Not having a firearm can leave you at a huge disadvantage when defending your home from an intruder, especially if they’re armed. Depending on what the intruder is armed with, your odds of surviving the home invasion can go from extremely high to extremely low.
To increase your chances of surviving a home invasion, there are certain steps you can follow to both prevent and deter an intruder from entering your home, as well as to ”physically motivate” the intruder to leave your premises.
In this article below, I’m going to explain what the best weapons are for protecting your home (if you don’t have a firearm), defensive measures you can take to both protect your home & deter intruders and tips for protecting your home during a home invasion.
Continue reading if you want to increase your chances of surviving a home invasion.
Weapons to Protect Your Home That Aren’t a Firearm
Below are the best weapons you can buy to protect you and your family from an intruder during a home invasion.
Pepper Spray
Pepper spray is one of the best non-lethal forms of protection you can have in your home to defend against intruders. The advantage of using pepper spray for self-defense is that it doesn’t require any form of strength or skill on your end to use. Just point the nozzle towards the intruder’s face and press down the button to engage the pepper spray.
Taser
Without a firearm, a taser would be the next best weapon to have for defending your home against an intruder. A taser is an electroshock weapon that utilizes Co2 to launch two probes charged with electricity up to 15 feet in any direction. If both of these probes come in contact with the intruder and pierce their skin (or clothes) it will send 50,000 volts of electricity into their body and temporarily hijack their central nervous system. This can immobilize the intruder for up to several minutes.
Stun Gun
Stun guns and tasers are often confused as the same thing, but other than being an electroshock weapon, they’re actually quite different. Unlike a taser, a stun gun has two metal prongs fixated on the end of the weapon. These two metal prongs can’t be propelled towards the target and are only capable of emitting 1200 volts of electricity at a time, versus the 50,000 volts emitted from a taser.
So which is better, a stun gun or a taser? In my opinion, the taser is by far the better weapon for self-defense against an intruder, no questions asked. However, this doesn’t mean that the stun gun does come with its advantages as well.
The main advantage of using a stun gun is that you can use it multiple times in succession, unlike a taser where you can only use it once and that’s it. So if you happen to miss the intruder while using a taser, oh well.. Better hope he or she (or whatever pronoun they prefer) flees the scene once they become aware of your presence. If not.. then I guess the famous saying from the pig on Looney Tunes comes to mind — That’s all folks!
However, with a stun gun, you don’t get the range benefit as you do with a taser. A stun gun also lacks the amount of power needed to successfully immobilize an intruder and will only cause them temporary pain.
Both stun guns and tasers are considered to be a “less-lethal” form of weapon since they have been known to kill people before, typically persons with heart conditions or a serious medical condition.
Stun Baton
A stun baton operates the same way as a stun gun, only instead of being a handheld weapon with virtually no reach, it’s a rod-shaped weapon with around a foot and a half of reach. The longer reach allows you to maintain distance from your attacker, whereas when using a stun gun you have to get up close and personal to use it effectively.
Telescoping Baton
A telescoping baton is a lightweight weapon that is great for keeping intruders at a distance. And while a telescoping baton may be light in weight, it can actually do a fair bit of damage. After all, there’s a reason why police officers use it as one of their main forms of protection.
The other two being a taser and a firearm.
Knife
Knives are of course one of the best weapons for self-defense other than a firearm, but if you plan on using one then you better be prepared for the possible outcome that may take place. Using a knife for self-defense will result in a very close and personal fight that could very well end gruesomely if you succeed with defending yourself. Or if you don’t..
Baseball Bat
One of the oldest known weapons for self-defense is none other than the good ol’ reliable baseball bat. Bats can be bought as either wood or aluminum, although aluminum is both lighter and harder so, therefore, better for self-defense.
Paintball Gun
A paintball gun loaded with pepperballs is the best weapon for home defense outside of a firearm. Pepperballs are the same size as regular paintballs (.68 caliber), but they’re filled with a liquid that’s similar to pepper spray. In fact, the only difference between pepperballs and pepper spray is that you can shoot pepperballs at a distance of up to 50+ yards. Whereas with pepper spray you have to get close and personal to your intruder and possibly risk spraying yourself at the same time.
The other benefit of shooting pepperballs out of a paintball gun is that the paintball gun itself works as a great deterrent. If you purchase a magfed paintball gun it will even look as if you’re armed with an actual firearm. Plus the sound of you shooting the paintball gun as well as the pain from being shot by the pepperballs will both help to convince the intruder to leave your premises as quickly as possible.
How to Set Up Home Defense
Improving your home’s defense system may require some time and money, but it’s well worth it if you want to improve your chances of surviving a home invasion. Continue reading if you want to learn the best tips for improving your home’s defense.
Set-Up Weapons Around the House
The first step that most people take when planning for the possibility of a future home invasion is to set up weapons around the home. The optimal weapon to have hidden in your household would be a firearm, but any weapon is better than none.
Read More: Top 5 Firearms for When SHTF
Of course, if you have children in your home then you need to be extra careful when setting up weapons around the household, especially if your children are on the younger side. If you’re not sure if your children have reached the right age to where you can trust them enough, then chances are they probably haven’t.
Better safe than sorry.
Secure All Doors and Windows
The easiest way to deter criminals from breaking into your home is to install locks on all of your doors and windows.
I recommend installing both a regular lock and a deadbolt lock on all doors that lead outside your home, and a chain lock and your front door as well. If you want extra door security you can even buy a door security bar like this one on Amazon.com
Most modern homes already come with locks integrated into their windows, but if you have an older home (or maybe your window locks are broken) then you’ll need to buy a new lock for your window(s) to prevent intruders from being able to enter your home.
Install a Home Security System
One of the best ways to protect a home without a firearm is to install a home security system. A home security system typically consists of a high decibel alarm, door & window sensors, motion sensors (interior and exterior), wired or wireless security cameras, and a control panel to connect everything and allow you to enter your pin code to disengage the alarm.
If you purchase a home security system you will typically get a sign you can place in your front yard or by your door to deter intruders from wanting to enter your home. If the sign doesn’t deter them away, the high-pitch alarm will usually do the job.
Install a Doorbell Camera
An affordable alternative to buying a home security system is to buy a doorbell camera such as Ring or Google Nest. Or you can buy a doorbell camera to use in combination with a home security system for even greater protection.
The main benefit of having a doorbell camera is that you can record anyone trying to enter your home. Many doorbell cameras will even alarm your smartphone if anyone is close to your front door.
Once someone does come into proximity of your front door, you can use your smartphone to access the speaker and microphone on the doorbell camera to talk to whoever is there.
Another major benefit of having a doorbell camera is that criminals are quickly becoming aware of their existence and are learning to avoid homes that have one installed. Plus you can always use the footage it does record to show the cops if anything happens.
Place Beware of Dog Sign In Yard
Even if you don’t own a dog, a Beware of Dog sign can be highly effective at deterring intruders from breaking into your home. Of course, a Beware of Dog sign typically works best if you have a fence.
Home Defense Tips
Listed below are some of the best tips for surviving a home invasion. While the advice above is more focused on fortifying your home, the advice below is more focused on you and your mindset.
Practice Martial Arts
Learning martial arts will prove to be more helpful in a survival situation than having any weapon outside of a firearm. Martial arts such as Krav Maga, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are all great for self-defense. Or you can just practice MMA (Mixed Martial Arts), which is a combination of all martial art forms. MMA takes the best strategies from every type of martial arts to create the best fighting style possible for self-defense.
Fight Dirty
Don’t be afraid to fight dirty whenever you’re defending your home from an intruder. You never know what they’re capable of doing or what they’re thinking so do whatever is necessary to fend off the intruder and save your life. If this means kicking them in the groin, yanking on their hair, or biting their ear off like Mike Tyson — everything goes in a life and death scenario such as a home invasion.
Think Like An Intruder
If you were an intruder breaking into your home, how would you do it? By thinking in this mindset you can begin to figure out the flaws in your home’s defense system. Fix these flaws and you and your family will be safer at home.
Assume the Worst
If you ever find an intruder in your home always assume that the worst is going to happen. You could be wrong and maybe they flee the scene once they realize someone is home, or you could be right and the intruder is there to murder you and your family.
I knew an elderly couple (my old accountant and her husband) that was recently murdered in their home simply because the intruder assumed they had money. This was a senseless murder that deeply affected our community and everyone that knew them. Old friends and colleagues began to re-think their home security measures and even buy weapons (including firearms) of their own.
Own a Guard Dog
Instead of simply buying a Beware of Dog sign, why not buy an actual dog? Preferably one capable of protecting you and your family. Dog breeds such as German Shepherds, Rottweilers, and Chows Chows all make great options as guard dogs if properly trained.
Even if they’re not properly trained, they may still do a great job of protecting your household, or at least they’ll be able to scare off any intruders that hear them coming.
And if you read what I wrote above about my old accountant and her husband, I can’t help but think that having a good guard dog could’ve been the one thing that would’ve saved their life. Even though they had a firearm in their house, the problem with firearms (or any weapon) is that they’re often out of range when needed.
This is why I believe a guard dog is the best weapon for defending your home against an intruder.
