How to secure the perimeter of your home?

[Smokey Jones]

Depending on your situation, a deviously lo-tech solution may be a handful of wires attached to some tin cans and such. It may be able to provide an audible alert to the possibility of someone trespassing on your property.

If you wanted to get fancy, you could hang things that make unique sounds from each of the wires to give a better idea of which wire has been disturbed.

 

[Onward Allusion]

How about these?

- Smart motion detectors that differentiate between critters and humans (hide them).
Just an example (there are others that are higher tech but cost a lot more) -
http://www.smarthome.com/7498A/Pet-Smart-Motion-Sensor-K-985-Motion-Detector/p.aspx

- exterior flood lights behind bullet resistant enclosure (connected to motion detectors but away from the lights - 2 targets)

- Burglar bars for the windows and doors.

- Door brace (it'll buy a few extra seconds) - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009V2LU2/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=4372627659&ref=pd_sl_27enkvz0rv_b

- Interior flood lights activated by panic switch - I'm talking about a few thousand watts throughout the house that will sear retinas.

- Battery backup for the house.

- Cellular backup for your alarm system.

- Several fire extinguishers throughout the house and an escape route, in case the BG wants to burn you down.

- As for vandalism, setup a few hidden security cameras throughout the property.

It'll easily cost $5K to $10K to do the above, but a lot of it you can do yourself and you don't need to do everything.

As for the suggestions for a dog and fence - good ideas, but fences can be climbed or cut. Dogs, unless you spend thousands for ones professionally trained, can be killed with poison wrapped in bacon.

BTW, you said you have a fiancee - make sure she is able to protect herself.

I should have mentioned that I am expecting trouble. My “problem” was arrested and convicted and we’re almost done with the civil liability suit. I’m anticipating a jury award. and since this jerk is a hot-head who believes that the rules were not meant for him (that’s what got him in trouble in the first place.), I expect an attempt at retribution soon after the judgement.

Fences can be cut or climbed over and even though it would slow someone down, a short delay in the middle of the night would probably not deter him/them from proceeding to the house. I don’t know what to expect - vandalism at the least and who knows what at the worst.

What I’m looking for is not impenetrability, but enough time to awaken, get my senses together, get armed and locate the intruder(s). I was trained to do both daytime and nighttime land based interdictions and I also have much experience carrying them out. Calling the police is not an option for resolution because of the response time in this rural area - the chances of them doing any good is slim to none.

I like the idea of a dog, but since my fiancee and I travel a lot it would mean more effort and expense to care for it than I would want to do or expose the dog to.

Got anything else besides a fence, a dog or a moat???

 

[Onward Allusion]

My 80lb German Shepherd does a good job for me...He does not like strangers!!!

But does he like bacon?

 

[Mr.Davis]

Since you believe an attack is imminent, take time to brush up your knowledge of local laws on self defense and defense of property. For example, in Kentucky, it's legal to use deadly force against someone attempting arson against your property, but in many states, that's completely illegal. Don't put yourself in a position where someone is doing something to your property and you're unsure of your legal right to act. Be 100% confident of the law so you won't have to hesitate, or risk making a seriously bad decision in the heat of the moment.

Also, if you haven't already, interview local defense lawyers and put one on retainer. It sounds like you already have a lawyer, so maybe they'll do, but make sure whoever you choose has experience in defending self-defense related criminal and civil suits.

I suggest AVOIDING the possible temptation to put up "Protected by Smith & Wesson" signs or anything of the type. It doesn't sound like you're planning on bluster like that, but if you think an attack is coming, it would be best not to give them an inclination of what to prepare for. I'd hate for your self-defense efforts to be blunted by a thoughtfully selected ballistic vest the creep purchased after observing the "Trespassers will be shot on sight...survivors will be shot again" sign.

Here's hoping the fool will learn their lesson through your civil ruling...but I'm glad you're preparing for the eventuality that they haven't.

 

[LibShooter]

We have a 6' fence overgrown in the back by blackberry vines. Didn't mean to, it's just nature taking back her own. But it seems very secure to me. It looks like the barbed wire you see in no man's land in WWI documentaries. Add a mini-pack of loud nervous dogs, and we fell pretty safe.

 

[NoAlibi]

Some more workable ideas

Onward Allusion - You gave me a few more really good ideas. I'm going to get some bullet resistant covers for the quartz lights that I already have and I'll get some self contained emergency lights that will come on when the power is out - these will also get the bullet resistant cover treatment as well.

Burglar bars are out - too many windows, 8 French-window doors, 2entry/exit half glassed doors and another fully glassed one. This is not the way I would have built this house. When I moved in three years ago I was not confronted with my current problem or overly concerned with safety in this very quite almost rural neighborhood (we're on 12 acres). Today that would be another story. However, I could fortify the spare bedroom across the hall from our master bedroom into a semi-safe room. That room has only one window and I could install burglar bars that can be opened from the inside to afford us some protection and an escape. A plan for it's use will also have to be worked out.

With so many windows and all those doors with all that glass in them, a door brace wouldn't work for us.

High intensity interior lights with battery back-up is something I could do at a very reasonable cost. But I'm wondering if it might be better to disable all the power with another master switch in the bedroom and get a second generation night vision goggle. I currently have a first generation plus monocular that convinces me that I might have a better advantage in a no light (other than the infrared light that would be on the goggle) situation. I'll have to think about that one for a bit.

My fiancee can reasonably handle revolvers, semi-auto pistols and an AR. We are going to have to work on the shotgun though.

theotherwaldo the top wire is a good idea and I'm also going to look into a way of detecting a decrease in the resistance and setting off an alarm if the fabric of the chain link fence is cut.

For the time being - dogs are still out (see post #1).

While they may not help me, some of the ideas presented here may be very wokable for other posters and readers - keep 'em coming!

 

[philobeddoe]

how determined is this guy ... ? is he really going to knock out your lights?


+1 on the dog, i've always had mastiffs of one type or another on the property, they do not like intruders, and will certainly buy you the time you need to shake the sleep from your eyes, dial 911, take aim and shoot ... in that order

i've always had a fence as well, just to keep the mastiffs from chasing an intruder too far

and motion lights

essentially, the lights + fence + dog push a potential intruder to another better opportunity than your property

but if you've got a determined intruder, he's going to do his research and come heavy. cut your power, poison your dog.


sir ... you need hedges, hard to penetrate and thick, lots of light coming from multiple angles, and no go on the fish hooks ... run cable and cow bells through the hedge ... you won't get hung up by the law, and they'll make a lot of noise while the hedge slows an intruder down, and the lights illuminate him ... all those will seriously deter all but the most motivated

you'd be surprised how loud those bells will sound to the perp, while he's lit up like daylight and stuck in the bushes ... whether he's lost his advantage of surprise or not, he will certainly perceive it is as lost and retreat


oh, and seriously consider the dog, even a little yip yapper that you can board when you leave, or have a neighbor care for

dogs are a great deterrent and an incredible early warning system

 

[NoAlibi]

Mr.Davis - I am intimately familiar with the laws of my Florida community having enforced them for many years. I do not have the same command of the criminal laws in the State where this home is located, so your advice is appropriate and will be heeded. You are correct, I do have an attorney and he is the best in town.

I don't like telegraphing my intentions, so the signs you mention and verbal bluster are not part of my profile. It's good that you mentioned it so that others may benefit.

philobeddoe - This jerk, who has some professional credentials, acts with impunity and with complete disregard to the presence of others. Some heavy-duty folks testified against him if that tells you something. With that kind of irrational behavior I wouldn't put anything past him. He is a sneak and I strongly believe that he vandalized some of my property already, but I can't prove it. Lately he is acting uncharacteristically low key - perhaps on the advice of his attorney???

At this point a dog would only defeat the motion detectors, so they are now permanently out of the question. You are correct about a perp's perception of light and noise - they, usually, think that the whole world's attention is on them when they give warning - here's hoping the illusion will persist in my case.

 

[9MMare]

If you are worried about the sec. lites being shot out, there are cheap motion detectors you can put on those...they are for doors (the ones I've seen) but would work on the lite fixtures.

And hotwire used for horse fencing is pretty cheap (as are the metal T-posts) and are 'legal'. Run it along fences where they cant see it. Even on a gate, you can usually hide the handle (but of course, you'll need to deal with unhooking 2 latches each time you use the gate. Sounds like you might only want to use it at nite tho anyway). You can use that hotwire to run around doors and windows too, like for a garage or shed. I dont think I'd recommend it for a house tho.

 

[9MMare]

I also recommend several *visible* layers to your security system. Each one, like lighting, fencing, sprinklers,*visible* cameras (real or fake), etc tells any intruder that you are serious, that they'll have to work damn hard and might get hurt, and that they have no idea "what else you have ready that they cant see."

Someone will have to be very motivated to invade your home. These are my thoughts on burglars/home invaders, but may work for revenge-motivated asshats as well.

 

[CooperThunder]

- ....snipped....
As for the suggestions for a dog and fence - good ideas, but fences can be climbed or cut. Dogs, unless you spend thousands for ones professionally trained, can be killed with poison wrapped in bacon.

BTW, you said you have a fiancee - make sure she is able to protect herself.

I didn't spend thousands of dollars for my dog not to pick up anything off the floor and the ground that wasn't given by me nor my husband. All it take is to train and be patient for results. One time, a person I do not really like passed by in front of our property and threw a piece of chicken at my dog. I knew he deliberately did it but i didn't say anything. My dog looked at it and looked at him and looked at me and barked. I ordered my dog to go inside the house. He retreated beside me instead.

It's been a long time since I trained dogs but I always know Rottweilers and German Shepherds are two of the most protective, loyal and intelligent dogs amongst the many breeds out there. And the first thing I teach my dogs is not to take anything from strangers. It is achievable.

 

[Onward Allusion]

If you read my reply, I do know it is do-able to train a dog to not take food from strangers, however, that takes time and money. As you stated yourself, you'd spent thousands of dollars on your dog and probably quite a bit of time training it. In the original poster's queries, it would appear that he doesn't have the time to train or properly care for a dog.

CooperThunder
I didn't spend thousands of dollars for my dog not to pick up anything off the floor and the ground that wasn't given by me nor my husband. All it take is to train and be patient for results. One time, a person I do not really like passed by in front of our property and threw a piece of chicken at my dog. I knew he deliberately did it but i didn't say anything. My dog looked at it and looked at him and looked at me and barked. I ordered my dog to go inside the house. He retreated beside me instead.

It's been a long time since I trained dogs but I always know Rottweilers and German Shepherds are two of the most protective, loyal and intelligent dogs amongst the many breeds out there. And the first thing I teach my dogs is not to take anything from strangers. It is achievable.

 

[CooperThunder]

If you read my reply, I do know it is do-able to train a dog to not take food from strangers, however, that takes time and money. As you stated yourself, you'd spent thousands of dollars on your dog and probably quite a bit of time training it. In the original poster's queries, it would appear that he doesn't have the time to train or properly care for a dog.

Read my reply which you even quoted -- I wasn't the one who said I'd spend thousands of dollars on my dog to train him not to take anything from strangers. I train my own dogs. A dog is like a child, once you get one, you'd better be prepared to care for it. Once you got one, it'll be prepared to protect you and yours from any adversity.

Cheerio.....Happy New Year.

 

[ChaoSS]

First off, the fence won't do you much good. It may keep some critters out, but not all, and those that get through will still trigger your motion detectors and wake you up at night.

The game cameras are good.

Now, forget about hardening your yard and think about hardening your house. Let's start with the windows. You can't do bars. Understandable. Will the glass breaking wake you up? If not, put on some of those vibration alarms that will go off when the glass is broken. Make sure that you will wake up very quickly if that glass breaks. If there is easy access to windows around your room, plant bushes there.

Do you have children? What is the layout of the house? My apologies if you already said this and I missed it. Plant hedges under the children's windows as well. The only points of entry should be away from the bedrooms, and they should wake you up.

Now, how much space is there to cover once he's inside? With the lights out, one of those cheap gates that you use to keep kids from getting to the stairs could tie someone up for a few seconds longer at least. Harden the bedroom doors. You can get doors that can not be kicked in without a great deal of difficulty, giving you added time to react.

 

[LogGuy]

The most important thing you can do to secure your home is to VOTE. I'm not kidding. After that, lighting, fencing and ferrocious dogs are your best bet. After that, continual improvements such as barbed wire fence top, strategic placement of weapons inside your home, purchase more ammo, more lighting, etc.

I have every US Army Physical Security course offered under my belt and I can tell you that common sense is really your best defense. Talk to folks and see what they are doing. But, seriously, the most important single thing you can do (aside from buying every bullet you can find for sale, training your children and relatives to shoot in a fun, safe way, and becoming a member of the NRA) is to VOTE.

 

[Guillermo]

Dogs are great but if this guy is patient, outside dogs are easy to disable. $2 worth of rat poison tossed in bacon fat and you have either a dead dog or an empty house while you are at the vet with a dying dog.

Unless you want to go to Defcom III I would go with game cameras or a webcab. It is important to remember that they need to be positioned where they cannot be stolen or disabled.

Holly bushes at windows are good. Light can solve a lot of problems.

A screw in the aluminum window is cheap and effective. A door bar (the bar under the knob) is also. Good locks are very expensive but worth it.

None of that is effective against a molotov cocktail

Do what you can but you can't have a normal-ish life in a bunker with land mines and razor wire.

 

[Balog]

For example, in Kentucky, it's legal to use deadly force against someone attempting arson against your property, but in many states, that's completely illegal.

I would be interested in hearing of a state where deadly force is not authorized against someone committing arson of an occupied structure. Afaik it's always grounds for using force.

 

[Fred Fuller]

This has turned into an Incredible Shrinking Thread due to all the low signal/high noise posts "contributed" to it. Those are gone now. Let's please try for more signal and less noise from here on out, please.

lpl