Little goes on around my place without my knowledge. I know every tree, twig and rock within a two miles radius of my heritage. Daily strolls through the woods surrounding my two acres breeds familiarity and an uncanny awareness of the even the slightest disturbance to the environment.
I haven’t had any trouble since moving off-grid and out of sight of the neighborhood watch. The townspeople know me as that crazy guy who lives out in the woods. No one bothers me aside from the occasional hunter or ATV rider who wonders off trail.
As the economy continues to crumble I am sure the crime rate will rise proportionally. Even in small towns we have our share of lawlessness.
The most common offense is vandalism or property theft but over the last couple of years we have seen a number of home invasions and several murders. It seems the meth manufactures have also found it easy to apply their trade here.
I always go armed. No matter what I’m doing my Springfield XD or Beretta Bobcat are always within reach. Most threats come when we least expect, a handgun can mean the difference between life and death.
Inside the trailer my first line of defense is a Mossberg 590 loaded with #4 buckshot or my Bulgarian AK-74.
Advanced warning is a must.
I have several “DriveWay Alerts” set up to cover the most likely approaches leading up to my trailer. I really like these alarms, the downside is they need batteries to work - having a good supply on hand against the day of need is a good idea. I hide my sensors in fake bird houses to keep dry and out of view.
Having some sort of alarm guarding the door helps me sleep better at night.
I have one of the First Alert Door / Window alarms
Into the Primitive by Dale Martin includes plans for a number of booby traps and alarms. Warning - many traps listed in the book can kill or cause harm and should not be used unless it is for your survival.
Outside lighting off-grid can be a problem. On overcast nights it can be very dark here – can’t see your hand in front of your face kind of blackness. I bought one of the Solar Powered Motion Activated Security Lights
Having a good dog can offer advanced warning against threats. Even if the dog won’t actually attack an intruder it should at least bark at anyone approaching. Anything less isn’t worth feeding.
Tire Spikes for Home Retreat Defense is another option but one I have not tried yet.
Security while away is a different horse altogether.
In reality little can be done to prevent a determined thief from applying his trade. The best defense is for someone to stay home all the time, but in life this approach is not practical, at least lone term.
Try giving the impression of occupancy by leaving a radio playing inside or some other ruse.
Having your valuables hidden maybe your best defense against theft. I am not going to tell you where or how I have concealed my treasures, for obvious reasons; but surface it to say, if I were to die, it is unlikely anyone would ever find what I have hidden.
How about you.
What tips or advice do you have for securing a remote homestead now and after the collapse?
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Security cameras. If you can’t afford the real thing buy several convincing fakes. Make sure they’re visible.
If you have fence, plant poison ivy or another defensive hedge along side it. Add the best gate you can afford.
Try to mask the entrance to your drive or make multiple maze-like paths with pinch points.
Don’t keep a regular schedule, mix things up.
Kudzu can make great concealment (if it doesn’t drown your homestead).
Several thick layers of hidden booby-traps would dishearten the most determined attackers. It will also backfire if you forget where you put them, and it can land you in jail.
The more and I think about it, concealment is a necessity if you’re preparing for a worst case scenario.
Razor wire won’t do you any good if there’s a sniper perched behind it with you in his crosshairs.
You need to keep targets from being identified while outside your defensive perimeter.
With regard to your battery-using Driveway Alerts, why don’t you get some Eneloop batteries (the best of the NiMH batteries) and a solar charger for those batteries? Yes, there’s some initial capital outlay – but I look at them as an investment. The use of throw-away alkaline batteries, even the best of the best (for which you’ll pay a premium), will end up being far more expensive just within the course of a single year. Once you’ve paid off the investment, its all gravy.
FYI, the Eneloop batteries hold a charge for a LONG time (something like 85% over the course of a year is guaranteed), and they can be recharged (with no memory problems) up to 1,000 times. Even without the solar charger (and you can get a good AA battery solar charger on Amazon, which also charges USB devices like cellphones, and folds up to the size of a DVD case, for about $80), these batteries will pay for themselves fairly quickly. It maybe costs a couple of pennies worth of electricity to charge them, and alkaline batteries (esp. good ones) cost a good deal more than a couple of pennies a pop. Do the math. The solar charger will pay for itself over time (obviously more use of the batteries means a quicker payoff), but another reason to have the solar charger is in the event that you don’t have electricity. Security needs not only don’t disappear when the lights go out, they multiply.
I like the idea of defensive landscaping. I think you had a post not too long ago regarding unusual edible plants, some of which had terrible thorns.
Another thought is “strength in numbers.” We haven’t developed a retreat yet, but a small co-location of retreats can not only increase security when occupied, but can allow for barter or sharing of skills and supplies. Also, in case of fire or medical emergency there would be some sort of aid.
I think a well trained dog is your number one defense because they can smell and hear things before we do. I also think “defensive landscaping” is a good idea. Thorny bushes make a great fence. As for driveways I plan to erect a very sturdy gate. On each side of it there will be obstacles. Boulders on one side and a creek on the other. The only way to enter by vehicle will be the driveway. Once through the gate there will be three or more heavy duty cables strung across the drive after the shtf. They may be able to cut them but it will take a while and it will make some noise. As far as people on foot i’ve heard of a few low tech ideas. One involved setting a trip wire to activate a glow stick, flare or simple fireworks. Then you could always do like what they did in the movie “Tremors the beginning” They simply tied cans to a stick and waited for the Graboids to come. Sounds stupid but it would work. Maybe you could design something of a spring loaded trip wire connected to a can of marbles or christmas bells. Anything to get your or the dogs attention. One guy I know has one of those wildlife cameras mounted to a tree outside his house. If anybody walks up to the door it gives off a bright flash and takes their picture. I guess you could use it without film (just for the flash) and it’s motion activate so it probably uses very little power.
I have Into the Primitive by Dale Martin an excellent book and great mantraps and path guards. A must for defending a retreat and ridding your area of unwanted visitors post TETWAWKI.
Excellent post M.D. and a great blog site much better than that other survival blog.
If during your strolls, you come across some old barb wire on a abandoned farm near you, ask the owner if you can have it. Then plant some old logs in a ring or two around your property. Run the wire about waist high. Then take it off, wrap it around some of the posts, and let the weeds grow around it. Come the Apocalypse, string it back up, and let them trip and get tangled in it. Scrounge enough, you can set up your own No Man’s Land. But wait until TSHTF, or its lawsuit city.
Mr Creekmore you should be ashamed of yourself for being so irresponsible as to even suggest a book to your readers on how to make booby traps shame on you. Things will never get that bad people have been talking about the collapse for years and it’s never happened and I don’t think it ever will. If it does I hope I’m the first to go because I don’t want to live in such a world.
Booby traps shame on you.
It’s never happened, and that means it never will. My Mother never went blind before, either. Unfortunately she did. They never had a World Series Ball game interrupted by an earthquake before. Hmmm….
You can hope you’re one of the first to go, and we will remember you fondly as one of the weak and afraid to live.
Why are you reading survival blogs?
Oops, MD looks like you caught a boob!
A booby trap can be used for intrusion DETECTION not just maiming/killing somebody. It’s better to have the information and not need it.
Sally unfortunately you are dead wrong, for most people when they lose everything, they lose it, obviously you havn’t studied other cultures when they go through hard times, or you can look at cities who have really hard economic times (crime goes up), or take when a disaster happens, like in florida during and after hurricanes, (looting happens). It is unfortunate, that 1 must even have to devote time to outhinking the criminals, however it is a necessary chore. Mr Creekmore is ABSOLUTELY RIGHT about telling people how to survive thugs, murderers, rapists, and thieves. And for anyone else to think otherwise is just rediculous.
Sally, for crying out loud! Talk about being on the wrong website.
I thought I was for awhile because when I said I would respect your
life if you respect my property line I run into all kinds of trouble.
Maybe it was just because I am not as educated as youall.
Anyway, I have the meanest cactus I can find planted around my fence
line. And as far as I am concerned the more booby traps the better.
Sally,
Come on now. Defending what is yours doesn’t always mean hand to hand combat or gunfire. It should start way before that. If you are as passive as you sound then you should consider it. It sounds to me like you are one of those people who end up getting shot with their own gun. If you need convincing, come spend some time in Detroit, and tell me then that aggressive defensive strategies are not necessary.
Good luck to ya, you’re gonna need it.
Regarding booby-traps: When poachers went onto my property to dig my ginseng, I discovered that I needed a way to 1: Identify the poachers, 2: Identify the ginseng the poached, using a method that 3: was not “harmful to their person” (per the local Sheriff). I decided on Paintball mines (they sell them at some WalMarts, and on the internet). They wouldn’t “hurt” the trespassers, but would definitely make them and whatever they were carrying (ginseng) or wearing (shoes/clothes) easily identifiable. And if one of the mines were inadvertently tripped by local wildlife…well, purple and orange deer always add interest and texture to a landscape ;-D
Catherine,
Paintball mines that is a great idea for trespassers – thank you for sharing. Next time I stop by the Wal-Mart I’ll see if they carry them. Should not be diffecult to make my own.
Catherine,
I never heard of them before. Thanks for the brilliant idea.
Genius
Just a FYI re double A batteries, one of the cheapest solar chargers have found is those cheap solar lights. Most of them contain 1- 4 double A rechargable batteries and a day in the sun and they are charged. I think the last set of ten I bought at China mart were 2 bucks each.
Leave a bunch hooked up out in the field so you see bears and what not approaching and disconnect the led in the rest so they look broken and no one will even want them. After a day or two in the sun you are good to go.
At the off grid at the homestead you use what is free and easy.
Where I am, any booby trap that can possibly injure or kill is strictly against the law. Even if it never hurts anybody you can do jail time if authorities find it. Even with a dog you’re only off the hook if you have a posted sign, “Warning: Guard Dog On Duty”. Bad Dog, or Vicious Dog won’t do for the lawyers.
I prefer my sign, “Premises Protected by Smith and Wesson.” Or, “Danger- I Have PMS and a Gun!”
I like the one that says: “Premises guarded by shotgun three nights a week. You guess which three.”
Cameras, alarms, booby traps are all useless if you can’t get to them before they get to you. Or if you are attacked by several thugs at once. Better they not get close to you in the first place.
A series of fences will do more to deter people than unseen/unknown cameras, alarms, and traps. First/perimeter fence should be non-climb fencing. It appears benign and won’t hurt anybody who innocently brushes against it – thus eliminating the casual injury, which should then eliminate any cause for a lawsuit.
Immediately inside the perimeter fencing should be a hedge of thorny, bushy plants. Something that can be pruned like a hedge and it will become denser when pruned. It provides a nearly inpenetrable barrier. Only by going very low under or high over can it be violated. Now you have a narrow pathway between the perimeter climb-proof fence and the hedge. This narrow path between the two fences makes a good guard dog run.
Finally, a third fence consisting of razor wire that has become overgrown with a non-woody, climbing plant like potato vine or star jasmine or some other decorative plant that will lessen the harsh visual of the razor wire, but not diminish the effectiveness of same. Anybody reaching that part of your compound is up to no good and deserves to get shredded by the wire. A warning sign can be placed on this fence, if lawsuits are a worry. Even so, some twit who gets injured on it can try suing and even if he loses, your life will be much poorer. In a true TEOTWAWKI, lawsuits be damned!
Of course this 3-fence system would be cost-prohibitive if more than one acre is involved, unless you happen to be very rich or very ambitious. But on a one acre parcel, or less, this system should certainly go a long ways to slow intruders down, if not actually thwart them entirely.
Big flood lights, whether working or not, set up on the middle fence can add a little more hesitation to would-be trespassers. Think “intimidation factor” and you’ll come up with other things that could scare the average interloper out of entering your domain.
One thing to remember, most criminals are lazy. They will not attack a well-defended place if a more vulnerable place is next door. That’s not very nice for your neighbors, but when we’re talking about survival then sometimes reality bites.
Stealth, defense, and intimidation are always better than outright violence. With violence, we never know for sure who will win. Deter them before things escalate to outright violence.
My advice is to not stand out in the 1st place. Right angled vertical / horizontal edges really stand out in the wild, and people often spot those edges against the more subtle rounded shapes that trees and bushes have. So either break up your home outline or otherwise camoflauge your residence so BGs aren’t attracted. Of course, color and shiny reflections play a big part in this as well – keep those windows in the shade or other oriented to remove as much glare and reflection as possible.
Too, wind mills for water or power really stand out, and the sound of a squeaky well carries for quite a distance. Signals possible water source that attract passersby, vandals or merely curious.
This is an appropriate post as I have been thinking about this for a while. We recently bought acreage with a small cabin and shed and we are preparing to build an even larger shed. I tied up (not locked) an expensive trail camera out near the cabin. 4 days later it is gone. So now I bought a cheaper one, a lockable bolt down mount for it, and I am going to look into those paintball mines. I plan on mounting the camera high in a tree looking down at a path.
Since the area is remote my options for security are limited. Any type of remote-viewable security camera feed would require a wireless cellular modem and an expensive IP camera. We don’t plan to be out there much so I think our best course of action is conceal anything valuable while gone and have firearms close by while onsite.
catfish,
Thanks for the info on the cheap solar AA battery chargers, I will be looking into this.
Skunk Cabbage,
I like the 3 fences idea, I probably won’t go quite that far, but it’s good to keep things like this in mind. It gives me the idea of using one of my property lines to grow tomatoes. I was going to just use some wire fencing for them to grow on but now I think I might strand some barbwire across some poles to do the trick. Someone trying to climb over THAT hedge should get a surprise, AND I get tomatoes! This, of course would be as a second fence so that ppl won’t be drawn to my tomatoes because they can see them from outside the property.
Another idea is Bougainvillea. It’s pretty, so the women folk don’t mind it so much and as long as you controll it, it will spread down a fence line pretty good (don’t let it get out of controll though, it will eat your house, personal experience!). It also has some nasty thorns that will definately keep the ner-do-wells from trying to climb THAT fence.
s
Just thought of another low cost way to secure your property, especially if you live on “junk land”. Take a shovel, dig a random series of holes from knee-to-waste deep around your perimeter, large enough for a grown person to fall into (think storm drain). Cover with plywood braced with scrap lumber, then throw brush, weeds,branches, etc over them. Post-SHTF, remove lid, let anyone sneaking in at night fall in and break their ankles/legs. If it’s Total Collapse, with roaming Cannibals, etc. you can add punji sticks and light covers woven out of branches ( like the end of the movie The Edge). Just make sure any of your dogs, kids, livestock stay away from the holes. Hope this helps.
Just make sure you do this post shtf! A lady near here was sued when a dog dug a hole on a vacant property that she owned. Then a homeless man trespassing across the property at night broke his ankle when he stepped in the hole. A judge awarded the homeless guy $200,000 in damages. (if I was homeless I’d be looking for vacant property and a good lawyer….)
My ideal multitiered defensive perimeter:
1. Remote location, far from cities, major highways or popular vacation destinations. This drastically cuts down on the number of people around who might cause trouble in the first place.
2. Nothing man-made can be seen from the road. Even the access is road is just barely visible at best, and winds around quite a bit with several dead-end offshoots to confuse, delay and discourage unwanted guests. From the road, any passerby should immediately assume that there is nothing but empty forest in this location.
3. Thick undergrowth for the first couple hundred yards heading toward the house. Again, nothing out of the ordinary and nothing that would invite someone to come looking. The undergrowth makes it difficult for someone to navigate the area and encourages them to go elsewhere.
4. Tall, old, run-down fence around the perimeter. Another obstacle to discourage people from continuing toward the house, without making them think that something worth seeking might be there. The fence looks like it has been there for many, many years without any upkeep, and thus doesn’t suggest that there is someone currently in the area.
5. Hidden alert systems within the old fence perimeter to alert us that someone has breeched the fence without letting them know that we know they’re coming. Ideally these would include motion sensing equipment and hidden cameras so that we can ascertain strength, speed and progress.
6. Second much stronger and taller fence with conspicuous warning signs and razor wire along the top. If someone makes it this far, it is fairly obvious that they know something is there and that they are determined to get to it. This fence serves as a strong deterent, telling them that they have their work cut out for them if they wish to continue. It also serves to slow them down if they are that determined.
7. Behind the fence are thorny bushes (probably raspberries to double as a food source), guard dogs and protected shooting positions. Not only will a determined enemy have to scale or breach the fence, they will have to do it under fire. On the other side, they will have to traverse thorny bushes while under attack by dogs and guns. The dogs also serve as a backup alarm.
8. Fortified house with strong doors and locks, strong shutters, firing positions and rose bushes (for the ladies) under the windows.
We would also have removable (so we could come and go) vehicle barricades at a couple of points along the access road, as well as strong locking gates at both fences. If I expected trouble and we were in a truly lawless scenario, I wouldn’t hesitate to set up booby traps between the two fences.
My guess is that most people wandering through the area, even if actively searching for people and food, wouldn’t make it past the first fence if they got that far. Only determined enemies (or the truly desperate) would make it to the second fence.
Cartman said;”I guess you could use it without film (just for the flash) and it’s motion activate so it probably uses very little power.”
I think if you used the flash that would be ok but I’d rather have a picture of the BG.
I was thinking that if your home on a dark night and the flash goes off it could alert you or your dog that someone is near. If I wasn’t home then absolutely I would want a picture of whoever had the testicles to come on the property. I also like the idea of paint ball mines – that is a genius idea. Kind of like the bank putting paint bombs in the bag of money during a robbery.
A friend suggested–guinea fowl! I gather it is best if they are raised as “keets” where they will actually live because they become very territorial about their home. They raise a huge ruckous when any threat comes.
I like the one that says: “Premises guarded by shotgun three nights a week. You guess which three.”
Another thought to keep in the back of your head: don’t focus all your attention on the most probable entrance.
I’ve always liked the sign I saw as a kid “trespassers will be shot. SURVIVORS will be shot again!” This was at the farm of a family that secretly had retarded children born from an incestuous relationship then hid them in the attic for over fifteen years. The sign worked great for them – until the state police came in!
If you’re not there regularly, a place has to look occupied. If it starts looking abandoned or unused, then you’ll at the very least get neighborhood kids breaking in and using it as a hang-out. At worst, pre-SHTF, you get squatters you have to remove.
My personal property philosophy is the stealth approach. Look like any other piece of property in the neighborhood, maybe even slightly less prosperous than one’s neighbors. Keyword here is slightly, because if your place really looks like a dump, then it’ll attract another sort of unwanted attention. Blend in.
-Tom
I have dealt with the issue of security for a remote retreat for 20 years or more. This small house (large cabin) up in the hills is only used by me during the summer and was my urban survivalist’s plan #1. How I solved my security problem was to have my sister live there while she was going to college. She lived there rent free, she took care of small repair issues, kept the place looking lived in and well maintained. In addition, I donated to the local volunteer fire department and the local snowmobile club (they can come in very handy if you have an emergency after being snowed in). I got to know all the neighbors over the years and we can count on each other to come to our mutual aid. Now, my sister owns her own home about 5 miles away and my brother-in-law keeps the place looking good. He checks the cabin often and they use the refrigerator and freezer to store extra food – especially after they have slaughtered one of their pigs.
I have an alarm system in the cabin and for the first few years after my sister graduated I had it connected to a central station. The fees for the central station just got too expensive so I rely on the outside siren to alert the neighbors. I know the neighbors can hear it and they do call me when it goes off. My brother-in-law has set it off accidentally a couple of times.
One of the best security aspects of this area (and I think this is typical of most rural areas) is that everyone knows everything that goes on there. I remember when I first bought the retreat I stopped in at the local country store to get some supplies. When I was paying for the supplies the owner said that two people had called the store to tell him that “that new guy just drove into town”.
One thing that I like are bees. Even if don’t have the know how to raise them, which is a shame because they are a source of honey and other things (like security) and a useful trade to know, posting a couple of signs like “Warning, wild bee hives, private reserch station. Owner not liable for accidents or mishaps if you proceed” I would pose to think about to proced or not
Excellent suggestions MD!
I hadn’t read you’re earlier post on the issue, and was immediately interested when I saw this one in my RSS feed. The steps you outline here and in the previous post last year are very simple and cost effective to carry out, and every home owner who values their safety should have them.
An auto-dialler alarm might also be a good investment, with many available at a relatively low cost. If you want to spend alot I recommend getting one with a talk back feature. This allows the alarm to dial five programmed numbers, and the person on the line can hear what’s happening in the house and even talk to the intruder, which is great to verify false alarms.
Whole House Alarms:
http://cgi.ebay.com/WIRELESS-HOME-SECURITY-SYSTEM-HOUSE-ALARM-w-AUTO-DIAL-/180490554203?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a06134b5b
If in Europe, for readers like myself, I recommend checking out Yale’s wireless alarms which have this feature.
They come as whole house alarms, or as motion detecting PIR units. So you can wire every entry to you home and the alarm will trigger as soon as any of the entries is breached and dial up the programmed numbers.
Brian – I found another item I’m going to be installing in my cabin. It’s called a Sensaphone. It, too, dials several pre-programmed phone numbers and will also allow you to call in to the device and listen to real-time sound at a remote location. It has various sensors that can be used with the device that sense water on any surface, excessive noise, temperature and an alarm system. I have ordered one from Smarthome.com. There are two models. One has the capacity for four sensors and the other has eight.
Hi W,
Thanks for that added info, I didn’t think such devices would even be commercially available! I will definitely be sourcing one of them out for my set up.
One additional note about the Sensaphone is that it has a digital voice report. When you call the house and enter a special code, the Sensaphone speaks a litany of status reports such as battery level, temperature, an “OK” for all the other sensors and finally the digital voice ends with “Listen in at that location” and you can hear what’s gong on there for as long as you like. I have one in my primary residence and I’ve ordered one for the cabin, too.
Even though I have cameras and an alarm set up at my house, in my case it has come down to the dogs and neighbors to let me know what is going on in time of defending our property. Our house is fenced about five feet high, that way whatever jumps in, the dogs will be waiting for them.
Also, recognizing the attitude of a dog’s bark give you an edge while scrambling to turn the TV on and watch the cameras and looking at a alarm panel trying to figure it out what is going on.
Two examples.
#1) One night the alarm went of, dogs where not barking. I turned cameras on and alarm panel advised my back door went off. But back door looked closed and no signs of broken glass or forced entry in the cameras I went for my shotgun while the alarm was still going off (never turn off alarm until you know situation is under control) just to find out a small bird lying in the floor ’cause it hit the glass door in the middle of the night. Some water and cuddling got the bird flying in five minutes and that was the end of it.
#2) Another night as I am going to bed I noticed my two dogs barking furiously and intense. I knew right away something was going on, but could not figure it out. I advised my wife to gather the kids and get ‘em in our bedroom when my phone rang and a neighbor advised me that two guys where walking in my roof top (who would have think of that when I live in a two story house…). Another neighbor came out and fire two warning shots, no question asked and the guys on the roof just took off. I went out and thank my neighbors for the call and for the warning shots.
Technology might give you an edge but for me it has come down to the dogs and friends to keep intruders out
One question MD:
Is it possible to get spare sensors for the Driveway Patrol or do you have to order a new alarm (sensor and receiver) every time you want to cover a new area?
Thanks!
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