The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

DryTheRain

nosuperwoman wrote: »

Hi everyone,
I'm a bit of a lurker here, mostly because I am a Prepping wannabe rather than an active one.
I have a question about bug out bags. In a conversation with my missus about the people who had to leave Whalley Bridge in a hurry I told her about the BOB s , her immediate response was that it would be a gift for burglars.
What do people think? Are there good hiding places or is it just a chance you take?

I gather burgles tend to go for things which are obviously valuable and quickly swiped, typically jewellery and electronics. So I wouldn't have thought a couple of discreetly stashed rucksacks containing a few clothes and other bits would be an obvious target, although it might be an idea to keep id and essential meds separately if you're concerned?

thriftwizard

I can't see that a typical BoB would be of any interest to a burglar; it wouldn't contain anything of quickly-negotiable value, but things like pyjamas, toothbrush, hairbrush, a change of clothes, medication & anything you might need to survive a sudden few days (& nights) away from home. Having kept a bag of this sort for years in order to be able to dash to various elderly relatives' bedsides at the drop of a hat (some of them not in the UK) anything of value (e.g. phone, cash, passport, driving license etc.) would be on my person, not in the bag. I have a routine & a strict policy of replacing important things back where they belong so that these things are grab-able on my way out of the house.

Things like computers, TVs & jewellery - not that I own much! - which burglars might be interested in, would be of very minor importance in a real bug-out situation. Trinkets & gadgets can be replaced...

GreyQueen

nosuperwoman wrote: »

Hi everyone,
I'm a bit of a lurker here, mostly because I am a Prepping wannabe rather than an active one.
I have a question about bug out bags. In a conversation with my missus about the people who had to leave Whalley Bridge in a hurry I told her about the BOB s , her immediate response was that it would be a gift for burglars.
What do people think? Are there good hiding places or is it just a chance you take?

I once had an interesting convo at a social event with one of the Met's Scene of Crimes Officers. This SOCO went to many burglaries each day. I asked him what are the most common things stolen;


Cash, jewellery, alcohol, certain medicines like opiates, ID documents like passports and your CAR KEYS. So they can then steal your car.



I've also known a burglary where the thieves took every single item of food of all categories, even unto the contents of the spice rack. And a 25 y.o vacuum cleaner which was worth zilch.


A famous prepper website suggests that you have a pack of all the important documents which you can grab and go. Not having a washbag or spare undies would be tiresome if you had to evacuate to a community centre, but those are easily and cheaply replaced.


If you are a multiperson household, you might want to rehearse a 10 minute drill, so you know which person is responsible for grabbing which items/ bags, so you don't panic and bump into each other. You might also want to discuss ahead of time that if the home is unreachable, everyone goes to Grannie's or checks in via phone call or text with so-and-so. Texts may be able to get thru even if networks are overwhelmed with call volume, as they are liable to be in event of a crisis.


You might also want to consider if family outside your immediate area might let you store a bag of clothes and a few essentials at their place, in case anything were to happen to your home. You could offer to reciprocate.


It's always a good idea to have offsite storage for proofs of ownership, to back up your insurance claim in event of total loss of the home and its contents. You could even shoot video and keep a copy offsite on a thumb drive.


I do have a BOB, it is 'relatively' hidden but not too hidden, as it wouldn't be very effective if I had to unpack half my home to get at it - and I live in flats which suffered a middle-of-the-night emergency evac to a community centre in a fire once before.

DryTheRain

Wow, some great bugging out tips here, most interesting

Equally, I've been looking at bolstering security and safety in the home - taking into account local factors (recent trouble with county lines etc) and the possibility of things kicking off if we run into political or economic difficulties. Upgrades definitely required!

So far I've bought fire extinguishers and security window film (for vulnerable single glazing), next step will be window restrictors and reinforcement for the front door. I also wondered about adapting the 'grow a thorn bush' advice for indoors, adding spiky plants to those already on the windowsill. Urban jungle warfare eh.. but are there any obvious things I've missed? All suggestions welcome

DigForVictory

If you want to plant a suitably offensive thorn bush, pick a gooseberry that hasn't had its spike cultivar-ed out. Security & fresh fruit that is loaded with both flavour & pectin. (Haven't tried strawberry & goosegog but most fruit jams, you only need one quarter gogs & it sets, That Much pectin!)

Indoors, my local copper viewed the heap of washing up awaiting anyone getting in through the relevant window & reckoned that if that was normal (ahem yes <blush>) I had "hardened the target" admirably. There wasn't anywhere to put a foot down without triggering a noisy crash!

DryTheRain

Haha! I was just eyeing up the window seat and thinking you'd break your bloody neck trying to get over that lot, not that I'd want anyone to break their bloody neck (obvs) but I feel a lot better about my clutter now :rotfl:

GreyQueen

DryTheRain wrote: »

Haha! I was just eyeing up the window seat and thinking you'd break your bloody neck trying to get over that lot, not that I'd want anyone to break their bloody neck (obvs) but I feel a lot better about my clutter now :rotfl:

One trick is to go outside you're home with a burglar hat on and say to yourself; how would I break in here?


Do you have any single-story extensions/ attached garages? Could a person climb up onto them to access upper floor windows? Are there things standing about the grounds which can be used to climb on? Most of us will have wheelie bins, for example. There may also be strong pieces of garden furniture which could be moved or are there ladders accessible?


A not-uncommon thing is to use the shed contents to burgle the house, so a ladder in a shed or garage could usefully be chained up to something else to make this less likely.


Does your garden have 6 foot panel fencing? If so, it might make you feel secure but it a gift to intruders. The average young man can boost himself over such a panel so easily you'd weep to see it and, once behind, is out of sight of passers-by and can get up to no good.


The best fences to define your property are either pretty low, so that thieves cannot hide behind them but can unequivocally be seen to on your property by anyone passing, or are tall and so rickety (or have rickety trellis over the top of them, that boosting yourself over wouldn't be easy.


You can also buy strips of hard plastic prickles, designed to be attached to the top rail of wooden panel fencing. I've even heard of people greasing the top of gates to make a terribe mess, and a bad handhold, if anyone were to try climbing them.


Ultimately, if someone wants to break in, they will. All you can do is make your home look a bit harder to tackle than others nearby and hope not to be targetted.


Plus, most burglaries are in broad daylight in business hours, when the household is out at work/ school/ shopping etc, which is somethign worth knowing. HTH.

nosuperwoman

Thanks to everyone: Some great tips on the bug out bags and anti-burglar efforts. I particularly like the excuse/ sound reason to leave the washing up!

I think I'll prep a bag but put passports, cash etc in 2/3 different places so I can grab together easily if we need to leave but won't make it easy for a burglar.

THIRZAH

I don't have a bag but do have a list which includes cash . The list is in a safe place and there are copies of all important documents in the same folder.


We may not be able to leave the house in 30 seconds but I reckon we could still be out in 10 minutes.

jk0

Someone on Zerohedge linked to this:


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/15/wind-farm-behind-massive-blackout-awarded-nearly-100000-compensation/


What do you make of this, guys? Hornsea wind farm triggers a blackout on Friday. On Saturday the National Grid notice the frequency falling and suspect Hornsea are going to pop again. In view of this, they ask them to reduce their output, and Hornsea get £100k compensation.


Talk about compensation for failure!