Post-Disaster Camouflage for Your Home

Dear Fellow Survivalist;

It’s always interesting to see what happens in the wake of a disaster. I’ve been watching disasters for a number of years, most especially watching people’s reactions to them and how they survive in the aftermath that is left behind. Things change so quickly, both during and after the disaster, that most people have no idea whatsoever how to react. Rather than following a plan, they simple react to whatever happens next.

Granted, there are those of us who are prepared for such an event. That’s not who I’m talking about. I’m talking about everyone out there. How they react is going to affect the rest of us, making life much more dangerous.

A number of people have said that we are only nine meals from anarchy. Based upon what I’ve seen from past disasters, I’d have to say that’s true. The average American family only has three days worth of food in their homes and when that runs out, they don’t know what to do.

The usual reaction to this is looting. Those who live close to the edge of the law anyway are the quickest to turn against their neighbors, seeking to take what they need to have, in order to survive. With hunger driving them, they will gather together in gangs, working together to find the things they need to have in order to survive. If that means they have to take them from you and I, that’s no concern of theirs.

These gangs will go from house to house, seeking what they need. If you’re home when they come, you’ll either end up having to fight them, give them what you have or flee. How well do you think you can do, fighting against 10 or 12 armed assailants? Your chances aren’t very good.

While our number one survival priority in such a time will have to be defending ourselves, it would be best if we didn’t have to. No matter how good you are, things happen in fights. Even a poorly aimed bullet can take you out, if the shooter is lucky. That’s a chance that I’d personally rather avoid, if I can.

Besides hardening your home and being prepared to fight, one other thing you can do, to help you survive in such a situation, is to use a little deceptive subterfuge, with the idea of convincing them to pass your home by and leave it alone. It may not work; but if it does, it saves you from having to fight it out, with all the inherent risk associated with such a fight.

Nobody is going to bother ransacking a house that has already been ransacked; it would be a waste of time. Ideally, they’re  looking to strike it big, finding a home which has several days worth of food in it, as well as other useful things that will help them survive. A ransacked house isn’t likely to have that.

So, the trick then, is to make your home look as if it has been already ransacked, while not doing anything that will reduce the security of your home. In other words, you don’t want to break windows and leave doors open; but aside from that, you want to do anything you can to make it look like there’s nothing there worth looking at.

The easy way to do this is to dump things all over the front yard; clothes, empty food packages, videos, broken lamps and anything else you can find, which you don’t need. The more the merrier. There will probably be a lot of that to choose from, in the wake of a serious disaster.

If you can, spread this stuff in a way that makes it hard to get into your home; but the priority is making it a mess, not making a barrier. Throwing, rather than placing is the way to go. Just try to throw in the general direction of blocking their advance, so that it’s hard to get to your front door or windows. As always, if you can make it hard enough to break into your home, they’ll go look for some place that’s easier to get into.

Once you’ve done that, keep a lookout. If you see anyone coming down the street, who looks like they are on a looting mission, get your family inside, lock the doors and hide. But make sure you have your guns with you and your body armor, if you have any, on.

That sounds a lot like keeping your powder dry and your survival gear close at hand. Good idea.