Your Home Is a Defensive Nightmare You Can Do Little About

Your home is a mess. I don’t mean that you have stuff everywhere, I mean that you couldn’t defend it… even if your life depended on it. I guarantee it. Why? It’s simply that the modern home is a defensive nightmare. There’s a reason why castles with moats were invented. Not because they were stylish but because they could be defended.

Think about your home right now. Better yet, walk around it and imagine what you would do if someone (or more likely multiple someones) were trying to get into your house right now. Go ahead. How easy would it be? How quickly could they do it? Where would they do it? I’m not talking about trying to break it quietly and steal your stuff while you’re away. I’m talking about the dreaded home invasion, at gun-point, the I’m-going-to-steal-your-stuff-whether-you-like-it-or-not break in.

It’s not something anybody likes to think about. I don’t. Unfortunately, I know it would be very easy to do. Unless you built your home yourself and with serious defense in mind, you’re screwed. For instance, as I write this I’m staring at a large windowed sliding glass door. How easy would it be for somebody to throw a large rock through it, startle the heck out of me, and be inside with ill-intentions before I could even move? Very easy.

And, it bothers me.

What’s worse is that there is little I can (or will) do about it. Sure, I’ve got it obviously braced from being jerked open with a sliding glass door security bar. I’ve even got a screw through the top to avoid it being lifted off the track (when I think about putting it there). But, honestly, it’s just a deterrent to grab-and-go criminal; not the real bad guys. I’m willing to bet you’ve go similar problems.

Maybe your exterior doors aren’t solid core wood or metal. And maybe you don’t have 1″ throws on your deadbolts. Perhaps you’re not in vogue and don’t have a home security alarm or even motion-sensing lights and cameras. So what. I’m willing to bet there are any number of large windows that can be easily penetrated with a brick and crowbar. You wouldn’t even have had time to pause your DVR and shout “What happened?” Or, if for some strange reason they can’t get in, or you successfully fend them off, maybe they’ll simply decide to burn down your house… after all, if they can’t have your stuff then neither should you. Good luck keeping that from happening.

So, what do we do?

Pack heat everywhere we go? Hire armed body guards? Replace every window with 3″ thick steel plates? Give up?

I recently watched a YouTube video where a guy explained that his second line of defense (besides the locked gate at the end of his drive… not sure what good that’s really going to do) was his dogs barking to wake him up where he would then proceed to put on his body armor, grab his shotgun and shoot holes through his upstairs floorboard because he could tell where the bad guys would be simply by hearing them move downstairs. Ok, maybe. But, the bigger problem is making an assumption; in this case the assumption is that the only time a home invasion would occur is at night while you’re sleeping, the doors are locked, your Glock is under your pillow and you have an itchy trigger finger. Unfortunately, most home invasions occur during the afternoon. So, what to do then?

I’m not saying I have a good answer. I don’t. All I’m saying is don’t be naive. Sure, apartments are statistically more dangerous than homes, and homes on cul-de-sacs are more dangerous than not, but, after TEOTWAWKI we’re all equally in trouble if you live anywhere near a major city and if you show any signs of life. If you live out in the country–miles away from your nearest neighbor–then there are several actions you can take (read James Wesley Rawles book “How to Survive TEOTWAWKI” for more info) or if you’re the super-secret type then you can take steps to hide what you do and what you have.

Ultimately, however, you will be invaded post-TEOTWAWKI given enough time if you live anywhere near a city. It’s just a fact. Have the means to defend your stuff at all times, hide your stuff REALLY well, or be willing to give up what you have. If you’re lucky the only thing invaders will take is what you own.

If you have the werewithall, financial means, fortitude, etc, then you might consider moving to an undisclosed location far away from civilization. Alternatively, you can hide/stash the majority of your supplies elsewhere (in several lots), perhaps even underground. You might offer diversionary supplies for robbers to take if you’re clever enough. Or you can fight. There are pros and cons to every option. Perhaps the best option is to prepare for all of the above.