Personal security against attacks on the farm/property

[RSR]

When we bought our place 8 years ago, at the exchange we asked about keys. The previous owners shrugged their shoulders and said, "well, umm, we don't really have any keys. We lost them years ago." We've never locked our house, and I've never thought twice about it. I live on a private road with 2 neighbors in the middle of nowhere.

If freaks my in-laws out. Every night they go around and lock all of the doors. I just laugh.

My neighbor just down the road regularly carries, and installed an expensive home security system a few years back.

I think everyone perceives threat differently.

In the 8 years I've lived in this town there has never been a single break in (that I'm aware of or that was reported in the news). Could it happen? Sure. But it's not enough for me to worry about.

 

[RalphVa]

We just did our neighborhood directory with phone #s and emails for most. Can bulk email and get lots of help or call.

Got a gate on our driveway that eliminates the drive ins.

 

[Tinhack]

A number weeks ago, we had a massive attack by invaders! Freaking butterflies everywhere! No amount of gates, fences, dogs or guns are going to repel such an invasion.

I started carrying a sidearm when mowing the back brushy area a few years ago. There's things back there with fangs, teeth or both. I stepped off the tractor to pick up some trash that blew across the field and there was about a 4-5' Diamondback between me and the trash. I got back on the tractor with a tight pucker and not even a stick for defense.

Chased up a pair of Coyotes one year. They didn't like me being close so there must have been pups close by. They stood their ground and gave me the evil eye. I stopped mowing about 200' away. Went back a week later and they were gone.

Saw tracks of a large cat one year. And I mean large--About 3+" across. I'm guessing a Cougar.

So yeah, it seems I'm always under attack. :confused2:

 

[the old grind]

There's a difference between packing a semi-auto shotgun w/10 rd mags when operating and putting barbettes on the side of one's house or barn.

Is it the person or the property that demands the most effective protection? Both? No easy answers.

 

[dmccarty]

We live in a nice area...

Then a man moved into a house in the area...

He is/was in the building trades and likes to take lots of money from people and then not do the work. Does not like to support his children either. Fine fella. Lots of arrests and warrants in multiple jurisdictions...

He invited a "friend" to live on the property which is owned by his girlfriend.

Then we started having homes being broken into... Mostly during the day time when people were at work but one was at night with an elderly lady home alone. Thankfully, her alarm system went off and scared away the thug. Good thing she cared about her personal security.

The "friend" attacked a woman out exercising one day but she was able to fend him off.

The "friend" disappeared, and Surprise, Surprise, Surprise, the break ins stopped. Eventually the first guy disappeared too and things have returned to normal.

Have a family member in a rural area. Lots of homes are being broken into.

Later,
Dan

 

[repete]

I hate it when the keys are not in the cars in the morning when I go out and we lock the house doors because the handles pull downward and, you know, animal paws at the door go downward....

I do have one feature and that is a sub ground metal detector at the drive entrance about a 3/4 mile from the house. Sees anything metal passing and sends a signal by radio to the house. Mostly gives me time to get dressed and make coffee before the neighbors show up.

 

[ponytug]

The countryside is changing. There are a lot of young people who have nowhere to live, and are clustering up in vacant houses and sheds. Some of them are OK people, some of them are not. Just because your neighborhood has been peaceful for years doesn't mean it will be this year. Dogs are a definite plus. I have one fair sized ***** that does not like strangers. My wife feels very safe when home alone.

I have also had my mail stolen once, and I suspect a second time. I'm thinking about putting a trail cam aimed at the mailbox, and a video surveillance system and alarm at the shop. Good friends had a cabin in the Coast Range broken into by a couple guys who made themselves at home and had apparently been there at least a week. They lost a gun in that break-in. Lesson learned. If you value your guns, wear 'em.

I recommend Ft. Knox mailboxes, out of Grant's Pass, OR. Just make sure that the whole mail box isn't removable, I.e. make sure if someone drives over it, your support is strong enough that it will skewer the vehicle. We went through a prior "secure" mailbox, with increasingly better protections against pry bars and hammers, (me welding on door reinforcements, and antipry rims, and better locks) and finally bit the bullet and bought a Ft. Knox. Only one attempt to break in the eight years that we have had it, and all they did was scratch the paint a little. My neighbor has Nest cam footage of a pair of mail robbers stealing his mail. The accomplice was thoughtful enough to turn on her flashers while they were stealing the mail. Around here, even with a license plate and photo identification, it is tough to convince the post office to prosecute.

We went for schutzhund german shepherds; very good at protecting persons, but could care less about property, making them safe for utility people, mailman, UPS, etc. I can't say enough good things about the two that we have had. YMMV!

All the best,

Peter

 

[jjp8182]

Sure would be nice for everywhere to be as safe as the places some posters must live....

Between increased drug usage and decreasing respect for property boundaries I can see how some would be concerned about security. Personally I've heard enough horror stories from my parents (on their 45 acres outside a city in central MN) in the last few years to not take things for granted anymore. ....have seen some myself when I went to visit them. Everything from hand/face prints on dirty vehicles that weren't there the night before (saw that one myself), to a girl attempting to abandon her boyfriend as a squatter on my parent's property (he had already started to set up a small camp when my dad caught the two of them talking in the car prior to her leaving). Then of course there's all the trespassers who think that the presences of power lines indicate it's public property (it's not) and then want to argue about it when they're asked to leave.

Having said that I'd say the single most important thing to personal/property security is situational awareness.... everything else is just tools to deal with individuals that don't want to be sociable and vacate the premise when asked - or permit legal courses of action.

As far as specifics on what makes sense for any particular area I'd say that depends on the area as well as the legal permissions/implications for the area. Should obviously be different considerations for places where cartels/gangs are known to trespass to set up meth/marijuana operations and some place where there's so few people there's no way to reasonably profit from criminal activity.

 

[kcflhrc]

OP is just Trolling, trying to stir the pot

 

[Industrial Toys]

Any security considerations should not take Internet and Power for granted, if you ask me.