Home Defense Plan

How to Create a Home Defense Plan That Really Works

By Seth Thompson published in General, How To, Safety and Training

Every year, somewhere between 1.2 million and 3+ million American citizens use a firearm in self-defense, according to recently compiled home invasion statistics and crime reports. These numbers offer proof for the need to take home defense planning seriously.

Be aware of your home’s weak points, such as windows that a burglar can break into using a crowbar.

This doesn’t mean that homeowners should live in fear. It means that responsible homeowners need to use comprehensive home defense strategies to protect their property. The most effective strategies require proper planning and the best information to go off of to prevent these incidents from happening in their homes.

Here’s how to create a home defense plan that really works:

Start By Burglar-Proofing Your Home

Over 2 million home burglaries are reported each year in the U.S., according to Safeguard the World, a Florida security company. It’s important for homeowners to take the first critical step to protect themselves against the most common crime in most neighborhoods, by burglar-proofing their homes. Burglars are typically opportunists who will break into a house if it looks unkempt or unsecured.

Choose a modern security door with multiple latch bolts.

Start by securing potential weak points in your home, such as open windows, unlocked doors, open backyards with bushes, garages without lighting, and unsecured entry points to balconies and upper floors. Such weak points are what burglars or home invaders will look for when trying to get into your home.

Make sure your home is well maintained. Strategically place outdoor lighting to cover blind spots, trim your outdoor shrubs and lawn, never leave ladders outside, clear away debris, and fix any damaged windows and locks. Embrace the habit of shutting your windows and locking all doors when you’re not at home.

You can also get yourself and your family a dog as part of your home security plan. Large breeds, such as German Shepherds, Pit bulls, Labradors, Doberman, Bull mastiff, Akita, and Rottweilers are great options for homeowners who are serious about their home defense and deterrent strategies. These intelligent breeds have loud barks and are able to warn families of an intruder.

Install Video Surveillance Cameras

Consider a system of outdoor surveillance cameras as a deterrent.

Only 20% of American homes use security cameras. Despite this, it’s important to note that homes without security systems are 300% more likely to be broken into than homes with them. Criminals don’t want to be recorded or seen, which is one of the main reasons why cameras are an effective deterrent. If you keep many valuables in your home or spend a lot of time away, installing security cameras is a must.

Modern security camera systems are more cost-effective than ever to install and maintain. Many also carry advanced features standard, such as remote viewing and playback from phones, tablets, and computers. Additional features for consideration include long-range infrared night vision, pan-tilt-zoom capabilities, motion-sensitive activation.

Install cameras in strategic areas like your main entry doors, garage, or backyard. Put up a surveillance sign saying “Video surveillance in use 24/7.” This is usually a great deterrent.

Consider Getting a Self-Defense Firearm

Regularly practice at a firing range for self-defense so you know your gun and are prepared to use it.

As part of your home defense plan, it’s advisable also to get yourself a rifle, shotgun or handgun for self-defense. Consider the type of gun and ammunition you need for self-defense, the training required to become proficient at using it, and additional equipment you may need. This could be a flashlight, ear protection, and/or a well-fitting holster.

You must also ensure that your gun or guns are stored safely in an easily accessible gun safe, so that your weapons and ammunition are ready when they’re needed.

Regularly Review and Practice Your Home Defense Plan

A home defense plan is never complete without regular reviews and practice to ensure its viability. By combining home defense strategies such as, burglar proofing, installing surveillance cameras both indoors and outdoors, and keeping a firearm ready, you can more easily take control of any situation that puts you and your family at risk. Cameras are an especially effective enhancement to the way you use guns for self-defense, as tools for enhanced situational awareness.

Make sure to strengthen all possible points of entry in your home and keep your home defense deterrents up to date. You and your family need a concrete home defense plan and must be able to execute it without hesitation or confusion. Consider the size and layout of your home, how many people live in your home, the abilities, and age of each member, and other details like where to go or regroup in case of a breach.

Taking the Right Approach

You can create a home defense plan that really works by being realistic and preparing for the most likely scenarios first. With the right approach, your home will be protected from incidents like break-ins when you’re at home or away, property intrusion and others.

Do you have a home security plan or tip? Share it in the comment section.

Seth Thompson is a writer and content strategist specializing in topics concerning homeowners and business owners for companies including CCTV Security Pros. he also writes about developments in science and technology. In his free time, Seth enjoys basketball and nature walks.

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The mission of Cheaper Than Dirt!'s blog, "The Shooter's Log," is to provide information-not opinions-to our customers and the shooting community. We want you, our readers, to be able to make informed decisions. The information provided here does not represent the views of Cheaper Than Dirt!

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EDC Survival

EDC or Every Day Carry is one of the most likely survival scenarios you are likely to encounter.  This is a situation where things go bad, and all you have with you are the things that you normally carry with you EVERY DAY.  IF you are lucky, you have your car with a good assortment of things available. 

Lets look at two scenarios:  1)  No Car and 2) Having your car with you.

NO CAR - What you should carry on your person every day

1. Charged cell phone; don't let it get too low!
2. Money - Cash, in small bills & a few coins
3. A knife &/or a Leatherman Multi-Tool
4. A ferrous rod &/or bic lighter for starting fire
5. Band aids in your wallet or purse for first aid
6. Concealed Carry pistol with extra rounds of ammo 
7. Comfortable shoes for walking great distances
8. Long sleeve shirt &/or waterproof coat
9. Condom (un-lubricated) for carrying water
10. Know your edible wild plants; this is free and adds no weight

As you think about this to carry, remember the Rule of 3.

CAR -  What to carry in your car

1. Gasoline - enough to get home.  Never run it down near empty.
2. Case of bottled water (rotated every year)
3. Water filter 
4. Stainless steel water bottle
5. 2 Qt Pot to cook and boil water in
6. Rifle with military ammo can full
7. Back Pack 
8. Machete 
9. Water proof poncho or tarp for shelter
10. First Aid Kit
11. Long shelf life snack foods like beef jerky, granola, raisins or canned goods
12. Cell Phone, solar charger & water proof case; power off when not needed
13. MURS Radio and solar charger for communications
14. Motion Detecting, Solar Powered Lights &/or Alarms for Intruder Detection
15. Fishing - net, line & lots of hooks; extra line for security trip wires
16. A Thermal Scope will give you superior night vision for night travel
17. A regional MAP or Atlas, plastic coated or in a freezer bag for navigation

Know when it is time to get home with our Bug Out Red Flag Warning Signs.

For more information visit our related links below: 

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Best Prepper Websites (vote for this one)
Complete Sustainable Living Plan

 

Alone Season 1 Pack List 

Alone Season 2 Pack List  

Alone Season 3 Pack List  

Alone Season 4 Pack List  

Alone Season 5 Pack List 

Alone Season 6 Pack List

Alone: The Beast S1 E1

Alone: The Beast S1 E2 

Alone Season 7 Pack List

 

Alone Winners Pack List

Alone Survival Plan  

Naked & Afraid Survival Plan 

Survive on a deserted island  

Wilderness Survival TEST

 
Backpack Selection Guide

Survival Pack (Security Patrol or Bug Out pack)  

Wilderness Survival Pack (Video)  

Wilderness Survival

Dual Purpose Items

EDC For Women
EDC For Men
EDC Survival
Best Survival Knife
Primitive Shelter

Best Campsite Selection Criteria
Acorn Flour Pancakes
Emergency Water 
Prepper Gift List
Bear: Fire Arm or Spray? 

Noodling for fish 
Primitive Fire Building 
Bear Attacks 
Nomadic Prepper Strategy 
Catch your own live bait (for fishing) 

How to make clay pots 
Quickly craft stone tools 
3 Odd techniques for catching fish
Survival Fishing 
Step by Step Prepper Plan 

Edible Wild Plants  

Greenbriar (catbriar) 

Cattails 

Dandelion  

Chickweed & Hackberries 

Edibility Test

Top 10 List of Prepper info
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Top Rated Prepper Website
Top 15 Prepper Movies or Shows

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What is a Prepper?

Preparing is a basic human function. We prep for a visit to the grocery store by making a list. Eggs, check. Bread, check. Milk, check. You can even prepare mentally without physically doing anything."Prepping" is an extension of these normal preparations everyone already does. It is usually considered extreme due to the exposure it has garnered lately, being tied into ludicrous scenarios that grow more and more far fetched by the day. Those that use prepping to get ready for inevitable disasters or emergencies are "Preppers."

At TruePrepper, we are here to clear the air. Prepping is not about daydreaming on doomsday scenarios, it is about being ready for threats likely and unlikely that will be thrown your way. Prepping is about keeping yourself and your loved ones safe from harm and staying in control in unavoidable situations. Five steps can help you stay in control not only when SHTF, but in everyday scenarios as well:

1. Identify your Threats
2. Determine/Prioritize your Risks
3. Make a Plan
4. Develop a Kit
5. Train and Prepare

Identify your Threats
The first step is to take a look at all the threats we have identified on this website. Come back when you are done browsing, but it is quite a few! These are just threats we are making you aware of. Try to branch out and look at what your neighbors have experienced, conventional and unconventional. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself:

• Is your neighborhood prone to burglaries? How often?
• Do you live in a flood plain or where wildfires occur frequently?
• Do you live near a nuclear plant or a fault line?
• Do you live near a train that transports hazardous chemicals?
• Does your neighbor feed bears for fun?

You probably have the idea by now, and we could go on for pages. Writing the threats down will help you remember them for the next steps. There are many threats to your well being that we have not listed on this page, or ranked with our TrueRisk risk analysis system (such as bear attacks). These can be categorized as 'common sense' threats or 'unknown' threats. Common sense threats are threats that are so prevalent, we hope you have already considered them. This includes the possibility of a fatal car wreck, developing a debilitating health issue, and losing your job and having financial hardship to name a few. Unknown threats are threats not conceivable, or we have such little information on them we cannot judge the risk accurately.
Determine and Prioritize your Risks
Determining your risk to the threats you have identified is often overlooked in the prepping community, but it is one of the cornerstones of preparedness. Conducting a risk analysis is very important for prioritizing how you spend your time and physical resources. A risk analysis is completed by  comparing the impact of a threat with the frequency that you anticipate that threat to occur. If you determine your risk levels wrong, and then prioritize your preparations accordingly, you may end up looking foolish or even worse, not being around to look foolish. Recently I read a blog post on how a well known prepper lost their home in a house fire. While my condolences go out to them and their family (nobody was injured, thankfully), I couldn't help but wonder if they had prioritized properly. Years of stockpiled food stores, energy solutions, and survival gear lost to one of the most common personal disasters that can affect a family. Take a look at our TrueRisk index, where at TruePrepper we have conducted a general risk analysis for you that you can tailor to your need. You will notice that almost everyone needs to prepare for house fires and home invasions first and foremost. Risk analysis and prioritization is important.
Make a Prepper Plan
Your plan can be written or verbal, small or large, a single plan or multiple plans, but it has to be shared and practiced. You have identified the threats, decided which you need to address and in what priority. Start with the high priority threats and plan accordingly. Your plan should include in the very least communication information, safe locations depending on threat, and ways to avoid threats and be more safe. Talk with your family about your plans for various disasters, emergencies, and survival scenarios. Share with trusted friends and ask for critiques to identify weak points in your planning.
Develop a Prepper Kit
Your kit can be generic, such as a simple disaster/survival kit, or it can be custom tuned to all threats you anticipate using specialized kits.  The kit guides on TruePrepper are meant to get you started on developing different kits based on your needs. Our gear reviews are here to flesh out your prepper arsenal based on our collective knowledge and experience with the gear we share. Be wary of some items targeted to preppers online and in stores, as it is not always "you get what you pay for."
Train and Prepare
Set a schedule to practice, evaluate, and revise your emergency plans- at least annually. How do you prepare for the threats besides practicing your plan? You can mitigate them before they happen. If you live in a flood plain, look into flood insurance. Stay fit. You will be surprised at how much that helps all aspects of your life- not just during emergencies. Be resourceful. Keep learning new things- never stop learning. Survival skills are not only a huge help in making yourself self-sufficient, they are pretty fun to learn too. Last of all, although it is serious business to prepare for what life brings your way, try to have fun with it. If you find you enjoy prepping, you are more likely to stick with it and transfer the importance of being prepared to people you interact with.

For more good prepping information like this visit the True Prepper.

For additional information see the following links:

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Prepper Training Drills

During an emergency, it is easy to become indecisive. Unsure about what to do, people often freeze and do nothing.  Such delays can be life threatening in some cases.  But having rehearsed your plans makes executing them second nature.

http://www.primitiveskills.com/

It is good to have plans, but we must be able to execute them, and that requires practice. So what are some good training drills to practice?  Anything that you have formal written plans for should be practiced.  In addition to that, here are some suggested Training Drills:

1.  Bug Out Time - there are Red Flag Warnings that it is bug out time, but will we recognize them and respond in a timely & sensible way?  
2. SHTF Day One exercise - what do you do the first day you realize things are falling apart?
3. Home Invasion - Often there is no warning, requiring that you respond quickly and respond. Group Security Drills
   Urban Survival Perspective
   Urban Survival Plan
   Country Home Security Plan 
   Home Invasion Response Plan
   
4. Pandemic Quarantine procedures - don't just let people come and join your group. 
5. Shooting Skills - Target Practice, especially for beginners.  A .22 Long Rifle or BB gun are the best for beginners and still fun for old timers. 
6. Group Movement Exercises for your Security Team.  How do you safely move from point A to point B when the SHTF?
7. Power Outage - practice being out of power for 1 day, 2 days, .... days.  Its ok to leave your refrigerator and freezer running, but turn the breaker off for everything else and practice surviving without electricity.
8.  Fishing Skills are essential to Wilderness Survival and should be practices frequently.
   Survival Fishing
   3 Odd Techniques for Primitive Fishing
   How to catch your own live bait
   Noodling
   
9. Camping - outdoor skills are essential.  Camp out with the family and practice living off the land with only what you can carry in your Survival Back Pack.
10. First Aid practice is good.  Take Red Cross CPR classes or other such training. 

Beyond this, document and practice your own Prepper plans.

For additional information see the following links:
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Top 10 Lists 

Sewer disposal when the SHTF

Here is a TEST for you.  After this test, the importance of this topic will be obvious. 

Go 7 days without toilet paper or flushing your toilet.  How long before it is intolerable?

Or try to bring in water from a creek or swimming pool in a 5 gal pail for every toilet flush you do.

Now suppose that every time you go out for a pail of water, that your life is in danger from Looters.

Consider the rule:  when it is brown, flush it down; if it is yellow, let it mellow.

For many, it may be difficult to imagine how dark and violent the world can become.  City Survival could become dangerous, especially without a Neighborhood Watch Program.

But our focus here is on waste disposal, which is an often overlooked consideration.  Imagine what the neighborhood will be like when everyone starts dumping their poop in different places.  Is there a vacant lot, or empty space away from everyone and water sources for dumping waste? Perhaps a business dumpster, or even an abandoned business.

Burning some waste and burying the rest (got shovels?) in 8" deep catholes could be a solution, although the smoke from burning could draw undesirable attention to you, putting your life in danger especially if you don't have Security &/or Intruder Detection.  Even if you detect intruders, do your people have  Shooting Training, or even Gun Safety Training?


The US Department of Conservation offers the following:

Shallow holes for human waste

Dig a shallow hole for human waste; but not just any hole, anywhere. Choose an appropriate place to dig the hole.
How to do it:

• Keep human waste well away from waterways. Dig shallow holes at least 50 m from water, tracks and campsites.
• Select a site where other people are not likely to walk or camp, such as next to thick undergrowth or near fallen timber. If possible also dig your hole where it will receive plenty of sunlight. Heat from the sun helps decomposition.
• Use a trowel to dig a hole 150 - 200 mm deep (about the length of the trowel blade) and 100 -150 mm wide. Deposit your solid human waste. Then back fill the hole with dirt and disguise it with leaf litter or other natural materials.
• If camping in an area for more than one night, or if camping with a large group, agree on a single toilet place and dig a hole deep enough for the group for the length of your stay.

Toilet paper

• If you have to use paper, use only plain, unbleached, non-perfumed types.
• Use toilet paper sparingly.
• Do not burn toilet paper, as this can result in wildfires. Bury paper in your shallow hole or carry it out with you in a plastic bag. 
• Try using natural materials such as bark or leaf vegetation (non-prickly!) or snow instead. Natural ‘toilet paper’ is as sanitary as processed toilet paper and blends back easily into the environment.

While a topic of debate, using human waste, a.k.a. bio solids or night soil for fertilizer, has been done for centuries.  In the absence of commercial fertilizer (and pesticides), it may be necessary to use anything possible.  Human urine is sterile and contains Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium which are essential plant nutrients.

Your Neighborhood Watch Program could help organize a safe, sanitary latrine location a minimum of 200 feet away from water, trails, and campsites, in organic soil.  Your latrine should be about 12" deep and one foot long for each person that will be using it each day.  Then as the first one foot is used, the waste is covered and then the next foot is used.

By the middle of the 1800's cities, life in big cities was hazardous to your health.  The air was polluted, the streams were open sewers and the streets were covered in horse manure.  This led to disease and the death of many people.  We must manage waste to prevent this from reoccurring and a small amount of planning can help achieve this.

For additional information, see the following links:
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Top 10 List of Prepper info
Top Rated Prepper Handbook Posts of all time
Top Rated Prepper Website

Hurricane Bug Out Bag

If you only have 5 minutes, be sure to grab these 6 things: 

1. Warm rain coat and layered clothing
2. Heavy duty resealable water jug (full); preferably metal that can be used for boiling water in.
3. Pocket Knife 
4.  Bic Lighter - light candles or fire.
5. Concentrated, dried packaged foods, peanut butter
6. Bottle of bleach to purify water - 2 drops of bleach per liter of water.  Let it sit 30 minutes.

If you have time to pack a Bug Out Bag, here are some suggestions.

1. Small tent
2. Survival blanket
3. Stainless steel bottle of water (2 liters)
4. Granola bars or MRE's
5. Fire tinder - cotton balls in petroleum jelly
6. Fire starter - 2 methods
7. Large fixed blade knife
8. Duct tape
9. High top water proof boots & extra socks.

Beyond this, look at the list of things that expert survivors take to live in the wild for long periods. 

For more information visit our related links below:

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Hurricane 101 Review
Hurricanes

Alone Season 1 Pack List
Alone Season 2 Pack List
Alone Season 3 Pack List
Alone Season 4 Pack List
Alone Season 5 Pack List

Alone Winners Pack List
Alone Survival Plan

Naked & Afraid Survival Plan
Survive on a deserted island
Survival Pack (Security Patrol or Bug Out pack)
Wilderness Survival Pack (Video)
Wilderness Survival

Edible Wild Plants
Greenbriar (catbriar)
Cattails
Dandelion
Chickweed & Hackberries

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MeMaw's Goulash

This is an economical dish that is easy to make in about 45 minutes; another good addition to our Pioneer Recipe series.

Ingredients:
1 - pound Hamburger
2 - 14.5 oz cans of Stewed tomatoes (or frozen)
1 - cup white rice
2 - cups elbow macaroni
12 - cups of water
Salt & Pepper

Steps:

1.  Brown Hamburger and drain thoroughly
2. Add Tomatoes and 12 cups of water, then bring to a rapid boil
3. Add rice and macaroni & stir
4. Cover and simmer on low fire for 20 minutes without opening the lid and do NOT stir
5. Open, stir, salt & pepper to taste then cook uncovered for 5 - 10 more minutes
6. Turn fire off, cover and let sit for 10 minutes

 This dish really goes good with MeMaw's famous corn bread or corn fritters.

Also see:
Complete Sustainable Living Plan
Acorn Flour Pancakes
Pemmican Recipe
Hardtack Recipe
Goulash
Texas Brisket
Corn Bread
Sour Dough Bread
Corn Fritters
Apple Cider Vinegar
More on making Vinegar
Backing Soda vs Yeast
Baking Soda uses
Best Foods to Store

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Building your food stores the right way
Emergency Water Supply
Complete Sustainable Living Plan
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Immigration - MUST Watch

You MUST watch this Immigration Video.  If you have seen it before, watch it again, and share it with your friends.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPjzfGChGlE

For additional information see the following links: Blog Table of Contents;

Illegal Immigration Cost
Protecting America
Illegal Immigration Solution

Top 10 List of Prepper info
Top Rated Prepper Handbook Posts of all time
Top Rated Prepper Website

Immigration History

 

Here is a summery of US immigration history and evidence that it is repeating it's self, along with an obvious solution.

Immigration High Level Perspective (why immigration hurts countries that we take immigrants from)
Illegal Immigration Cost 

Protecting America

Illegal Immigration Solution

For additional information see the following links: 
Blog Table of Contents;

Top 10 List of Prepper info
Top Rated Prepper Handbook Posts of all time
Top Rated Prepper Website
 

Or click on a label below for similar topics.

 

Making Penicillin

Possibly save the life of your loved ones with home-made Antibiotics.

1. Put some bread in a plastic bag or container
2. Once it begins to form spores, break it up into small pieces
3. Mist it lightly with water and reseal it.
4. Remove it once the mold culture turns obviously green

As the mold begins to grow and develop it will take on white, blue and green stages. The green mold you see in the picture above illustrates this point. The green color is going to contain doses of penicillin. As you can see the green areas are where the mold has grown the largest, essentially where it has matured. Now that you have this green mold, you can actually begin to use it as treatment. There are a few ways to go about this.

Option A: Take the bread clumps, fill up a large cup full of them and add warm water (not boiling water). Mix together and consume. Repeat as necessary, essentially as daily doses of penicillin. It is important to note that while you are growing the mold, you are most likely growing other things. Not all of them helpful. And when you consume the bread will be getting both penicillin and that bad stuff. Yes, it will also taste terrible. Does the bad outweigh the good? In the scenario above, diarrhea or upset stomach are much less serious problems compared to a major infection. So it can be worth it. This remedy has been used for thousands of years in ancient cultures and has also been seen in many folk remedies around the United States for centuries.

Option B: Take your time and carefully separate nothing but the green mold from the bread. Clean the wound, take your ‘scrapings’  from the bread and topically apply them over the whole would. Dress lightly and repeat this process regularly.

An interesting fact I once learned studying Egyptology. Dating back to Imhotep, ancient doctors used to dress wounds with honey. Why is this? It is actually extremely hard for bacteria to grow on honey. If a wound is fresh and clean and infection free, you can apply honey to the area to preserve it from harmful bacteria. Believe it or not, medical grade honey bandages are still used in modern emergency rooms to this day. For home use simply cover the entire area in honey, and wrap the wound to both keep the honey in place and everything else away.

There are of course more advanced ways to make penicillin from bread and oranges that go beyond what I mentioned above. Perhaps if you have more time, more resources available at hand, you can indeed make potentially pharmaceutical grade penicillin using the same basic process I mentioned above. With the relatively low cost and the wide availability of penicillin in the healthcare marketplace today, this may not be practical. But find yourself in the middle of the zombie apocalypse, this information might just save your life. If you wish to know more advanced means of processing penicillin I recommend reading up on it further.

FULL DISCLOSURE:  I AM NOT A DOCTOR NOR PHARMACIST. 

To read the original article, click HERE

http://realfarmacy.com/homemade-penicillin/

For additional information see the following links:

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Top 10 List of Prepper info
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