Preppers know that it's better to overprepare instead of being caught unaware when things go south. When disaster strikes, looters may attempt to break into your home to steal your supplies and weapons.
Fortifying your home is key to protecting your loved ones and your property before SHTF. (h/t to Hillsborough-Homesteading.com)
Gone are the days when you can simply check if your doors and windows are locked before going to bed. Always take extra precautions to protect your home and loved ones.
While you can arm yourself with firearms, keep the use of guns to a minimum to avoid injuring yourself and others. In a worst-case scenario, you may be forced to defend yourself against intruders, in which case you shouldn't hesitate to use force if necessary.
But before things escalate, you should fortify your home by installing an alarm system, securing all doors and windows and setting up physical barriers to discourage any intruders from targeting your home.
Get a high-quality alarm system
A high-tech, quality alarm system is one of the best ways to deter intruders. Once you've set up your alarm system, attach alarm company decals in windows, doors, or in other visible areas. (Related: 5 Methods to secure your stockpile from looters when SHTF.)
If potential looters see that your home has tight security, they will change their minds about attempting to break in.
Never write down your alarm code and leave it where it could fall into the wrong hands. Check your code and change it regularly to make it hard to guess.
Follow these tips to ensure that your alarm code is secure:
- Never use "1234." It's one of the most common codes, and one of the easiest to guess. You might as well leave your doors unlocked if you use this as your alarm system code.
- Don't use a year that is meaningful to you, like your birth year or an anniversary. This information can easily be found on social media sites.
- Don't use the same number repeated, like "1111" or repeated pairs of numbers, like "4343" that are too easy to guess.
- You should also avoid using the last four digits of your social security number or phone number or your street address number.
- Never reuse PINs for debit cards or ATMs.
- Use random numbers. You'll be using the code often, so you'll remember it easily.
Secure all doors
Doors are a burglar's primary entry point in most scenarios.
First, they may try to get in through the garage door. Next, they may try to break in through the back door.
Once they've entered your home and are concealed from view, a thief has more options for breaking and entering. Regularly inspect door frames. If you see any signs of rotting or warping replace door frames immediately.
Reinforce your front and back door. Consider door security device systems that will reinforce any weak points in your doors.
Hang a doorknob chime on your door or attach chimes inside your door. The chimes will ring out whenever the doors open and close, and if you hear something in the middle of the night, you'll have time to arm yourself if you have to confront a burglar.
Secure all windows
Aside from main doors, burglars may attempt to break into your home through unsecured windows.
Ground floor windows and windows accessible from the street or alley should be secured with locks. Upper-floor windows can also be used as an entry point, especially if they can be reached with the help of a stairwell, balcony climbing, fence, or tree.
You can also secure windows by applying security film, a transparent film that makes windows stronger. The film makes it harder to break windows and it can slow an intruder down and force them to make more noise, which can alert your attention during a break-in.
Create physical barriers around your property
Once your doors and windows are secured, you should add more physical barriers around your home, like a sturdy fence that will also protect your privacy. You should also set up a sturdy fence along your homestead to protect any animals on your property and tools that might tempt burglars.
If you prefer natural physical barriers, plant thorny hedges around your home. You can also plant shrubs or trees near windows to obscure the view inside.
Hedges, shrubs, or trees will help block windows, driveways, front doors, patios, or backyards from prying eyes. Plant shrubs strategically to funnel invaders into areas that you can easily monitor. Thorny bushes like blackberry and raspberry vines can also help deter intruders.
Aside from shrubs and trees, larger cacti can act as natural barbed wire fences.
Place barrel cactus in a rockery underneath windows or at the bottom of fence lines. Barrel cactus grows in a rounded shape, with spikes "protruding from each of its ribs that radiate from the top of the barrel downwards."
Barrel cactus will grow well in Zones 9 to 11. They are perfect decorative plants and are effective deterrents.
Barrel cactus thrives in desert conditions and needs lots of sunlight and very little water. The cactus will tolerate some frost, but not over an extended period. Alternatively, you can line up old machinery and tools that you no longer use to protect newer ones.
Install an alarm system, secure all doors and windows and set up sturdy physical barriers around your property to protect your home and keep out intruders.
Visit SelfDefense.news to read more articles with tips on how to secure your home before disaster strikes.
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