Home Defense Guide – How To Protect Your Family in 8 Steps

In this home defense guide, we will go through the steps you can take to protect your family against a home invasion.

It may seem as simple as buying an alarm system, but that only goes so far. Many confuse home defense with protecting against theft. While these are similar, defending against a home invasion and someone trying to harm you is much more involved.

We have taken numerous home defense classes from experts in the industry. We also combined our tactical experience in the military with practical guidance from law enforcement to develop this guide.

Keep reading to find out how to develop a plan to protect your family.

Home Defense Guide

Have you ever heard a “bump in the night” and wondered if it was something that you should be concerned about? Did you wonder if the back door was unlocked and maybe someone was in your house? Did you feel a sense of panic? Then, you just realized it was your teenage son in the kitchen.

That sense of panic is fear. Fear that someone is about to harm you because of your lack of a home defense plan.

In this guide, we are going to change that.

Home defense, for our purposes, does not necessarily mean protecting your home from robbery. However, if someone wants something bad enough, they will harm others to get it. Unfortunately, today, there are people in the world who will harm a fellow citizen for just a small amount of money. In this case, robberies and home invasions are linked; the first is the motive, and the second is the outcome.

During one of the home defense classes that I was in years ago, the instructor (Bob Allen, who is a retired police and a SWAT instructor) told me that:

“If someone is trying to enter your home and they know you are there, they are not there to rob you. They are there to harm you.”

Keep this in mind through the following sections.

Awareness at Home

When I am at home, I feel safe. Typically, when we feel safe, we let our guard down and get comfortable. But being comfortable does not mean we should not be aware of what is happening around us.

As we discussed in our situational awareness training guide, we need to stay aware at home the same as we are outside of it.

Awareness can help us avoid a violent confrontation, which is always preferred, or at least gives us more time to prepare our response to an attack. If we are caught by surprise, very little can often be done.

While we can never be aware 100% of the time (we have to sleep sometime), there are some things we can do to help us bridge the gap, which we will cover later.

When we are alerted to a potential threat, it is important not to immediately dismiss it and assume everything is fine.

The alert may not initially appear violent. It could be a delivery person, a salesman, or just some kids doing a school fundraiser.

This is especially important during a widespread emergency. An innocent alert may come from a mother and children asking for help while the real threat is approaching from a different direction.

Even if the alert is deemed a non-threat, we still need to keep our awareness level up.

Treating everyone you don’t know as a potential threat, regardless of how they appear, will help you stay in a higher state of awareness.

Once you have been alerted of a potential threat, there are two steps to remember. The first is to recall your plan. To recall a plan, we obviously need to have one in the first place. Now, not every plan will cover the details of every scenario, but the general framework of your plan will.

This will do two things. It will keep you calm so you can make better decisions (like we discuss in our how to make better decisions in a crisis guide) and enable you to react quicker when the time comes.

After recalling your plan, the next step is establishing a “line in the sand,” if you will. For example, if you tell someone to stop a few times and they keep approaching, it is time to start your plan. Or, if someone is at your door, you tell them to leave, and then they put their hand on the doorknob and try to turn it. It is time to start your plan.

Visualization – Develop Your Plan

Our mindset guides discuss how stoic people use negative visualization to help them be better prepared. This works for everything from getting a flat tire to a home invasion.

By thinking through a difficult situation and how we would react, we can develop a logical plan without being under stress. When we do this repeatedly, our mind will quickly identify it once the situation or something similar occurs.

Some scenarios to consider:

• What if I hear someone trying to open my back door?
• What if I saw a strange car parked in front of my house?
• What if I see a stranger outside my home when I get home late at night?

Think through the possibilities that you are likely to face around your home or apartment. Go through a dry run and think about how you would react. There will likely be issues that you will be unable to solve, which is OK. Below, I will go through tips that will help.

Early Warning Is Key

The more time we have between being alerted to a threat and enacting our defense plan, the more effectively we can execute our plan.

Some type of early warning is key, and there are areas to focus on that don’t cost much money.

The Three Zones of Security

To make planning easier, I find it best to divide my home into three zones: my property, the perimeter of my home, and the inside of my home.

Property Alerts

Of course, everyone has differences here. Someone who lives in an apartment is very different from someone who lives in a home on 100 acres.

For homes with long, isolated driveways, motion sensors are a good first step. These HTZSafe sensors on Amazon have a range of up to ½ miles and can detect vehicles or people as they enter an area.

This system can be expanded to 32 sensors, so they can be placed not only on driveways but around any other place on my property that could be an approach point to my home. They are battery-powered and easy to set up.

When the sensor detects movement, the base unit inside my home makes a selectable sound, so I can have different sounds for different sensors. However, it is just a sound, so I only know something is there. Since it is not a camera, I cannot know if it is a threat.

Also, consider dark areas around your property where someone could hide. The best way I have found to identify these is to do a walk around my property at night and try to approach my home without being seen.

Once you have found these areas, use these Mr. Beams motion-activated spotlights to activate and light up the area when someone enters it. While they do not provide a direct alert when I am inside my home, they can alert me when I am outside my home or looking out a window.

These are affordable and battery-powered, so they are easy to install anywhere.

Perimeter of Your Home Alert

The next level of alert should be around the perimeter of your home or apartment. Just like around your property, Mr. Beams motion-activated spotlights should be installed in dark spots around the perimeter of your home. This will deter anyone trying to hide and provide you with an early visual warning.

They will also help to eliminate areas of ambush. When I approach my home, I want to make sure that no one can surprise me and force their way in.

Another option that I really like here are the Amazon Blink Outdoor Cameras. These are battery-powered, affordable, can be installed anywhere, and provide an instant alert to my phone when detecting motion. I can also play a recording of the video it captured or watch the camera live. These are also infrared, so they work in complete darkness.

They do require being within range of my home Wi-Fi, so they are somewhat limited to being used just around the perimeter and up to about 50 feet away from my home. Since they require a Wi-Fi signal, I keep my router and modem plugged into a battery backup. This way, they still work for a few hours, even during a power outage. During a long-term power outage, I can use a power station like a Jackery 240 to power them.

I really like them since I can place them around the outside of my home, and no matter where I am, I will be alerted and can instantly see what tripped the motion sensor.

The only negative I have found with them is they require pricey Lithium batteries. I solved this issue by using Pale Blue Earth rechargeable batteries. See my full Pale Blue Earth Battery review for more on them.

A dog is a great early warning system. Their sense of smell can detect someone other than their owner from a good distance away. See our list of the best home defense dogs for some interesting breeds. Criminals absolutely hate dogs; they scare them to death.

Remember that even just evidence of a dog can be a great deterrent. A Beware of Dog sign or a large dog bowl on the back porch are cheap options, even if your dog is a Chihuahua.

Home Intrusion Alert

The ultimate home intrusion alert is a monitored alarm system. When installing a security system, make sure to include sensors on all the first-floor windows and outside doors. Also, make sure the system has a cellular backup, as it is easy for intruders to cut the phone line coming into your home.

The negatives of a home alarm system are the cost, the fact that it does not work unless it is armed, and the slow response times. Typically, I do not arm my system when I am home because opening a door will set it off. Alarm systems are also usually not possible when renting.

If you feel you can not afford an alarm, there are window stickers and signs that you can buy here on Amazon that are cheap and a great deterrent. Just make sure to get legitimate-looking ones.

Don’t develop a false sense of security even if you have an alarm system. All of the other items I cover are still needed.

How to Prevent Intrusion

A few key things to remember when someone comes to your door. Ultimately, your early warning sensors and cameras have already alerted you, and you already know if it’s a stranger or not, so the knock is no surprise.

• Always talk through the door to a stranger and never open the door. This will prevent them from forcing their way in.
• Don’t let strangers into your home unless they are someone you expect. Don’t let repairmen or other workers see any valuables, especially firearms or money. Ask for ID before opening the door.
• Project confidence by talking clearly, loudly, and forcefully. This will make the intruder think twice if you don’t seem afraid.
• Just because the person at the door looks innocent doesn’t mean that they are.
• Keep your doors locked when you are at home. Studies show that most home invasions occur through an unlocked door. They just simply walked in.

Entry Doors

Most home invasions occur through the exterior doors. Typical homes and apartments are built with cheap Kwikset locks and hinges that are held in place by tiny screws. This makes them very easy to kick in by an intruder. Here are some tips to fortify your doors affordably:

• Install a Secondary Lock. I like the Fliplok door locking devices. They are easy to install and use, and are 10 times stronger than a deadbolt. Even if the intruder has a key or picks the lock, these can’t be defeated. These are great options for apartments too.
• Change the deadbolt locks to Schlage brand locks. They are much stronger and harder to defeat than the Kwikset brand.
• Change the screws on the hinges and lock plates to longer screws. Locks typically come with very short screws. This screw pack on Amazon is an easy and affordable option and makes the door harder to kick in.
• Install a door reinforcement kit. The plates go over the hinges and strike plates to make the door very hard to kick in. Here is an affordable set on Amazon.
• Install a Door Barricade. While that sounds like something massive, these Nightlock Door barricades are discrete and work by sliding a plate into another plate that is attached to the floor. These make it nearly impossible to open the door.
• If the door has a large plate of glass, consider a deadbolt lock that requires a key on both sides. This way, an intruder can’t just reach in and unlock the door. Be sure to keep a key hanging nearby to ensure a quick exit in case of a fire (but can’t be reached from outside the door).

Windows

Once intruders realize they can’t get through a door, they will move to the windows. While many say to just put bars over the windows, it is impractical, unattractive, and expensive. Use these tips to secure your windows.

• Use these inexpensive DIY window alarms on Amazon on all accessible windows. They are easy to install and are very loud.
• Get a few ¼” diameter wooden rods from the hardware store and install them in the upper tracks of the window. This will make them nearly impossible to open from the outside.
• If your home has sliding glass doors, install a wooden rod in the lower track, just like the windows.

Garage Doors

Don’t forget that a garage door is also an easy way to enter your home. Don’t assume they are secure just because they are closed. Use these tips to secure them.

• Remember to close it! While it seems trivial, I see some of my neighbor’s are open during my early morning runs. Make it part of your nightly routine to check it.
• Treat the door from your home to your garage just like an entry door. Keep it locked.
• Remove the emergency release handle from the garage door opener. A coat hanger can easily be pulled from outside the door, releasing the door from the opener and allowing it to open.

Above all else, realize that if someone wants to enter your home, they can. There is really nothing you can do except slow them down.

Here is a great discussion from our friends at CCW Safe on what to do when there is someone at your door in the middle of the night.

Make your Safe Room Plan

Once you have declared a threat imminent, you can simply say the code word (it could just be “safe room”), and everyone knows where to go. Planning and then doing drills are the main ways to train, and it is a must for small children so they feel comfortable with it.

A safe room is not what the movies make it out to be. You don’t need an expensive fortified room with a huge vault door. It can be a room in your home, typically a bedroom, where all members of your family can retreat to.

Here are some tips for selecting your safe room:

• Consider selecting the bedroom of the weakest or slowest member of your family. This way, you don’t have to help them to another room.
• The room should not have any windows that are easily accessible from the outside.
• Consider installing a solid wood core door that opens outward and a deadbolt lock. Most interior doors are hollow and easy to break through.
• Install a Fliplok secondary lock on the inside of the door.
• The room should offer some type of cover between the occupants and the door. A bed or a dresser full of clothes are good choices. (Cover is anything of substantial thickness that can stop bullets; concealment is just something to hide behind, like a shower curtain.)
• There should be a second way out of the room in case of fire. If a second-floor bedroom is used, make sure to have an escape ladder like this one on Amazon.

Depending on the layout of your home, it may make sense to have two safe rooms. For example, if you have a two-story home and a basement, having one in the basement should be considered in case you can’t get to the one on the top floor. However, if you do have two, it is best to have everyone go to one and not split up, so consider this possible confusion.

Items To Keep in A Safe Room

There are some items that should stay in your safe room. You don’t want to have to try and collect what you need on the way. Here is what you need:

• Cheap “burner” phone to call 911
• Home Defense Firearm with Light (see our Best Pistol Lights Guide or Best AR-15 Flashlight Guide)
• Two Flashlights – see our Best Tactical EDC Flashlight guide for some options.
• IFAK kit (see our Best IFAK guide) to treat serious bleeding trauma
• House Key on a large reflective key chain
• Spare Car Key
• Pair of extra clothes dark in color – depending on how you sleep
• Bucket of small Legos or other small items like marbles
• Fire Extinguisher
• Quick Access Gun Safe
• Body Armor in High Risk Cases

All these items should be in the safe (except the Legos and Fire Extinguisher) and stay in the safe. Some of these items need a little explanation.

The phone is used to call 911. As soon as you enter the room, call 911 and stay on the line with them until the police arrive and clear your home. If you do have to defend yourself, this will will help in the legal aftermath since all 911 calls are recorded. Make sure to tell the attacker loudly and boldly to stop (see our guide on the best concealed carry insurance for financial protection here).

Obviously, a firearm is needed to protect your family, but only when there is a direct threat to your or your loved one’s life. Retreating and avoiding the threat should be your primary focus.

The house key is for tossing to the police outside when they arrive. An intruder could have locked the door and still be in the house.

A spare car key is needed if you are forced to evacuate the safe room because of a fire or chemical agent. It will give you a way to escape.

If you sleep minimally, a pair of dark clothing is good not only for warmth and modesty but also offers better concealment than bare skin.

In high risk cases, consider body armor. See our Premier Body Armor Review and our Best Plate Carrier Review for a look at affordable plates and plate carriers.

Finally, I like to toss the small bucket of Legos on the floor in front of the door just before I close it. While an attacker is unlikely to be barefoot, Legos are very tricky to walk on and are often noisy and slick, especially on a laminate or wood floor. At the very least, I’ll know when the attacker gets to the door.

I have taken some courses that suggest filling up the hall outside of the door with whatever you have to slow an attacker down. While I see the purpose, it takes time and “whatever” is not a good plan.

Safe Room Tips

Here are a few tips a tactics to keep in mind.

• Never leave the safe room to find an intruder unless you have been trained. A defensive position is always best; you shouldn’t leave your family alone.
• When the police arrive, they will not know you from the intruder. Do not go to meet them with your firearm in your hands! Stay on the line with 911 to direct them to the room you are in and tell them what you are wearing.
• Squeaky doors and floors around your home are a good thing. Over time, you recognize them and then can use them to identify where an intruder is.
• Install a Blink Camera outside the door of your safe room and monitor it on your phone. This way, you can identify if the person approaching is family, police, or a stranger.

Safe Room Flashlight Technique

If you don’t have the budget to install a solid wood core door in your safe room, you can use a flashlight to give yourself a tactical advantage. The key is to stay defensive and let the attacker come to you.

For this to work, the layout of your safe room needs to be arranged in a certain way and you must have a firearm. There must be substantial cover for you and all the occupants. A bed between you and the door is the best.

Somewhere in the center of the room, there needs to be a piece of furniture between about 2 feet and 4 feet tall on which you can place a flashlight.

When you enter the room, turn on the flashlight and place it on this piece of furniture with it pointed towards the door. The flashlight should be an LED light that is at least 400 lumens, like the ASP Tungsten or a Streamlight ProTac.

Next, position yourself near one corner of the room behind the cover, not directly next to the flashlight. Make sure to keep the door open.

This technique does two things. When the intruder enters the doorway, he cannot see anything but the bright light. He may assume that you are directly next to the light or holding it. It also allows you to clearly see and identify who is approaching. Being able to identify any stranger in your home is key since it may be someone you know.

Practice this in your own home and work on the flashlight’s positioning. Pretend you are the intruder so you can see what they will see. Depending on the layout of your room and the approaching hall, it may take some tweaking.

Protecting Your Family is Up to You

You are responsible for defending yourself and your family in your home. While you can call for help, the response time is a few minutes in the best case.

Remember that if someone knows that you are home and they are trying to forcefully enter, they will not be nice and plan to hurt you. Criminals do not rob homes when the occupants are home!

Now, check out our other Self Defense Guides for everything from concealed carry to tips on how to prepare for civil unrest. Our Best Home Defense AR-15 Setup guide steps through all of our favorite setups depending on the type of home you have.

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