Home Security is Crucial for your Peace of Mind and Your Survival
In a survival event, whether it’s a sudden natural disaster or a major, long-term event, you have to make sure your home is secure for a variety of reasons and in many different ways. Not only does having a secure home protect you on a daily basis, but in a disaster, people often turn desperate.
They can raid your home for supplies that you worked hard to accumulate – or they can break in for even more sinister reasons. You never want to put yourself or your family at risk because you failed to take proper home security precautions.
Some people only focus on self defense measures, and while that’s a good step in case someone breaches your security, you don’t want to have to deal with this type of threat. A community watch program is also good, but it’s no match for stealthy criminals who know exactly how to evade your security measures and maneuver around them.
Don’t Underestimate The Importance of Physical Home Security Measures
Let’s talk firstly about the most important home security you can have – physical barriers against entry in all ways. While digital security is nice, it’s not going to save you in a grid-down situation.
Taking time to prevent intruders from being able to access your home easily is something all homeowners should do, but it’s even more vital in a survival situation when people are prone to looting and stealing – whether or not they need the items.
Start by going around your home and making note of every entry point. This includes major ones such as your doors and windows to those you might not consider, like your garage door or even a dog or cat door.
If you have the funds, make some major improvements like switching exterior doors made from weak materials like wood to solid, steel or metal doors. You don’t want anyone being able to kick in your door with ease. Make sure you replace your window and doorframes with steel frames and doorjambs as well.
Secondly, check out the locks you have in place. You want deadbolts and a sturdy frame that secures your residence even more. Make sure to use longer screws to make the door harder to breach, too.
Next, check out your windows. You can upgrade these so that they’re shatterproof or more resilient to breakage. There’s even window security film you can install that helps prevent breakage, because thieves will often move along if something is too difficult or gets too noisy to break in.
Your garage is a vulnerable entry point at your residence. Many survival-peppers forget about that and spend all their time, effort and a lot of money to secure doors and windows and completely ignore the garage door and internal door from the garage to the house as possible breaches and entry points. If it’s damaged and doesn’t close properly, get that fixed as soon as possible. Don’t just use the digital lock – have a manual one that you use, too.
There are extra devices you can buy to add more security to this entry point, but make sure that the door leading into your home from the garage is one of the strongest physical security barriers you have in place.
You also want to consider the perimeter of your property. Having a strong gate or fence that’s tall and not easy to climb is going to serve as a first defense for your security. When a criminal has options, they’re going to choose the home that doesn’t have this type of protection.
The material you choose will determine how strong of a deterrent it is. Don’t go with wood or chain link fences. Metal is best, and the design itself can be unwelcoming to any trespassers with bad intentions.
Inside your home, you want to have a separate safe room to provide an internal form of home security. That way, if someone does breach the home, you and your loved ones will have a backup space to stay safe.
Digital Security That Works with an Intact Grid
As long as the grid is stable, then having a digital security system in place is a smart idea. You ideally want a comprehensive security system – one that serves you in many ways, not just one.
Sometimes, just seeing security cameras will make someone leave and choose to go elsewhere for breaking and entering or worse. Not only is it a deterrent, but it can alert you to intruders and record any criminal activities that can be used to get justice later.
The digital security options you have are huge range of options. There are some that record from batteries, some that are electric, then some that come solar powered – and even some that are fake, but look real enough to keep people away.
There are security systems where you record and monitor activity yourself and those where you can sign up with a service that monitors the safety of your property for you. You can push a button to call for an alarm as well.
There are some security systems that run 24/7 and others that are motion-activated. And of course, you’ve probably noticed that the quality varies greatly, too. Some security cameras are worthless in identifying anyone – but it might be enough to show there’s activity.
Others have very clear recordings and you can pick up sounds clearly. There are even security systems that have night vision recording that looks clear as day, so it all depends on your budget and what you want to have working for you.
In addition to security cameras strategically placed inside and outside of your home, you can have intercoms and doorbell cameras that allow you to monitor and engage with people even if you’re not home, so that they don’t know your home is empty.
When using any type of digital security measures, you have to be careful about the passwords you use and the ability of your system to get hacked. Many gadgets have built-in encryption that will add an extra layer of protection. However, if you are solely relying on a service, and a major survival event occurs, don’t expect that service to be functional anymore.
Deterrents That Make Your Home Less of a Target
Ideally, you want people to take one look at your home and immediately know they don’t want to even attempt a break-in. There are some deterrents you can use similar to how you used the fence or gate.
Start with landscaping. Thorny bushes outside of your home’s windows make predators not want to sneak up and peek in or climb through the window. A regular bush won’t have the same effect, so look for ones like Barberry, cacti, blackthorn and more.
When you have a visible house from the street, thieves often go elsewhere, so make sure your landscaping is strategically placed where they have nowhere to hide when casing your home for a break in.
Having a home that is lit up outside at night is another great deterrent. When it gets dark, you don’t want criminals to find it easy to go undetected on your property. You can have solar lights that are always on or motion-sensor lights that activate whenever someone steps foot on your property.
Go around the perimeter of your house at night to pinpoint any dark areas and install lighting that will make it unappealing for criminals. Make sure they are solar operated so that you don’t have to worry about batteries running out or the grid going down.
You can also use also deterrents to make people think twice about choosing your home. These include security system signs, protection signs about self defense gadgets and dangerous dogs, and actual large guard dogs that make their presence known on your property.
Don’t forget that your behavior is also something that can protect your home, your supplies and your loved ones. Knowing not to brag about things you have, or telling people when you’ll be away are important factors in keeping your property safe.
Now that you know Why Securing your Home is Vital for your Survival you can proceed to the next article in our Survival 101 Series: Part 17 – Why You Must Take Self Defense Precautions .
If you missed the last report you can study it here: Part 15 – Why You Should Plan for a Grid-Down Event
