This is a guest post by Dan Sullivan
You know what the worst feeling in the world is? Thinking you’ve done everything you can to protect your home and family, only to realize you’re almost as vulnerable as everyone else.
Yes, it’s true that most burglars go for the low hanging fruit (open doors, poor lighting) but consider a critical even such as a riot or, even worse, the end of the world as we know it. In cases like these, your home needs to be prepared for the worst from every angle.
My goal with this article about the most common home defense mistakes is to get you to say “Geez, I never thought about this!”, then jump out of your chair and fix the issue(s).Ready? Let’s get rolling.
Mistake #1: Not thinking from the bad guy’s perspective
There’s no better way to spot mistakes in your home defense plan than to see things as a bad guy would.
And it’s easy. Go outside, look at your house and ask yourself:
What would I do if I wanted to get inside the house?Heck, you can take things even one step further and ask people who know how bad guys think. Policemen, army men, people who work in prisons and so on – they all know a little about the criminal mind and could share some valuable insights with you.
Mistake #2: Not leaving their home when they have to
I get it: once you’ve spent considerable time and effort making your home bulletproof, you want to stand there and FIGHT. But your life is more important than a house that isn’t going anywhere.
Your first option when SHTF should be to run away. I don’t care if it’s a hurricane, Martial Law or an angry mob; your life is more important.
Mistake #3: Keeping all the dogs outsideSure, a dog can be a valuable asset but did you hear the story about the guy who bought two Dobermans after he got mugged? The second time the thieves paid him a visit, they took the dogs as well.
Dogs can also be poisoned very easily so here’s what I recommend: get a second one that always sleeps inside the house. That way, if something happens to the one outside, the second one will surely feel something’s up and start barking.
Mistake #4: Letting everyone know about your preps
If you live in a bad neighborhood, someone will eventually find out. If your daughter, for example, is dating a thug, it’s only a matter of time before the dude finds out what you’ve been doing and decides to exploit your vulnerabilities. Yes, I have heard of someone whose house got robbed by his daughter’s boyfriend.
Mistake #5: Not teaching your children about home protectionKids are trusting by nature and will let almost anyone in. Most parents tell their kids not to open the door to strangers but how many of them will pass the test if their parents were to pretend they’re someone they’re not just to get them to open up? Try it with your kids, you might be surprised.
Funny thing: a lot of adults make their children’s mistake as well and end up opening the door to strangers. I’m assuming you’re not one of them, of course but it’s worth talking about it with your friends and colleagues to raise awareness.
Mistake #6: Overconfidence
You know those preppers who are like:
Well, if someone dares to come through the door, I’m gonna shoot him until I run out of bullets and then ask the questions!The Wild West is a thing of the past. You can’t be a cowboy even though the burglar was trying to do you harm. There are complicated laws right now that could put you behind bars if you’re using more force than necessary to defend your turf.
Mistake #7: Not complying with the police
Hey, I don’t like the idea of the U.S. turning into a police state any more than you do but if you don’t play nice when they get to your home after a critical event, you risk getting injured… or worse!
The police are very temperamental. There are plenty of cases where innocent people had their blood shed on American soil because the cops mistook them for perpetrators. Aiyana Jones, for example, was an 8 year old girl who died in 2010 for just this reason. She was unarmed, of course.
As much as I hate to tell you this, when the cops get to your home, put the gun away, stand still, do whatever they tell you, tell them your name and that your life was threatened.Mistake #8: Trying to defeat the burglars
If you’re upstairs in your bedroom and they’re downstairs stealing from you, why on earth would you want to go down there? It’s much safer to just wait for them to leave and take the financial loss. You can do other things such as call the police, wake up your spouse or even use your escape routes to get the heck out of there. And if they decide to come upstairs, you’ll be in a much better position to shoot them than if you were to go downstairs.
Mistake #9: Turning on the lights during a home invasion
You don’t want to be a sitting duck, do you? Darkness is your friend. This is your house so you should know how to move around with minimum lighting available.
I suggest you even ditch your tactical flashlight as it will pinpoint your attacker your exact location. Train to protect your home in the dark or don’t train at all.
Mistake #10: Not testing their alarm systems
Did you think that your alarm will go off when someone attempts to break into your home? Plenty of people are shocked to test it only to have nothing happen. No siren going off, no security men showing up at their door-step, nothing. They’ve been paying a monthly fee for literally nothing this whole time.
Mistake #11: Putting stickers on their windows with the exact type of alarm they have
It’s much better off to put something generic that just says “Warning! Alarm system” or something similar. The reason is simple: you don’t want your burglar to know exactly what type of alarm system you have because he’ll just go:
Ohh, I know how to take care of that!
If he wants in, make it as hard for him as possible.
Dan Sullivan is working hard to become the #1 survival teacher in the world by offering top notch survival articles on his blog at www.SurvivalSullivan.com.
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