Security on the Homestead

Security can come in many forms, but I’d like to dedicate this specific blog post to the desire to keep the unwanted two-legged creatures that have a penchant for thieving tools and other valuable items. You may believe that you are safe in the community in which you live, but the reality is that people change who they are when both natural and unnatural events happen.

Recently, we had two of our neighbor’s experience very weird events that caused us to take a hard look at the way we do security on the property. We have a set of elderly neighbors that recently discovered someone had smashed down their chicken wire and ‘T’ post fencing and trespass onto their property. Another neighbor had their property breached and their pet mysteriously disappeared and reappeared with a suspicious explanation from the person who had possession of the animal.

The reality is that homesteading in the rural community does not provide you a guaranteed safer place necessarily despite it being somewhat safer than say Detroit or Chicago. In the area I live, there aren’t drive by shootings or car jackings, but you still have to deal with the opportunistic criminals.

Whether you are suburban country or rural, I’ve compiled a few suggestions to get the message across that it would be inadvisable to trespass on your property.

• Put up a solid 6 ft privacy fence with matching gate if you have the financial capabilities but if you don’t have the budget for it, try using a combination of ‘T’ posts and fencing wire. While the two fences are completely different, the simply reality is that both get across that you have established a border around your property and people aren’t welcome to breach that area without your permission.
• Purchase signage from Home Depot, Lowes or even Amazon that say ‘No Trespassing’, ‘Beware of Dogs’ or ‘No Soliciting’. These aren’t terribly expensive, but my husband found they ran around $5 on average in most locations but they used to be much cheaper. These can be nailed to trees or attached to your wire fences with heavy duty zip ties.
• Guard Dogs are an important part of farming, but I’ll confess that we have yet to get dogs for our place because we recognize just how expensive they are to maintain. We have looked into the cost of purchasing a set of a breed called Great Pyrenees and believe it to be a wonderful dog for our needs, but we just aren’t ready to devote ourselves to another project. Be careful when purchasing from unknown sellers and try to find feedback about them from various trusted sources.
• Getting up security cameras around your property is a top priority and thankfully these now come with wi-fi capabilities that allow you to simply check on your homestead with a click or two on your cell phone. While both cameras have pros and cons, I’d recommend using wireless as they don’t require you to put holes in your walls in order for you to run the wires. As in all things, do as much research on brands and styles before you set about spending your money.
• Another must have is the motion sensor lights that are designed for outdoor usage and typically can be found in either a wired in style or a solar powered design. The most common problem that we’ve run into with the solar powered is that you have to not only have the right angle to hang them up, but you need a decent amount of actual sunlight exposure so that they get a decent amount of charge. You can run wired motion sensor lighting but similarly with the cameras, you may end up putting a few holes in your outbuildings and you will want to add the extra step of caulking over any holes to seal out weather or insect damage.
• There are numerous videos on youtube showing you how to simply pop open the cheap Master padlocks that you can pick up at almost any hardware store, so you might want to consider purchasing a higher quality padlock for your gates and outbuildings. Don’t have a conniption fit if when you see that some higher-grade padlocks can run anywhere between $30 & $40 each. While an argument can be made that someone could just use bolt cutters to remove a padlock, you want to have multiple contingencies to slow criminals down long enough for you or the police to deal with them.
• Take the time and really consider those who you keep in close quarters because it’s happened more than once that individuals who were once trusted friends end up becoming enemies due to their natural tendencies revealing themselves. If you’ve got yourself a neighbor like Glady’s Kravitz, you just might want to consider how to establish some boundaries to keep them from becoming too friendly and making themselves at home.
• Plants that are unfriendly to humans can be planted on the outside of the fence line such as wild blackberries, spanish bayonet, crown of thorns, cactus, pomelo citrus and many other varieties with large thorns can discourage trespassing.
• Landscape contouring can be a great way to create a long winding road that leads to a home deeply situated on your property. Simply purchase native plants or edible food trees to help fill in any open areas that were opened up during the land clearing process. You can create walking paths that even humans who are trespassing will most likely follow so you can use this to your advantage.
• If you have large equipment that you use on your property, be sure to install GPS security tags in locations on the machinery that aren’t seen by would be thieves. Being able to track and trace your property is important for building a case of theft.
• Invest in walkie talkies and get in the habit of keeping them turned up and in frequent use. If your spouse is on one side of the property and spots trouble, you want to be able to quickly radio over to that what’s going on so they can assist in dealing with the situation. Be careful to research different types of walkie talkies as some are illegal for civilian use.
  
• You may not use it all the time, but a functional land line is a good back up in case your cell phone doesn’t get a signal. Old school phones can still be found in many stores and even at garage sales, so pick one up. If possible, grab a second phone for back up in case the other quits working for some reason. Emergencies happen and it’s best to plot out many contingencies to protect your family.
• Educate yourself on how a CB radio works and consider having an area of your home where you can have a dedicated area for its placement. Be aware that expletives are a no-no and will get you in trouble if you are caught using them.
• Join local facebook groups and keep an eye out for suspicious activity in your neighborhood. We had a situation when we lived in the city where I was able to post images from my porch camera showing an individual who had stolen items off my front porch and other neighbors were able to positively identify the individual which allowed me to involve the police.
• Do not put your last name anywhere on your mailbox, this gives criminals yet another way to track you down these days thanks to social media. You only need to put your house number, nothing further.
• Buy a locking tool chest and see to it that tools are stowed away before you go inside for the evening. Pawn shops happily accept high value tools, and many thieves are just opportunist.
• If you’ve recently purchased a high value item, such as a big screen tv, do not place the empty box at the end of your driveway. This is a beacon to area thieves and lets them know you have the finances for such large purchases. If it has a glossy outer coating, break it down into small pieces using a box cutter and stuff it into a trash bag. If the box is corrugated cardboard, you can simply disassemble it and lay it out around a food tree and cover with a thick layer of mulch.
• Once you’ve established strong relationships with trusted neighbors, exchange phone numbers so that you are able to contact them in case of a suspicious character. In a previous home, one of our neighbors had a strange car parked in their driveway and I was able to text them and determine that it was indeed a relative and the neighbor appreciated me keeping an eye on their property.
• If you have propane tanks or filled gas cans on your property, be sure to keep them out of direct eyesight of anyone driving past your property. Never forget the opportunist is taking notes for when you’re not home.
• Driveway alarms can be purchased for fairly cheap, and these can be strategically placed outside the view of anyone attempting to enter your property. We originally recommended purchasing them from Harbor Freight but they seem to have ceased carrying these, so check Home Depot or Amazon.
• Don’t allow yourself to be emotionally manipulated by a potential intruder. There have been numerous instances where an individual will knock on someone’s door and claim to be broke down or in need of help, only to attack the innocent individual once they open the door. Always keep in mind that almost every person today has a cell phone and that even if a cell phone has lost its service contract, they still have the ability to call 911 for emergencies. You are under no obligation to open the door to anyone.
• Consider putting not just your lights on a timer, but perhaps a tv or radio. If you don’t already own a radio, you can find them for fairly cheap and the timers aren’t too expensive either. Be sure to rotate different times so that potential intruders hopefully don’t catch on.
• Take stock of your valuables on your property and do an inventory checkup at least once a month to make sure that no item has grown legs. Keep a yellow notepad with all listed items and if possible, make a folder on your computer where you can keep pictures of each individual item on the list.
• While many websites suggest putting out game cameras, and this of course is an option, I’d suggest that it’s better to catch the individual in the moment of illegal activity versus discovering that the item has been stolen a few days or weeks later. These cameras vary in price and the pros and cons should be weighed before purchasing any of them.
• Packages are frequently targets of small-time criminals and will lure them in if the packages are visible from passing traffic, consider purchasing an already made locking package box or find DIY instructions online and build one yourself.
• While most individuals get guard dogs (see above), there are certainly other animals that are capable of alerting you to potential trespassers and will even attack when provoked. Geese, swans, donkeys, guineas, llamas, turkeys and roosters have all been employed on various homesteads as a backup to the traditional guard dog and as with any animal, do extensive research before purchasing them for your property.
  

While I’m sure there’s something I’ve forgotten, this list is pretty extensive and should give you a starting point to better securing your homestead. If you are unable to get all of these established, at least try to get a few in place before the criminals start eyeing your property. Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor. Happy homesteading and be safe my friends.