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1. Deny, disrupt and channelize. An attack can happen swiftly, and set off all intrusion devices, and overwhelm. Even with a well maintained perimeter, they could chose a point and punch hole, and ‘hey dittle, dittle, right up the middle’, here they come. It would be better to given them a ‘convenient’ entry point, and funnel them up into a choke point that can make it easier for defenders take them on, one by one, than to attempt to defend flanks, let alone the perimeter. Alarms can have your ‘6’, and obvious wires or other obstacles, can make attackers more selective as they will access your defenses before hand. Block ingress with fallen tree, use cross fencing, or sections of c-wire, deny the micro terrain, dead zones, and cover with barb wire, stakes in the ground, and so on, to shape the battlefield, and prepare it to work for you. They will predictably take the path of least resistance, and travel in straight lines unless channelized… like rats in a maze, into the funnel and then the choke point.

   1. This is a ‘killer article’, a must read:

      https://survivalblog.com/perspectives-patrolling-part-1-j-m/

2. Again, an excellent article submitted by this contributor (The one on patrolling was awesome).

   For when things do go “pear shaped” and conditions allow you to go into maiming/lethal mode with your devices, a good prep to have is military surplus MINE markers. These are the classic upside-down facing triangular red NATO signs made out of sheet metal, with holes punched into the top corners for running 550 cord, commo wire, string, etc. through them.

   Hang these lines with signs attached at, or just below eye-level (for children, or any other people within your perimeter) on YOUR side of the area planted. Even if you have to mark more than one side due to gardens, walkways, etc., it’s better for the bad guys to see those same markers, rather than take the chance of a loved one tripping the devices.

   And last but by no means least, chart where every device is planted. If you’re an intell/operations veteran and like to do Situational Templates (SITTEMPS), booby traps have their own by-the-book symbology, along with various types of obstacles, mines, etc.

3. Random thoughts: When I built a fence it was a “semi-privacy” fence – standard pressure treated 1″X6″X6′ dogeared pickets, cut to 5’6″; yes, someone can look over to see in, but I can easily look over to see out and seeing threats 200 meters away is more valuable. Pickets were spaced 1″ apart, which saved 18% on picket costs and made anyone moving outside the fence visible through the gaps while still providing quite a bit of privacy (yes, it’s possible for an intruder to peek through the gaps but that’s less of an issue than an intruder being able to hide unseen outside the fence). A wedge-shaped section of scrap 4X6 (I used 4X6 posts instead of 4X4) lag bolted 12″ above grade to the face of every 2nd fence post serves as a small step and a 3/8″ lag bolt inserted into the side of that post 5′ up at a 30 degree upward angle to serve as a stability handle to assist shorter people standing on the 4X6 wedge “step” so they can see over the fence (drill the post, screw the lag bolt in, cut off the hex head; the upward angle prevents using it for a rope anchor, removing the hex head means anything tied to it and pulled upward will slide off). Tip: a tall privacy fence – approx 6′ high – will require 3 horizontal supports between posts to support the pickets. The top and bottom horizontals can be 2X4s, but make the middle horizontal at least a 2X6, use a 2X8 if you can budget for it. The fence pickets will absorb rain and get heavy, if it rains a lot they’ll stay heavy (places like Florida they won’t dry out for the entire summer) and the fence will sag. A heavier-than-standard center horizontal will prevent that.

   Security fences need to be screwed together, including the picket-to-horizontal connection. Nails and staples eventually work out, staples especially can be pulled out by pulling on the pickets. Stainless flat head screws are the way to go. More expensive, but you’re buying them only once, they can be salvaged if you take the fence down, and whatever you spend on high quality materials is much cheaper than the labor to rebuild the fence in several years.

   Like the article’s author, I needed to run wiring from “home base” to positions on the perimeter. I bought a used electric chain saw with a 12″ bar and used it as a trenching tool. Tip: Make brackets to hold the saw and clamp/bolt the brackets to something with wheels; I used a hand truck. It makes it much easier to use for trenching and helps keep the trench straighter. Yes, it will ruin the saw, but I got about 1,000 feet of 12-inch deep trench out of my $20. Tip: When putting electrical wire/cable into the trench, pressing it in with a “pusher tool” of 1/4 plywood works well – a 12″ width that’s rounded on the corners works. Tip: Put multiple cable runs in, one at a time, so you have spares already in place. Waterproof the ends of the spare runs. Cable is cheap, trenches are expensive. As the author stresses, DOCUMENT THE LOCATIONS OF THE RUNS. Make a map, use a compass and measuring tape. (Which is also useful for everything else – water lines, sewer/septic lines, septic tanks, buried electric/phone/internet, TV cables, etc. ALWAYS CALL THE LOCAL BURIED UTILITY LOCATING SERVICE BEFORE DIGGING/TRENCHING. If you wind up cutting your neighbor’s (or even your own…) TV cable, phone or well line you’re fully liable for the cost of repair/replacement – which is NOT cheap. If the locating service mis-marked it you’re off the hook. If you’re doing any serious digging work, it pays to put in sprinkler pipe as underground conduit at the same time. Sprinkler pipe is thin wall, lighter than schedule 40 and considerably cheaper. It comes in 10 ft lengths from home centers but can be had in 20 ft lengths at irrigation supply houses (fewer connection unions saves money). Use 3/4″ even though 1/2″ is cheaper because 3/4″ is easier to pull wire through, and if you’ve got the budget for it, 1″ is much better. Buy a roll of “pull string” – synthetic heavy string used for pulling wire through conduit – and put it in the buried pipe when you bury it. Always add a length of pull string to whatever cable/wire you’re pulling through the pipe so there’s always a full length of pull string in the pipe for future use. FYI, thin wall irrigation pipe does NOT meet electrical code requirements for buried conduit so if you’re installing high voltage runs (120 volt, 240 volt) you’ll need to use the gray (schedule 80) plastic conduit. Tip: Whatever you’re doing, it’s a big plus to use at least one size up from what you think you need; heavy plastic code-compliant conduit, whatever it costs, is much, much cheaper than the trench it’s going into.

4. Nosmo, you need to submit an article on how to build a privacy/security fence. You just wrote the foundation for it above. Would love to read more!

5. I hesitate to offer this idea, given the relatively sophisticated alternatives mentioned, but for someone who is trying to increase their security situation in a urban/suburban setting or who is located in an area with relatively few avenues of approach or easy access, there is one inexpensive alternative that could greatly increase a defense profile.

   Harbor Freight makes a wireless driveway alarm: https://www.harborfreight.com/search?q=wireless%20driveway%20alarm. While it is regularly $24.95, I see it on sale a few times a year for $9.00. (Everything at Harbor Freight is on sale very often!) The description says that it has a 400 foot range that will signal the approach of a vehicle or a person.

   I took it to my bugout location. I asked a friend to help me test it. Given how frequently ranges for FRS radios are grossly exaggerated by manufacturers, I wanted to see just how good this little device would actually perform. It turned out that he had already tested the one I gave him. It had successfully sent a signal at least 300 feet through rough brush. I thought, “Not bad at all.” And for $9.00?

   The product description says that it is weather-proof. Of course, a coat of paint would be appropriate, preferably a color that blends with its background.

   I have no information concerning its durability. I placed the unit across the sidewalk leading to my front door. Because I was running in and out of the house so often, the unit drove my wife nuts and I removed it. Happy wife, happy life.

   Wait for it to be on sale and then buy one for $9.00. If it works well in your setting, perhaps additional units placed in an interlocking setting around your property perimeter would be a nice addition.

   1. I second your recommendation. I’ve had one of those units in my driveway for 10 years+. It is excellent. Few false alarms and ridiculously cheap! Plus our dog-before she went deaf-learned what it meant and would fly up onto the back of the couch barking like mad which helped me determine by her bark if it was a cat, deer or person coming up the way!

      1. Spotlight,

         I made a mistake. The regular price for the unit is $14.99, not $24.95, so even when it is not on sale, it is modestly priced.

         That you got over 10 years of use from it is good news.

6. Survivorman99,

   Dakota Alert makes two different MURS alert systems – one uses motion detection, like the Harbor Freight one you mentioned, and one uses a magnetic sensor to detect large chunks of ferrous metal, like cars. The motion one is always going to be a lot more sensitive to false alerts, since pretty much any motion can set it off. The magnetic one will generally only alert on vehicles. Both definitely have their uses, it just depends on your requirements. The HF one you indicated is definitely a lot cheaper for a motion sensor option, which would allow you to deploy more of them and have some spares, but it requires a dedicated base station, whereas the Dakota ones will broadcast on a MURS radio frequency. Again, which one makes the most sense depends on your needs. FYI – I have another article coming up sometime in the future on how you can integrate a radio broadcast into you security system.

7. Yes, driveway alarms like the Harbor Freight model do require a dedicated base station, although that base station would consist of perhaps multiple receivers within earshot of the homeowner. I’m thinking that someone who has been hunkered down for days inside a home in the suburbs would benefit from models like this that began to chime at night because a two-legged predator entered the backyard. The base station(s) on a nightstand next to the bed could be critical in providing an extra minute or two to react, locate, and engage the threat–and each of them at a cost of not much more than a Big Mac Combo meal, or a 6-Pack of Boston Lager.

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