Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
According to FBI statistics, “A burglary occurs nearly every 15 seconds in the United States”. Even more alarming, “A majority of home intruders gain access forcibly through a ‘locked' door.” Now imagine an intruder gained forcible entry to your house on the homestead, a location far away from authorities. This is a nightmare scenario that could be triggered by a series of very real events.
Looters during a currency crash, intruders during civil unrest, and robbers because they’re assholes–whatever keeps you up at night, we’ve got the solutions to help you sleep better knowing that your homestead is fully fortified.
Want to save this post for later? Click Here to Pin It on Pinterest!
Here are 7 ways to protect your homestead.
1. Connect an Alarm System
Alarm systems are particularly important for large homes with multiple entry points. When you have an alarm hooked up to these entry points, not only will you be notified the second an intruder enters, but the loud alarm will likely scare the unsuspecting criminal away.
With this wireless security alarm, you can program it to auto-dial emergency contacts such as the authorities or neighbors for immediate help.
Pro Tip: Don’t wait until bedtime to activate your alarm, as this behavior is totally predictable and robbers can use it to their advantage during the day or early evening.
2. Install Bulletproof Windows
Bulletproof windows exist not only to protect you from bullets, but also from rocks or heavy objects that burglars often use to break into homes. If you’re construction-savvy, you can buy bulletproof glass windows and install them yourself. The alternative is to find a company in your area that offers bulletproof window installation and leave it to the pros.
Not ready to commit to such a big purchase? Understandable. The alternative to bulletproof glass is to fortify your windows with impact resistant window film that can hold glass together during an attempted break-in. Considering that most robbers carry out their break-ins in ten minutes or less, this measure is sure to slow them down and potentially deter them altogether.
3. Set Up Security Cameras
Nowadays, when choosing which homes or properties to target, robbers look to see whether or not a house has security cameras in place. Statistically, the presence of security cameras is a major deterrent for home invasions.
When shopping for security cameras with which to outfit your home and property, there are two important features that are absolutely essential.
The first feature you need to prioritize is night vision. As we know, predators are most brazen under the cover of darkness. The next must-have security camera feature is rotation capability. If an intruder is looking for security cameras, they could very well avoid their scope if this capability isn’t built in.
Here's an example of the kind of security camera I'm talking about.
4. Create a Safe Room
You can link your security cameras to screens and monitors in a safe room in your house–much like the security rooms in a department store–so that you can monitor multiple corners of your home at one time while in a protected area.
There are tons of resources on the Internet such as videos that will teach you how to turn your office into a safe room simply by upgrading your walls to be extra fortified with additional layers of wood paneling. You’ll want to reinforce the door as well. Simply install a metal door with a metal frame.
To take your safe room one step further and turn it into a tornado-safe room as well, follow the tips on this video where you’ll learn how to incorporate steel sheathing into the project.
Believe it or not, creating a safe room is a DIY homestead project that you can complete in one weekend with materials straight from the hardware store. The Organic Prepper wrote a fantastic article about safe rooms which you can read here.
5. Mount Motion Sensor Lights
If you have a long driveway or a wide-open field, areas where intruders can subtly encroach on your home, outfit these areas with super bright motion sensing lights. Stop criminals in their tracks far before they get within 100 meters of your home.
With wireless solar-powered floodlights, you can hang them in obscure places that intruders would never suspect nor prepare to encounter. You can also secure some more aesthetically pleasing sensor lights near your home’s points of entry that will be visible to trespassers and add yet another level of deterrence.
6. Build an Underground Bunker
Learning how to build an underground bunker from scratch takes a lot of planning, preparation, and precise measurements. Unless you hire professionals to do the job for you, this will need to be a group effort with the help of some fellow survivalists.
Alternative methods to building a bunker from scratch are to plant a large metal shipping container in the ground or convert your basement into a safe space by fortifying the walls with bricks.
If you’ve got the land and are privy to the possible realities of a civil war or nuclear attacks happening in your own backyard, then you won’t want to spare this luxury safety measure.
7. Adopt a Dog
It’s a fact: Houses with dogs are less likely to be broken into than houses without dogs. Dogs are living, breathing security systems that can pick up on scents, movements, and noises that us humans would totally miss. Dogs also provide a home security measure that we cannot buy: fear. Just the sound of a frenzied bark or a deep growl is enough to pivot any intruder.
Burmese Mountain Dogs are a top pick for their intimidating bark, German Shepherds are easy to train to attack in threatening situations, and just the sight of a Doberman Pinscher is enough to incite a would-be criminal to run for the hills. Research the best dogs for homesteaders and find a purebred or a mix at your local animal shelter.
Conclusion
On the one hand, homesteaders have a safety advantage, as they likely don’t live in delinquent-riddled suburbs or crime capital cities. Being removed from the epicenter of modern society should theoretically decrease the risk of attack. However, this isolation factor can certainly increase the impact and severity of an invasion if one were to occur.
When building your dream homestead, let no threat go unnoticed. Scout your property as if you were an intruder and identify the most vulnerable areas. Most security threats can be solved with simple solutions, making your homestead safe and secure.
Like this post? Don't forget to Pin It on Pinterest!
You May Also Like:
riddle me this How in heck is having a bunker or having a safe room going to keep them out of the house? all that other stuff is just going to let you know they are COMING and dont do anything to keep them out.
If thief is determined enough, he or she will get inside. Those items are merely deterrents to discourage them to enter your place, and go someplace easier.
The safe room is a place for the family to get to so that it’s easier to tell who the bad folks are.
Once the thief is inside, and all the friendlies accounted for, then you have a choice. You can sit tight in your safe room and wait for the Cavalry to arrive, and hope the criminals are only interested in your stuff. This is probably the best choice especially if you’re against using deadly force.
If you don’t have a secure safe room, or the criminals are interested in your women folk, or nowadays they may be more interested in you and your boys, then you’re gonna have to fight. My choice for this would be a good pump 12 Guage, but you might choose a bow and arrows.
Its really nice.. Thanks for sharing information.. Keep Posting
Some people like to cry that things will fail, you don’t have enough skill, etc., but it’s better to do something than to whine like a little loser and be worse off.
Why do people assume that looters and begging neighbors will regroup, return better armed and that they will be unstoppable?
If you are prepared, it will make a difference. And those who choose to do nothing but steal do not have a plan so they will suffer early on for lack of practical knowledge.
Sorry! But for the dog, and electric fence, nothing else will work here as I live in South Africa. Load shedding is a major problem! The electric fence is on solar power.
Those who beat their swords into plow shares and their spears into pruning hooks will serve those who do not.
How about having geese???