If you have a rural property safe from prying eyes, bugging in during a crisis makes more sense than bugging out. The bigger debate in a situation like this is whether it’s better to bug in at a properly prepared homestead or hunker in a well-stocked bunker.
A bunker might seem like a perfectly prepared solution. Yet no matter how well you stock it, the resources will eventually dwindle, or there will be some sort of mechanical failure that forces you to come out. When you finally do emerge weeks or months later, it’s hard to find fresh resources and even harder to establish sustainable food and water systems from scratch.
With some proper planning and preparation, a fortified homestead can give you access to self-sufficient systems for food, water, and shelter. Not to mention the psychological effects and other less tangible benefits.
With this in mind, we thought we’d examine why bugging in at home can be better than a bunker. This includes looking at some important drawbacks of a bunker, and the benefits of a properly developed rural homestead.
The Benefits of Bugging In at Home
When it comes to bugging in at home rather than hunker in a bunker, you have to actively invest in developing your property over time. This includes creating sustainable food systems, electrical systems, and ways to create clean water.
Related: 6 Bug In Mistakes That You’re Probably Making Right Now
Many of these pay dividends during normal times by helping reduce your overall cost of living. While maximizing your chances of surviving when you bug in during a crisis.
The Psychological Advantage
Maintaining a positive mindset is absolutely critical in any crisis, especially a prolonged one! Nothing helps maintain a positive mindset better than the comforts of home.
When you bug in at home rather than a bunker, you’re also more likely to spend time outside and be exposed to natural light. The psychological benefits of these simple things should not be underestimated.
Access to Electricity
In a bunker, an electrical problem due to an external maintenance issue will likely force you out before you run out of food and water. When you bug in at home, it’s easier to maintain every aspect of your electrical system.
The oil gets changed in the generator on time. The muffled exhaust port is less likely to get clogged by a bird nest, and storm damage to a solar panel is easier to repair when you see them every day.
Batteries also tend to have finite lifespans. Especially lead-acid batteries. It’s easier to repair, refurbish, or replace a bad battery when you bug in at home, and you know the lay of the land.
Discretion
When you develop sustainable systems at your property over the course of a few years, it rarely draws unwanted attention. No one bats an eye when you order day-old chicks through the mail. You don’t need a county permit to expand your garden or plant fruit trees. Installing solar panels might even get you a tax credit.
During normal times, outsiders just see you as a family making some minor improvements to their rural property.
Food Sustainability
When you bug in at home, it’s much easier to maintain a sustainable food system. This includes a big garden, perhaps some simple livestock, along with fruit and nut trees.
The best food sustainability picture for your setup will depend on your property, access to water, and the number of people you need to feed
Keeping a Garden
A self-sustainable garden needs at least 200 square feet of productive soil per person.
You can then plant it with vegetables that are easy to pickle, can, or put up for long-term storage in a root cellar. This includes things like: asparagus, potatoes, carrots, beets, onions, beans, peas, and squash.
If you want to be self-sufficient, you can learn here the best way to grow a year-round self-sustaining garden that will keep you and your family well feed during a crisis.
Ability to Replenish Clean Water Stores
Clean water is essential for surviving a crisis, and even a bunker with an expensive water reclamation system still needs maintenance. When you bug in at home, a small-scale water purification system is much easier to maintain.
Depending on the property, you might drive an additional sand point well when you need access to another source of groundwater. There might also be nearby natural sources of water you can harvest for purification.
The Opportunity to Keep Chickens
Keeping chickens will take your chances of successfully bugging in at home to the next level. A dozen laying hens will provide all the eggs a family of four needs, and if you feed them this plant, they will lay twice as many eggs. But they can survive just fine on kitchen scraps, bugs they forage, and a little bit of waste grain.
Their manure can be composted to create a potent fertilizer for the garden. You can even put them in portable coops in the garden to help keep the weed and insect population at bay.
Man’s Best Friend at Your Side
Dogs and bunkers go together about as well as mustard and ice cream. When you bug-in at home you can keep your family dog living at your side. This alone will go a long way toward helping maintain a positive mindset and keeping your kids comfortable.
Depending on the type of dog you have, they can also be a great boon to your survival and security efforts. There are a lot of reasons why our ancient ancestors kept dogs living at our sides for tens of thousands of years. You’ll come to appreciate those benefits even more in an extended crisis.
Outside of a few cataclysmic scenarios, most of the time you’re better off weathering a crisis by bugging in or sheltering in place, rather than hiding in a bunker. Success with this strategy starts with preparing your food sustainability systems during normal times.
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Hunker down these next few months of freedom will be determining whether we are an independent nation. Of tranny mice or real men and women in this 2024 presidential election.
Seal the borders, drill for oil, deportations soon. Offer an incentive to American citizens by getting a cash or a big discount for turning in the illegals and illegal drug gang members.
Time to do the right thing before we totally loose our America before Biden leaves office. We know something big will happen just before or just after the rigged liberal election in 2024 coming.
America’s favorite pastime of baseball and football is being replaced by the 3rd world illegals and refugees favorite sport soccer, that is a boring sport.
If you going to change for the illegals here in Bidenomics open borders illegals at least use rugby that is a manly sport.
The USA govt is considering to renew the unconstitutional Patriot Act with the 4th amendment removed. So Let’s Go Brandon can do no knock warrant less intrusions at American’s homes, than due process in the two tiered court of lawlessness.
But leave the illegal squatters to invade our homes and no law enforcement done by George Soros DA prosecutors letting the criminals roam free.
I like your idea of ‘Bounty’ for turning in Illegals… It may be the only way to make a dent in the 15 Million plus coming here in the last 4 years and the 15 Million plus that go all the way back to DACA and before. Bounty hunting, will good LE backup to deport may become a viable cottage industry for those losing jobs to the Illegals.
We can also offer incentives to Americans especially in places and states like Dearborn, Michigan where the female governor and Rashida Harbi Tlaib (/ t ə ˈ l iː b / tə-LEEB; born July 24, 1976) is an American politician and lawyer. Both female leaders allow Iranian backed supporters of “Death To America.” Be deported immediately to another country.
As in ancient times the way to invade a country is to come anyway possible, legally and illegal through open borders allowed by Bidenomics. Lay low until their numbers are enough to over power the local honest God fearing population.
Then slowly begin a campaign against their hated enemy until the liberals cave to their religious politics of strong armed tactics to outright violence. Such as groups like Antifa and BLM, Obama’s private civilian military, he has mentioned on his watch, dividing America.
God bless America as these Christian haters hate America, totally.
There will be a rush for the border and not the old taco bell commercial for food. It will be because even liberal Demoncrates are waking up from woke realizing we can not afford to give free stuff to the illegal criminals, murders and psychos roaming free killing Americans at free will.
Thank you Bindenomics, the Deep State all the crazy bureaucrats who need to be fired from the Clinton, Obama and Biden behind the scenes unelected still pushing their agendas.
Don’t need a bounty for illegals. The government knows exactly where they are! After all they are receiving checks every month from the government!
They will never tell the people where they are. All those illegals are a big part of destroying our way of life and converting the whole world to communis. I am glad I am so old, as I do not want to see my family killed or imprisoned for being Christian, white, and conservative. VOTE!
Those ” Free Money ” checks are more than any Disabled Veteran receives. You forgot to mention the Rest of the free money they’re provided, including Free Housing, and numerous other freebies !!! … and don’t forget the Free Prepaid phones !!!
Incentives to put the people who pushed the shot or got Incentives to do it too.
Great ideas!!!
Don’t forget man’s other friends are cats, they may look lazy, they do love their owners despite what cat haters say.
Cats perform duties as being hunters of vermin, mice and rats that in SHTF will help protect stored food from being eaten by rats.
Shame on those people who neglect or leave their dogs and cats outside in the cold weather, caged or chained up to starve of food and water.
Dogs and cats are part the family and preserve sometimes a family members loneliness in harsh times. As we are in Bidenomics an era of division.
United we stand, divided we fall to the likes of the CCP domination.
The Chinese nationals of military age males and females must also be deported.
Am all for taking the reward money to pay off my income taxes that the Washington DC scum waste on illegals. Then take care of our own homeless and homeless veterans first.
Cats are varmints.. Train your dog to eat cats.
Eat some cat cookies, you cat hatting fool.
Your past president ate dogs according to his book.
That was very cruel Duke. CMon now!!!
My Dog’s actually are first rate cat destroyers !!!
Thank You for including the Homeless Veteran population. For the Veteran’s our government has sent to war, I very much appreciate your kind consideration. I’m also a Disabled Veteran and can’t thank those who think about those, who the government has mistreated for the job they were sent to do. It’s especially important, after the disgraceful way the government treats them. Thank You Sir !!!
This was a good post. I think the better idea for most people, generally, IS to Bug-In and defend what’s yours. That also potentially makes it harder for invaders or others who want your stuff to be successful on a larger scale; because if EVERYBODY is bugged-in, that’s effort at every single house and as the neighborhood is being ransacked you would have a better chance of knowing about it. But if people are Bugged-Out, all their stuff is available for the taking and the person who did the bugging-out only has what they took with them.
I agree with Bobzwyfe. Hmm. I wonder if Bob does? Just kidding! A little humor goes a long way.
You know…It’s bothers me that we have millions of illegal aliens and I see homes that are deteriorating and who’s gonna ’squat’ on these properties. I’d like to see them properly acquired by legal law abiding locals, and or immigrants. As it stands, there’s not enough food, shelter and room (especially bathrooms) for the illegals here now. What happened to our precious country that we used to pledge allegiance to every single morning school or church was in session? American pride would be nonexistent except for the few of us that have proudly defended Her. God bless America!
The Dems don’t cheat at the poles any more than the republicans. All poling places are watched by the same number of both parties. All of the socalled problems of the last election were dispelled. You are living in a dream world.
Delusional
The link to ‘plant that will make your chickens lay more eggs’ drives me crazy. Don’t add a link if that’s not an answer you can find there without buying a book or program. Just tell us what the plant is!
Hey Puke…er Duke:
You can train your cat to eat dogs and bring your dog over to my house to try that. I have a pet Mountain Lion. I doubt that’ll go well for your dog.
Dogs are ok. Cats are fantastic!