. While it's a bit of a novelty
with preppers, a NOTHING WORTH DYING FOR SIGN is an
effective mode of communication.

#15: Security Camera (even a fake one).
Vulnerability to intruders, looters, and criminals happens
everyday, not just when the country is in crisis. The Security 2020
dummy dome security camera, pictured right, is the same model
used by major retailers to deter theft and criminal activity in
parking lots, garages, and store facilities. The dome gives the
impression your garage is under 360 degree video surveillance. All
weather domes is easy to mount.

A security camera, fake or real, can help set a perception that a
home is well guarded, but if there's no power or police response,
cameras obviously won't be an effective deterrent.

#16: Trenches.
There are many kinds of external deterrents you can apply to your
homestead and a trench is one of them. A trench can provide a
fighting position or work as a boobytrap to help fortify your home.
Below is how to dig a trench quickly...

Defender spikes

Hedges and shrubs. Natural vegetation is more beautiful
than concrete barriers and can provide ample defense on
your home. Hedges, for example, can make it more difficult
for an intruder to enter through a window. A hedge that's tall
enough or prickly enough can deter intruders from window,
but they also help guide intruders to where you'd like them
to go, for example, to a place where you have more visibility
or line of defense. Keep hedges in the front of your home to
no more than three feet so that you avoid giving an intruder
a way to hide. Here are some types of hedges and shrubs to
plant:

Bamboo. For a quick natural fence in the back of your
yard, choose bamboo. You need only remember that it's
an invasive plant and quite hearty.
Blackberries. Be twice as smart and plant food and
deter intruders simultaneously. Blackberry bushes are
famously spikey.
Cactus. Obviously prickly and painful, cacti can make an
impenetrable barrier, as well some cactus can serve as
food in an emergency. Edible cactus, called nopalitos, is
a vegetable that's quite popular in Mexico.
Roses. Who doesn't love roses? The nice thing if you
have plenty of them is that they have thorns.
Juniper. Creeping juniper has needle like leaves that
makes a wide barrier and is an excellent ground cover.
Wild apple. The backyard is a great place for wild apple
because it provides a spikes
Yew. If you've not heard of yew, then you'd better pay
attention. Yew is a shrub great shrub for borders and
paths, but it's also a poisonous plant (toxic to animals
and humans), which has no antidote. A yew can cause
blisters or blindness.

There are many other kinds of shrubs and brush to plant to create
a good barrier for your home.

#11: Locks.
When looking at home defense, don't overlook the obvious: locks.
First of all, install them. Second of all, use them!

Garage door lock. A garage door is often the weakest link
by carelessness alone. Complacency sets in when occupants
feel safe in the neighborhood, and then they simply forget to
lock the garage. Always lock the garage door, but know also
that entry through an unlocked garage isn't always the case.
Forcible entry through the garage commonplace because a
would-be thief will attract less attention at this point of
entry.

Window locks and laminated window glass. It takes only a
good swing of a baseball bat to crack open your windows.
You can install bullet-proof glass, tempered glass or window
film. Fortifying windows with window film or tempered is a
less expensive option than bullet-proof glass. Be sure to
install window film on the inside the window frame, or caulk
the edges to the frame.

Above, Survivalife.com demonstrates 8 boobytraps to protect your home
and warns that some could be illegal.

There are many kinds of boobytraps. Skilledsurvival.com also has
some interesting boobytraps to make at your own risk, one of
them uses an airhorn.

#3: Bulldogs, Pittbulls and German Shepherds.
"Meaner than a junk-yard dog" is an expression often tied to
bulldogs. While Bulldogs have a reputation for home security as
do German Shepherds, Pittbulls, Rottweilers, and the like, even a
little mutt or ankle-biter can provide your family with a layer of
protection in fortifying your home from intruders.

Having a dog is not infallible home protection, which is why you
should consider a dog only as a layer of home protection. The
truth is that having a dog could be just enough of a distraction or
deterrent to allow you to grab your handgun. A dog can't get your
handgun or call the fire department, but a dog can be your alarm.

Dogs are not only your warning system of intrusion, but they will
defend their turf and you and your family. Again, this is not
infallible. An intruder need only provide dog treats to gain entry
into your home and be your little buddy's new best friend.

#4: Buried shipping containers.
Preppers are often tempted to install shipping containers on their
property grounds either as a storm shelter, fallout bunker or safe
house, but the problem comes when the weight of the dirt causes
the shipping container to buckle. Eventually the container will
cave! One way around this is to reinforce the sides with Gabion
baskets, which are steel cages filled with stone.

Read more at containerauction.com about how to bury a container
by fortifying it with Gabion baskets.

Realistically, even Gabion baskets aren't as structurally sound as
you may think and you should consult a local engineer. What's
more, with a buried shipping container you'll need to supply
proper air and also a sump system. Buried shipping containers
have limitations for providing shelter, but they are actually quite
good for hiding your food. Think of them as root cellars or hiding
places, not as a home defense tactic.

#5: Bricks and stone.
Intruders can huff and puff and not blow your house down with
brick and stone. Both are effective barriers for fire and offer a
good layer of protection for your home. There's more good news
about brick. If you're looking to build a home entirely of brick,
your home will maintain extra value according to Realtors. That's
because interior walls made of bricks can help with temperature
control, as they store heat and cool air ~ bricks can also increase
the value of your property; however it's not flexible enough to
withstand earthquakes.

One thing any prepper should be aware is that if you have loose
bricks or stones around your property they could be used to break
into your property! Be sure to remove all potted plants, stones
and bricks in the front yard.

#6: Chicken wire.
Chicken wire isn't something most preppers consider as self
defense, but many preppers have it handy and can use it in
crisis. Chicken wire can help defend and fortify your windows in
crisis. You can use a staple-gun to secure chicken wire around
the windows of your home to make it defensible as an obstacle
against intruders who would might throw bottles, bricks and rocks
to gain access to your building. The window technique is a way to
fortify your for a bug-in scenario. It's something you can instantly
employ in a crisis. Think of chicken wire also as fence material to
create a guard together with railing on your balcony.

#7: Concrete posts and barriers.
Properties located along public highways are highly prone to theft
and can benefit from concrete barriers. Concrete barriers have a
distinct advantage for a home fortress ~ they an keep cars out
and control traffic. While concrete barriers are preferred,
alternatives also include plastic or water blockades.

Concrete posts and barriers are effective, but there are many
physical barriers you can place on your property to control the
flow of potential traffic and give you a home field advantage. It's
your right to defend and fortify your home in crisis, but there's a
compromise in making it look good and being practical. Most
homes don't have a moat and yet a moat is an ancient barrier
that word work.

Concrete is also an effective barrier for nuclear radiation. The
Atomic ranch homes were based on that very principle with use of
concrete and cinderblock.

Even a log can provide a barrier, but an intruder can jump over it.
The thing is that humans naturally want to circumvent a log, so
they will go around them. Logs attract snakes and spiders, but
again the real reasons humans go around logs is because they
are an obstacle. This is the point. You can provide obstacles on
your property to control where an intruder might go and this give
you an advantage ~ a home field advantage.

#8: Concrete sewer pipes.
Another deeply advanced prepping technique is using concrete
sewer pipes as part of your overall home defense. For a large
property they can provide an escape route, but by themselves are
not a good means of home fortification. You must also remember
that if it provides you with an escape route, it also provides
looters with a way into your fortress.

#9: Door jams.
Installing a door jam or simple stick in a sliding glass door could
provide just the amount of delay necessary. A good option is a
Buddybar Door Jammer, pictured right. By placing a 2' x 4'
between front door and inside steps or wall could deter a forced
entry. Or try a 3" screw into the studs to fortify. Door jam armour
is extremely effective and will provide peace of mind.

Security Striker Plates for door jams (installation
required): To combat 34% wood jam (security strike
plates). A regular deadbolt won't do the trick, you'll need a
commercial grade deadbolt to deter the intruders. Security
Striker plates is an inexpensive fix to enhance the door
strength and security, which is peace of mind in itself, but it
won't work for door jams that have been damaged by a
break-in. Fix the door-jam first, then install your strike box.
(You'll need to drill and shape the jam to fit the box). The
process will make your door jam much stronger.

Door Jammer (no installation required). Pictured in red at
the top of the page, the DoorJammer is a unique, new and
innovative portable door security device for anyone needing
privacy and security. It prevents unwanted intrusions into
any room and provide peace of mind. It's portable, discreet
yet highly effective. It fits most doors in seconds to 'jam'
the door shut.

#10: Fences and hedges.
Good fences make good neighbors and can keep out intruders,
but you must be selective in the kind of fence or it could lead to
a false sense of security. Some fences are for privacy and other
for security, but generally intruders are lazy and the correct fence
can deter entry. Here's what you need to know:

Fences. Certain fences can makes it easy for an intruder to
hide and make you a target for burglary and this is the exact
opposite of what you want. If you want security opt for
wrought iron or wire mesh fencing because they don't
provide a hiding place for intruders. You want the visibility.
Another fence you need is one that's hard to climb over.
Chain link fences are cheap, but they are much easier to
climb over than a wrought iron fence and they are also easy
to cut. The video below demonstrates why you should get a
wire mesh fencing:

Cut resistant gloves

Cut resistant sleeves

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Emergency heat sources that don't require electricity

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Air horn