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While there are many preparedness articles about home defense, most of them are about defense for someone living in a house. Very few articles explain how to defend an apartment or condo, but it’s an important topic for the many preppers who live in them.
While you obviously can’t survive in your apartment forever, you could survive there until the crisis is over. But to do that, you’ll need to fortify your windows and doors and gather some supplies. Here is how to defend your apartment from looters after the SHTF.
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Windows
The first thing you need to fortify is your windows. Even if you’re not on the ground floor, your windows are still vulnerable to attack or objects being thrown through them. Here are some things you can do…
• Replace your glass windows with acrylic glass. It looks just like normal glass but it’s far stronger (if your apartment manager allows it).
• Permanently pin your window shut. How you do this will depend on the type of window. You could use nails, pins, screws, or extra window locks.
• Install security film. This stuff will slow down anybody trying to break through the window because the film holds the glass together when it breaks so it won’t shatter.
• Install window guards. These are great because even if someone breaks the window, they still won’t be able to get through.
• Install chicken wire. This might sound a little crazy, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Nail chicken wire over the inside of your windows (bend down the nails to hold the wire in place). This would be so difficult to get through that most looters would give up and move on.
Doors
After windows, the next most likely entry point is your doors. Here are a few ways to reinforce them.
• Replace the doors in your apartment with metal doors. Normal wood doors can be easily beaten down by a determined invader. (Again, you’ll want to check with your apartment manager first.)
• Install heavy duty locks, chains, deadbolts, swing bars, and so forth. The locks will make you look paranoid to other people, but you’ll be glad you have them after the SHTF.
The with problem locks is that they’re only as good as the frame holding the door in place. That’s why you should…
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• Buy long screws and use them to reinforce your doors. Specifically, the jambs, hinges, and strike plates. If your door has screws that reach all the way into the studs around it, no one will be able to kick it in.
• Install door stops and security bars. The harder it is to open your door, the better.
Note: If you have any sliding glass doors in your apartment, be sure to fortify them with a Charley Bar. It won’t make your glass door impenetrable since anyone can still easily smash through it, but it makes it extremely hard for someone to open it on their own if not downright impossible. A simple cut down broom handle would work for a Charley Bar.
Weaponry
Now for the really fun stuff. You better have suitable weaponry in your apartment if you hope to resist home invasions and SHTF scenarios. While you may not have to use firearms for defense during SHTF, at least having them in your apartment would be good for peace of mind.
The simple act of brandishing a firearm can be enough to deter an invader.
• The first firearm you need for apartment defense is a handgun. This is the gun you keep on your nightstand and can keep strapped to your hip throughout the crisis. While you should never depend on a handgun as your primary weapon (as all pistol rounds are underpowered), it is still an excellent back-up weapon and a good choice to respond to emergencies quickly.
Any reliable handgun would work here, regardless of whether that’s a double stack 9mm like a Glock 19 or a 1911 in .45 ACP or a .357 Magnum revolver. Just as long as it’s reliable and has sufficient stopping power, it will work.
Also, plan on storing at least 500 rounds of handgun ammunition for extended SHTF situations (remember that an ammo shortage could occur that could last for months after the situation as well).
• Next up would be a pump action shotgun in 12 gauge of 20 gauge. Either of these is among the most effective close-range defensive weapons available. Pump actions are a superior choice than semi-autos for the reason that they will feed literally anything you give them, plus the sound of you racking a shell can be a deterrent to an intruder as well.
Examples here include the Mossberg 500 or the Remington 870. Have at least 250 rounds of shotgun ammo stored.
• Consider a semi-automatic defensive rifle as well, such as Mini-14, AR-15, or AK-47. A pistol and a shotgun should be sufficient for defending your apartment, but a defensive rifle would be a better choice for fending off multiple attackers.
For instance, if your apartment complex comes under attack and you have to fire down onto the streets, a semi-auto rifle is the best choice. Have at least 1,000 rounds set aside.
• While we’re talking about firearms, I should mention that you’ll want to buy some hearing protection. Needless to say, gunshots are incredibly loud when outside and will be even louder indoors. Invest in a quality set of hearing protection and your ears won’t regret it when the time comes.
Supplies
What good is defending your apartment if you don’t have enough provisions to survive there for a long time? You need to be well-stocked in your apartment, and even if space is limited (especially if you have a studio apartment), there’s still a lot you can do.
• The first thing you need is water. For one person living alone in an apartment, the bare minimum is two gallons of water per day. Most people say one gallon, but you’ll want to have extra water for things like cooking and bathing. So to make it, say, three months, you’d need 180 gallons of water.
Store this water in either big containers or in small water bottles, and rotate it out once every six months. Here are some water storage basics worth learning.
• The next thing you need is food. Specifically, food that is nutritious, long-lasting, and non-perishable. Again, as with water, shoot for a three month supply. (Check out our beginner’s guide to emergency food storage.)
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Normally, I’d suggest lots of basics like flour, beans, rice, pasta, and so forth. But those foods require lots of cooking, and it will be difficult to cook if the power is out and it isn’t safe to go outside. That means you’ll want to buy lots of foods that require little or no preparation, such as…
- Canned Soup
- Canned Fruit
- Canned Veggies
- Cookies
- Crackers
- Dry Cereals
- Protein Bars
- Breakfast Bars
- Dehydrated Food
- Freeze Dried Food
Admittedly, it won’t be a very healthy diet, but the idea is just to survive until things return to normal. If you’re worried about heating healthy, dehydrate lots of fruits and veggies while you can, and buy some multivitamins and other healthy supplements.
If some of your foods need to be heated up, you’ll need to be careful about how you cook them because most emergency stoves emit dangerous smoke and fumes. Fortunately, there are a few ways to cook indoors.
Use your fireplace if you have one. Otherwise, use a Sterno stove to warm up your food, or use a butane stove next to an open window for short periods of time. Just be aware that doing this could attract some dangerous people.
• Next up, you’re going to need personal hygiene items. This includes the usual basics like soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, and dish soap.
• Finally, have a healthy supply of medicines. Especially any prescription meds, if applicable. You’ll also need a complete first aid kit, which should consist of the following items at a minimum:
- Anti-Septic Wipes
- Antibiotics
- Bandages
- Cotton Swabs
- CPR Mask
- Elastic Wrap
- Finger Splint
- Gauze Pads
- Hand Sanitizer
- Medical Tape
- SAM Splint
- Scissors
- Sterile Pads
- Tourniquet
- Tylenol
Other Tips
If your apartment manager allows it, getting a dog as a security system would be another wise investment. Beyond giving you badly needed companionship when you’re holed up in your apartment, a dog can alert you to potential intruders as well.
Even a small dog under 35 pounds will be better than nothing. Just make sure you designate a place in your apartment where your dog can relieve itself. You’ll also need lots of small trash bags, maybe some kitty litter, and containers where you can keep the waste. Here are some great dog breeds for preppers.
Another thing you should do is black out your windows at night. If there’s a citywide power outage but people see light coming from your window, they’ll assume you have lots of supplies (and they’d be right). So try not to use lights after the sun goes down. But if you must, hang blackout curtains so no one sees them.
Finally, if you don’t already live in one, you should move to an apartment that’s not on the ground floor. In fact, the higher the floor, the safer you’ll be. It’s much easier to defend the top of a staircase, and you’ll have a better view of what’s happening in the streets.
Plus, most looters won’t bother climbing too high before moving on to an easier target.
Conclusion
As you can see, defending an apartment or condo isn’t that different from defending a house or homestead. It all comes down to fortifying your doors and windows, having the proper weaponry to defend your home, and having a large stockpile.
If you can do that, you’ll have a very good chance of surviving until the crisis is over or until it’s safe to relocate.
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Some folks may be able to install shutters on the inside of windows and doors. You’ll have to be creative.
Battery-powered alarms are cheap. For as little as five bucks per opening, you have a system that is not affected by power outages. You can also get motion-sensing devices that use batteries.
You can buy 2ft by 6ft and 6×6 ballistic blankets if stray rounds are a concern, but they are pricey!
Have a plan to deal with trash if pickups slow down or stop. Have a plan to deal with human waste if sewer systems falter or fail.
If you suspect this kind of trouble soon, clean the heck out of your place. Less to worry about during.
One thing you can do is cover the peephole in your door with something. I have a picture thumbtacked over it so all I have to do is swing it out of the way if I want to look out, but no one can use it to look in or see if a light is on.
Miss Kitty;
Great idea!
If you live in public housing many of these options aren’t possible. In MA you are NOT allowed to have a firearm in your apartment. You are NOT allowed to change the locks or to make modifications to the doors. This is supposed to be for safety and to allow access by fire and police, also by housing so they can come in if there’s a leak….Riiiggghhht! But I bet the folks uptown can arm and get whatever mods they want!
If SHTF, no worries about the suggested defenses.
If you have a handgun, keep it hidden from prying eyes.
There is a brace you can stick under the doorknob that goes at an angle to the floor.
Makes it extremely hard to bust a door down and it is not a ‘modification.
Of course you can only use that if someone is inside.
Fire department may need access but police absolutely DO NOT.
Only reason police would want to come in when SHTF is to take your stuff and possibly you too.
When SHTF, cops are the same as a criminal.
Actually one of the aspects not covered in this is the desire to still blend in while fortifying your home… ideally if you are bugging in you would have a neighbor or two that were doing the same and you would have established a sort of gang mentality, for the strength in numbers aspect but even if you are the only one left in the building this is not a bad thing, the key still being to reinforce the other apartments the same as you intend on reinforcing your own, complete with the boarding of the entry ways, then you need to be the one tearing through the walls giving you access to those other apartments that have been abandoned as well as your own, preferably in a manner that can be hidden with relative ease, say through the area within cupboards or covered by furniture that someone else wouldnt think of moving, this way you (and hopefully your entourage) will be the only ones with knowledge of how to move about the building in ease, while any hopeful looters are left with dead ends and confusion which are extreme handicaps in a situation like theorized above… but back on point of what I was saying about the need to blend in, if your apartment is the only one thats been fortified, it is pretty much equal to advertising that you have a reason to have fortified in the first place and have even narrowed down the search parameters for them, so again… it would be very smart to repeat the same fortifications or similar ones on not only the other apartments in your building but nearby buildings as well, with the other buildings that you do not intend on utilizing fully you should really only be focused on the exteriors for your fortifications unless you have a plan of action for expanding into those buildings later on.
You can use the wood inside your own walls if you have the right tools. Also appliances as barricades and even traps set incase someone actually makes it in.. Make it as hard as possible. Definitely need a gun or guns.
Great post. You’re right – it’s an unfortunate reality that many people today can only afford to live in apartments. If you’re one of those apartment dwellers, taking the above steps will definitely help in a major disaster situation. I would also suggest slowly building up some food and water supplies as well as a few additional items (view my full list on my website – http://www.apartmentsurvivalguide.com . The most important prep is knowledge & survival skills. Have a plan!
Living in an apartment 101
-Always know your exits and entrances of your complex.
-Request a second floor apartment (first floor is easy to break into and a second floor dwelling is just high enough out of reach for robberies but low enough to escape).
-Keep a small Go Bag always on hand
-Always change out the locks once you move in.
-If there is more then one exit or lobby, periodically switch up your departures and arrivals at you apartment. Use the different available entrances, this process keeps your would -be adversaries unsure of your whereabouts at any given time….never become predictable.
-KEEP a DOG in your apartment if you can.
You can also use bed room and closet doors to nail over main door