Defending Yourself and Your Family After a Disaster
A disaster or a calamity brings out the best in people, but it also brings out the worst. Some intruders and thieves deem it as the perfect time to strike. Houses are torn, defenses are down, and there’s a demand for anything that’ll help people survive.
You need to watch out for gang violence, thieves, and other individuals with ill intentions. It helps to equip you and your family with self-defense items like a can of mace, pepper spray, a taser, or a stun gun. Read their respective manuals carefully to know how to operate them. Do some practice runs on how to use them in safe environments.
Stun guns and pepper sprays are advisable if you have insufficient training in tackling assailants and you don’t feel confident approaching the assailant. These can also be used as deterrents to protect yourself and your family.
Firearms
The second amendment of the US Constitution allows individuals to bear and keep arms. The firearms are for self-defense especially at the instance where the police can’t intervene immediately. Owning a firearm will definitely improve your chances of survival against wild animals. It’ll also help you feel safer by having a means to protect yourself and your family.
Firearms should be used as the last resort. It’s not ideal to injure or kill someone on the first time you defend yourself.
Owning a firearm also comes with a lot of responsibility. Get a license to make sure you’re qualified to operate a gun. Attend some classes on how to shoot, maintain the gun, and reload it. You should also do some practice rounds at the firing range to warm up to using it. This also helps you get better aim so that you won’t miss whenever you shoot. Make sure to lock the gun someplace safe and always keep it out of children’s reach. Stock up on ammunition so that you won’t fall short during a crisis.
If you want something less intense, you can use a BB gun. It will sting the assailant but not cause any wounds as it won’t pierce the skin. This should be enough to fend off any intruder. Even the sound of a fired shotgun can deter them.
Intruder Alerts
One way to watch out for intruders on your private property is by using intruder alerts. These gadgets notify you of any individual who is trespassing. Make sure to keep the batteries updated. Keep some spare battery packs so that your house won’t be completely vulnerable. Some alarms need to be plugged in all the time and won’t need any batteries.
Intruder alerts are better than leaving your windows bare and vulnerable. The sound it emits will allow you to quickly respond to an intrusion and will also scare the intruder away.
Intruder alarms come in small packages that you can install using the double-sided tape. Place it on your windows and activate it at night. Once triggered, it will emit a blaring sound that you can neutralize by typing in the off code. You’ll also get a notification via SMS. For better protection, you can pair your intruder alerts with motion-sensor lights. This will surely ward off any intruder.
Protection Checklist
This list of items allows you and your family members to prepare anything you need to stay safe during a crisis.
- Pepper spray or cans of mace for each adult member of the family
- Taser or stun gun
- Intruder alarms
- Motion-sensor lights
- Firearms
- License for said firearms
- Extra ammunition packs, for your firearms and for bartering
Here’s a to-do list you need to accomplish to secure your home:
- Install deadbolt locks on all the doors and windows of the house
- Secure all possible entry points by installing locks
- Place intruder alarms on problem areas
- Sign up for a firearms safety class and make all the members of the family attend it
- Have some practice with how to use mace or pepper sprays
- Do some practice rounds in your local firing range
- Get licenses for the firearms if it is mandatory in your state
- Sign up and attend a martial arts or defense class to know how to fight off assailants
