Bugging in can be defined as staying in your house and holding down the fort during an emergency situation. If you have everything you need in your home in order to survive there is no need to leave and head for a distant location. You will have to bug out only if there are solid reasons to do so, reasons that are usually a threat for you and your loved ones. Even though the trend is to bug out and there is a lot of literature dedicated to it, for some this isn’t an option. In fact, bugging in is usually the first choice for suburban and urban preppers when a crisis occurs. Since, not everyone has the chance to go for the hills or get access to a bug out location (BOL) is better to know what to do in order to bug in and survive. 

When I’m discussing with my friends and family about preparedness, the number one question I always hear is: what disaster should I prepare for?

 The answer is never simple and I tell them to first make a list with what disasters are most likely to occur in their area and start preparing for the disaster that is most probable to occur and work their way down on the list. There are many factors that have an influence on the level of preparedness for each family, but the most important one is the budget. The reality is that you have to prepare for as many disasters as you possibly can without affecting your quality of life, social exposure and monthly budget. Although it may prove hard to do it, the best part is that many preparedness actions will be useful for different types of emergencies.

Before taking the decision to bug in, there are some common sense questions that have to be acknowledged and they will provide the definitive answer to the question: bugging in or bugging out?

You should ask yourself this:

What is the number one threat for me and my family and how likely it is to occur?

What will happen with my house if it does take place? Will it affect the integrity of my house?

How long is the crisis going to last? Do I have all the supplies I need to survive that long?

Will there be an imminent danger for me and my loved ones if I bug in? Am I staying because of comfort and because I don’t want to leave?

Is bugging out a safer option? If so, where will I bug out and how should I get there?

Is my BOL safer than my current location and does it have the supplies I need?

Based on the answers you get to these questions, you can take a decision and do the best thing.

If you have decided to bug in, you have to know that it will require a lot of planning. You need to have short term plans (to survive on your own for a year) and long term plans (to survive on your own indefinitely). You should take each plan one step at the time, to avoid getting lost in the big picture. Try to prepare, to survive for a week, then for two and aim for a month and so on until you can live for a year without outside help. Most emergency situations will be under control in less than a week, so you should have at least enough water and food supplies to last that long.

Here is what you should do in order to bug in safely.

Asses the integrity of your shelter

  Your house might be damaged if a natural disaster occurs and you have to make sure the structural integrity isn’t affected. If the walls or support beams have been damaged, the house could collapse and it’s better to move out. You should have at least 2-3 tarps that you can use to cover holes in the walls, broken windows, roof holes, etc. These are a temporary solution until you are able to rebuild or repair the damage. Also, you’re going to need a good tent, since it will serve as a temporary shelter if your house is damaged and as a permanent location if you don’t have a BOL. Another thing you have to do in order to assure the integrity of your house is to shut down the utilities. If your house is still standing you don’t want it to catch fire or get flooded. Installing shut off valves and labeling them accordingly should be a must for every house.

Water, you must store water!

   Regardless the nature of the crisis, you’re going to need water and lots of it if you bug-in. You won’t last much without at least half a gallon of water per day. Water takes up a lot of space and this is why most survival experts will advise you to store at least one month of water supply and find other options to obtain water without wasting storage space. There are many ways to obtain drinkable water:

• Get a commercial water filter or make your own. Here are some tips on how to make one if you’re out in the open.
• Collect contaminated water, boil or distill it.
• Collect rain water.
• Acquire purification tables or use bleach to purify the water (you need to add between 10 and 20 drops of bleach per gallon of water).
• Get a bath tub storage bag – this is plastic bag that can hold between 50 and 100 gallons of water. Amazon sells many models.

The main idea here is that you shouldn’t use all your storage space to stockpile water, but instead you should have as many ways to purify water as possible.

Another alternative is to make a device that makes water out of air, as shown in this video.

Don’t starve, store some food

  A stockpile of food is a must and just like water, you have to make sure it lasts. Use the same tactic, aim to stockpile a week supply of food, move on to a month, aim for 3 months and so on. Of course that here the options are many and it is all up to you of what you buy or make. A good pantry will save you a lot of trouble in the long run. I’ve explained in an article about what are the essential foods for a good survival pantry. When people ask me what they can do to stockpile food without breaking the bank I tell them to use some simple tricks: do a list with what you need, during your shopping trips, buy 2-3 extra cans of food, buy local, buy in season , buy in bulk and buy with discount coupons. When buying canned goods, you have to keep in mind to rotate to the stock you have – old cans to the front, new ones to the back. Another method is to make your own food, you can dry it and store it in airtight containers. Learn from this article how you can dry your food without breaking a sweat. Stockpiling food is great and it should be done with minimal costs. You should aim for at least 10 months of food.

Even with stockpiling one question still remains: what can you do when food runs out?

 The answer is simple: Learn how to make your own food and have a sustainable food source. Save seeds and plant a garden, learn how to fish and hunt if the area you live in provides these options. If the space allows it, raising chickens and rabbits will provide you with eggs and meat. Get your hands on an ingenious method to produce your own food and become self-sufficient, this video shows you how simple it is to build one. You should start to learn from time or at least gather the necessary info to have it available in a time of need (an iPad full with self-sufficiency books will be priceless).

You need to stay warm

  Depending on the time of the year and the part of the state you live in, heat will be one of your top priorities. You will need a source of heat since extreme cold will cause the core temperature of your body to drop and hypothermia sets in. A source of heat is a must if you want to stay warm when electricity will be just a memory. The best option would be to have a wood burning stove or fireplace installed that you can use as a source of heat and as a cooking place. Make sure you also have a plenty of blankets, quilts and covers or a good sleeping bag. The more ways you have to stay warm, the better your chances of survival are. One word of advice: if you improvise a heat source, from a barrel drum or candles you should have some battery-powered CO2 detectors, they might save your life.

You will need an electricity generator

  A generator is good for many reasons, from cooking to charging your devices and power up tools. But having a generator running on fossil fuel might not be a good idea and here is why. First, you will eventually run out of fuel and you will have to scavenge for more fuel if you want to keep it going. Second, you will get used to it and with having electricity, and in a survival situation the sooner you learn how to live without electricity the better it will be. And third, generators running on fuel are not silent and if you want to stay under the radar, you will have to rethink your options. The best choice would be to go for a solar generator, you can charge it by day and use it by night, without attracting unwanted attention. There are so many models out there that it’s a matter of personal choice and budget. Amazon is full of generators, it all depends on your budget and how much are you willing to spend. Try to get a generator that is portable, one that you can take it away with you in case you are forced to leave.

Regarding electricity and light in general, this can be both a good and a very bad thing. You are going to need light at night to avoid stumbling in the dark. It is better to have multiple sources of light in your hose, a flashlight for every room. A LED lamp will do wonders, but it will also act like a beacon in the night for the other survivors roaming outside your house. If you are trying to stay out of sight, you will have to avoid using any light source during the night, or board up your house so that no light leaks out. Another thing you should do, is to avoid spending too much time in a room that’s lit up with light, because if something happens and you need to go outside, you’re not going to be able to see for a few moments. If you are attacked, those moments could make the difference between life and death.

Related reading: Power generators you need to have in your Bug Out Bag.

Protect your fort

  During an emergency, if you have secured the basic items for survival like water, food and shelter, the next thing you have to worry about is how to stay safe and protect your loved ones. The cops won’t help you because they have to take care of their families and this means that the only protection you’ll going to get is the one you’re providing, for both you and your family. We all know that during a crisis the crime rate increases and criminals know how to take advantage of these types of situations. There will be a lot of rioting and looting in a prolonged crisis. Safety in numbers works for both homeowners and outsiders, so if you have friends and neighbors who are prepared as you are, you can lock down the neighborhood and keep the looters outside. This would work in an ideal world, but during an emergency situation, most certainly, it will be every man for himself. Your most realistic options to survive are the following: make your home as hard to get into as possible and arm yourself with weapons you can use and hold the fort down. From this article you can learn more about weapons recommended for self-defense.

You can install metal doors capable of being bolted shut, you can get a guard dog, you can install bars across the windows and so on. There are many methods to fortify your house.

Stay clean, personal hygiene is important!

  If you want to stay healthy, you have to stay clean. Unfortunately, when water is scarce, personal hygiene will not be a priority for many. Even if you bug-in, you still need to wash up and brush your teeth every day, since a clean body will make you more comfortable and keep you healthy. Be sure to buy and stockpile unscented baby wipes as they will keep you clean without wasting precious water. You will also have to stockpile on other items such as toilet paper, toothbrush and toothpaste (or make your own) and tampons. Using the toilets is a bad idea, therefore you are going to poop in an improvised toilet. You can either dig a hole in your yard or improvise a toilet out of a garbage can or paint bucket. You will need to line the bucket with a plastic bag so make sure to stockpile on plastic garbage bags.

You will need medical care

  Since the hospitals will be empty, you will be the best doctor you can find. This is why you will need a good medical kit and you will have to stockpile on medication before you bug-in. If you have an understanding doctor that knows how to listen, chances are he will prescribe extra medication. So the best thing to do is be honest with your doctor and see how it plays out. Another thing you might want to do is to enroll in as many first aid and survival classes as you can afford. The more you learn, the better off you’ll be and here is where your IPad, once again, will come in handy. Try to get as many first aid and field surgery books as you can and look up for medical courses like this one, designed for emergency situations. The following list of supplies should be added to your medical kit: ace bandages, activated charcoal, allergy medication, alcohol, aloe vera, antacid, aspirin, band-aids, bandages, burn cream (learn how to treat burns from this article), compress dressing, cold packs, gauze, gloves, hydrogen peroxide, needle and thread, neosporing, pain relievers, petroleum jelly, snake bite kit, slings, surgical kit, tap, thermometer, tweezers, etc. You can add to it as you see fit. I’ve read that some preppers add to their emergency aid kit even medical equipment like defibrillators. Don’t do that, unless you have proper training on how to use these machines. And last, but not least, if a medical emergency is too much for you to handle you have to seek professional medical care. Your best chance in this case will be your family doctor since most probably, during a crisis, he will be at home attending to his family. Look for his address and look for his help.

Take care of your dead

  This topic has hardly been discussed among the peppers’ communities and this is because no one wants to think about having to dispose of dead bodies, especially those of friends or loved ones. The reality is, in a bad crisis, there could be bodies piled up everywhere (the earthquake from Nepal is a fresh reminder of this horrific scenario). If you have to dispose of a body and you want to give a proper burial, you will have to bury the body 3 feet under to prevent transmission of disease. You don’t have to build a coffin as it will require for you to dig a bigger hole and it can be a backbreaking labor. You can wrap the body in cloth before burial, it won’t matter in the long run. Another option is cremation and for it to work you will need to stack logs on top and around the body, it may take time but it can be done.

Get some vice items, they could save your life!

  When everything goes up in smoke, paper currency will become useless and even though precious metals might be of value, there are other items that will be wanted by everyone. We humans, are a spices enslaved by our vices, it doesn’t matter if it’s the latest gadget or a good bottle of Jack Daniels, if we want it, we will have it. During a crisis the first stores that are being looted are the liquor stores and smoke shops, it’s happening even today (during the Baltimore riots, they didn’t steal food or water, they went for the vice items). When these supplies run out, some people are going to have intense cravings for them and having a good stock of these items will put you in a position of power. If you can protect yourself, you can use these items to barter with people who have the supplies you need. Stock up on condoms, cheap alcohol and tobacco (or make your own) and you might find yourself in advantage in a crisis. Read more about the barter items you should have for SHTF.

If you’re prepared for multiple disasters and you know how to bug in, you’re going to be in much better shape than those who didn’t prepare for anything.

Stay Safe and God Bless!

For other survival and preparedness articles visit us at Prepper’s Will.com or you can follow us on Facebook.

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