Let’s imagine for a second that TEOTWAWKI (The end of the world as we know it) has just happened and our operational security gauge is pinned to the max, how long would it be until you noticed that someone, or some group was headed for your front door?

Perimeter security and alarms on our property in a SHTF event is critical because it could give us the valuable seconds we need to defend ourselves and our family.

This article is not about land mines and booby traps that could get you put in jail for accidentally taking your neighbors leg off, or about high-tech security systems. This article is about some low cost ways to deter someone from entering your property, or alerting you if they do.

SPP118 Perimeter Security and Alarms

These ideas are not just for home security, with a little imagination these can be used on the event you need to bug out or set up camp somewhere other than your home. If you have any perimeter security ideas that aren’t listed here I would love to hear them in the comments below.

Intruder Deterrents

Dogs

This is the lowest tech option here, but affective none the less. You won’t need electricity or extra batteries, but you will need to feed them every day. The dog doesn’t necessarily have to be aggressive, it just needs to sound aggressive and alert you that something is out of the ordinary.

Lisa and I have 1 dog who stays outside and is very protective of his property, and a dog who lives inside that sounds like he would eat your face off, but loves people so long as they are welcome guests. If you can survive his dog style high fives to the crotch, you are probably good to go.

For this application the size and aggressiveness aren’t a factor, the ruckus they make is.

Dog Bones & Scarecrows

Along with owning a dog (and even if you don’t) is having dog toys laying around the front yard. I’m not talking about tennis balls and little dog bones, I’m talking about a dog bone the size of a human leg.

Our dog doesn’t play with tennis balls because they get shredded within minutes. He does play with a flattened basketball however. These 2 signals alone might make someone think twice before entering your property.

This might sound a little like Halloween but think about it, If you had a scarecrow or mannequin set up on your front porch, sitting on a rocking chair and holding a broom stick, what would that look like to someone walking up to your house in the evening? The first thing that comes to my mind is a grumpy old man with a shotgun.

Posted Signage

As I’ll talk about later having a sign posted and a fake security camera that says you have a security system could be a deterrent to an intruder. Most criminals are lazy and are looking for the easiest target with the least amount of risk involved.

In a SHTF situation this might not work as well as because the chances of police coming to help you are minimal. In this case a “beware of dog” sign or a “never mind the dog, beware of owner” sign might be more affective.

Operational Security

As the saying goes “You don’t have to be faster than the bear, just faster than the person next to you.” The same holds true for your home. Your house doesn’t have to look like a junk yard, but you might want it to be less appealing than the rest of the homes in your neighborhood.

Put yourself in the shoes of a criminal or marauder,