Low-Budget TEOTWAWKI Preps - Part 2, By E.J.H.

So let’s go into some improvised methods for each of the prongs listed earlier.

Improvised Methods for Detering Invaders

You should get a loud dog. I have a golden retriever, who, even though he would probably just lick an invader’s boots, sounds like a dog three times his size when he barks, and he sounds very deadly. He is not effective for defense, but he could definitely deter a potential looter. A good dog would be a German Shepard, Pit Bull, or Bullmastiff to deter robbers/raiders even before the world ends. I know I would not like to even risk going near a house with a dog like that. However, you should know, never get such a dog unless it is meticulously trained how to properly behave, especially if you have small children. A mean Mastiff, Rottweiler, or German Shepard could easily kill a child, and if a bad dog starts attacking its owners, it may be too late to stop it before it causes irreparable damage. Dogs such as these are definitely not family dogs, and don’t take well to abuse or annoyance by little kids.

Improvised Methods to Trap Invaders

Some good trap ideas might be something like a tripwire activated to drop small rocks or pans on the unlucky activator’s head, or a hidden, large hole that makes one incapable of escaping. Traps require much creativity and engineering to work, so they can be difficult for the average person. The easiest trap is the classic tiger trap from Swiss Family Robinson. Dig a hole, cover it up with leaves, don’t step in it.

Improvised Methods for An Invader Alert

Depending on where you live, this will be extremely varied. If you live in the woods, you are going to have different alert systems than those who live in the city. I will tell you some generally good items that work well for both the urban and the country prepper. The first is your early warning system. If you have a good perimeter defense dog, such as a Great Pyrenees, you already have this function. Let’s face it, you really need a dog. Living in the city, you can rightly justify having one, unlike swinging logs or giant pitfall traps. Beyond a dog, you need other measures of alerting you of the assailant’s presence, such as tripwire activated bell alarms (remember the pirate alarms?) or camouflaged windchimes hanging on your porch. You could also consider hanging a ton of junk from your porch (after the world ends, of course) so they either hit their heads and make sound on it, drop it, and make sounds with it, trip over it, and hopefully get hurt real bad and then make sounds. I think you get the point. Finally, you should set up something so you know where they are, if they break in. Once again, the little jingle bells you buy at the hobby craft store will work just fine when strung with string or wire across a doorway. To get even more noise, put two cooking pots or other heavy metal object across the opening, raised a bit giving it room to fall to the floor. When they trigger it, crash. It all goes on the floor with an extravagantly loud smash.

Improvised Non-lethal Methods to Defend Against An Invader

This is the final stand. If they made it this far, kudos to them. Now they are going to feel a lot of pain. I should not have to remind you again, but if I do, I will tell you that this is about the non-lethal side of defense.

So your first line of defense is to fortify your home. You can greatly increase your safety by simply getting new doors. Get doors with steel on the outside, or steel core doors. This is also practical in everyday life, as these kinds of doors prevent burglars from kicking it in. Also consider getting kick-in stops for your doors. Another thing you need is some light blockers. These will stop light from escaping your windows so raiders will not target you. You can use pretty much anything for these. A good thing is to use some of the giant black landscaping trash bags, and just duct tape them on your windows at night. You may need multiple bags based on the amount of light coming out. After you are done fortifying, you need to be prepared for the possibility of looters breaching your walls. That is where part two of defense comes in– confrontation. There are a lot of people who just cannot and will not use lethal force to defend themselves, more than you may think. If you are one of them, or you just do not have access to practical items of deadly nature, then less lethal is your only other option apart from total surrender. We know that is not an option. If it was, why prepare in the first place? Now, I think for defense you should have at least one of these things, if not more.

Pepper Spray or a Stun Gun
Stun baton or Rubber club
Plastic knife

Now remember, there is a whole slew of self defense tools out there, and some that were not even originally invented for it. If you are opposed to using real guns, get a high-powered paintball gun with extra CO2 and ammo. If you nail someone good enough with one of those, they will quit eventually. [Editor’s Note: These last two items are likely to get you killed. A paint ball gun may deter someone who is only interested in an easy mark, but if someone wants what you have and they realize that you are only armed with a paintball gun, you will lose. If you truly cannot bring yourself to utilize lethal means to protect yourself, you are better off pairing up with someone who will use it. In the same line of thinking, if you are going to carry a weapon that looks like a real weapon, it better be a real weapon and you better know how to use it.]

This is just a few different ways to set up defenses, and there are still almost infinite amounts of others. Remember, if someone wants to take you or your family’s lives, you have every right to remove them from the earth. You have every right to shoot them with a paintball gun, too.

Overlooked Uses For Everyday Items

Every day, you throw out stuff, useful stuff like 2-liter pop bottles. “Have an empty 2-liter pop bottle? Don’t throw it out! “I can make a raft with that!” That is the kind of mindset you need to have in order to survive TEOTWAWKI. I am going to give a quick list for uses for just a few overlooked items that may help you survive.

Soup cans– Yes, they are good for holding paintbrushes, but their uses go way beyond that.
- Make coultrops by cutting them up and forming them with pliers.
- Make a hobo stove.
- Cook food in them.
- Soup cans can be pretty useful, especially if you have a handyman around or someone good with fabrication.
2-liter bottles – It’s that annoying thing you told your kid to throw away and stop fighting with it.
- Store water longer than in milk jugs.
- Make a raft by attaching a bunch to a frame.
- Make a greenhouse.
- Use for target practice.
- Bottles can be a very useful item, if your family drinks soda.
Paper
- Write messages.
- Write journals.
- Start fires with it.
- Cover wounds by mushing it down and packing it on top, as a last resort.
- Paper is a valuable asset most people take for granted.

This is just a very short list to get your creative juices flowing, so use your imagination and think up uses for thrown out items that may one day save your life.

Practical items to stock up on

In the end, you will be desperate for things you wasted just a year ago. Stock up on these items, as you will probably need them, or you could barter them off to someone else. Everybody knows they’ll need things like food, ammo, et cetera, but people often don’t really think about things like bug spray and the socks on their feet.

Bug Spray. After about two months without it, people will be hurting real bad for the relief from the bugs. Also consider bug bite treatment salve or liquids.
Bath Tissue. After everyone runs out, people will try to kill over your last roll of Charmin ultra soft, and it’s value will be incredible.
Soap. There’s not all that much to explain, really. Who wants to go a year without soap? Not me.
Toothpaste. Most people don’t know how to make their own, and nobody wants their teeth to rot out.
Socks. With how many people ruin their socks all the time, people will for sure need extras.
Petty Medical Supplies. I’m serious. Band-Aids, Neosporin, hydrogen peroxide, and similar items will be pretty valuable in barter when the world ends.
High-SPF Sunscreen. Nobody wants sunburn. This will be a useful item to have on hand.
Hand Tools. Little garden trowel, small shovel hoes, and rakes are all useful items that we sometimes don’t give any thought about. However, they could be worth a lot to the right person.
Cigarettes. I hate smoking, but not everyone does. When you need a smoke, you will be willing to give a lot to get it.
Alcohol. Almost everyone needs a bottle of beer or a glass of wine every now and again. If you buy bulk or brew your own and store it in a root cellar, you can get a fine amount of goods for it.