Country Home Protection?

[Guest Shootermcgavin]

Goats with lasers... It's prob their devil eyes...

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Speaking of unusual home defense critters-- Am ignorant of such things but back in the mid-1970's first wife worked for the health dept as a home care nurse.

She would drive to remote parts of the county visiting the elderly and infirm. Changing surgery bandages, treating bedsores, giving shots, changing catheters, or whatever was needed when it made more sense for nurse to visit patient rather than vice-versa.

Wife had one regular patient whose family had a watch-hog. A big old sow who had the run of the place as self-appointed farm guardian. When wife would drive up, the big old old sow would waddle up and stare wife down thru the car side window. Daring wife to get out. Wife had to beep the horn til somebody would come lead off the giant sow so wife could get out of the car and attend to the bed-ridden patient.

A 500 pound watch-sow might be a pretty good security asset!

[ted]

and a pitbull on your side of the moat

[sigmtnman]

A 500 pound watch-sow might be a pretty good security asset!

mmm bacon.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

mmm bacon.

Maybe the author is unknown-- Google 'pig wooden leg' and find many variants. Ya'll probably all heard the joke but it is a good'un--

Farmer Jones got out of his car and while heading for his friend's door, noticed a pig with a wooden leg. His curiosity roused, he ask, "Fred, how'd that pig get him a wooden leg?"

"Well Michael, that's a mighty special pig! A while back a wild boar attacked me while I was walking in the woods. That pig there came a runnin', went after that boar and chased him away. Saved my life!"

"And the boar tore up his leg?"

"No he was fine after that. But a bit later we had that fire. Started in the shed up against the barn. Well, that ole pig started squealin' like he was stuck, woke us up, and 'fore we got out here, the darn thing had herded the other animals out of the barn and saved 'em all!"

"So that's when he hurt his leg, huh, Fred?"

"No, Michael. He was a might winded, though. When my tractor hit a rock and rolled down the hill into the pond I was knocked clean out. When I came to, that pig had dove into the pond and dragged me out 'fore I drownded. Sure did save my life."

"And that was when he hurt his leg?"

"Oh no, he was fine. Cleaned him up, too."

"OK, Fred. So just tell me. How did he get the wooden leg?"

"Well", the farmer tells him, "A pig that special, you don't want to eat all at once."

[sigmtnman]

thanks for the chuckle lester

[Guest 270win]

I've seen this kind of set up in Latin America, but those condos had walls with rolled barbed wire on top of the wall. They also had armed guards. These were in GOOD areas. It looked bad and I wouldn't want that on a residence here in the states. People by the airport in Memphis have bars on the windows and bars on their storm doors. Again bad area that I wouldn't live.

Where I'm from the only barbed wire we see is on pasture land for cattle and horses. If it gets so bad you need barbed wire around your house like i saw in Latin America, you sadly might want to find a new location to live.

Since you are thinking of putting up a chain linked fence, look at a good dog. German shepherds are great when in fenced in yards and most people are scared of them. Or put up a wood privacy fence and still get a good shepherd.

Edited March 12, 2012 by 270win

[Guest Ceolas]

http://www.omegafence.com/en/secur.php

[bigwakes]

Down in Haiti they build cinder block walls and mound up the top of the wall with mortar and stick shards of broken bottles in the mortar. I mistakenly put my hand on a wall to lean on it. Luckily felt the glass before I got cut. Most of the fence walls are tall enough you don't even see the broken glass from the ground.

[R1100R]

I recommend FUGAS (Fougasse) and det cord connected to a trip wire or clacker.

Get some dogs. My Daughter has a standard Chihuahua that barks at anything he sees or hears. Other that that a good security system is a lot cheaper than a fence. I have a Friend that was from Rhodesia. Who fought there during there war. On the family farm they had a triple perimeter fence to keep out the Guerrilla fighters, to include grenade screens on the windows. After awhile he told me they were the prisoners. He gave up everything and left.

[sigmtnman]

How about a moat inside a moat, with lions between the moats. Then piranhas in the outside moat and man eating catfish in the inside moat.

[monkeylizard]

Forget the catfish. He needs ill-tempered sea bass.

[RobertNashville]

I'd opt for the dommsday bunker I saw on TV last night. The fellow had rigged four motion sensing video cameras to cover all 360 degrees of his property AND a loud speaker so that the owner, once alerted to a perimeter violation, could warn/threaten, etc. whoever was violating his property.

More importantly, the bunker would be impenetrable...the only vulnerable spot for the bunker was the door and they builder tested the door integrity using a swat team with rifles, pistols, a breaching tool and battering ram...they were unable to get in. They then detonated the equivalent of 3 lbs of dynamite and the door still held. Now I know that no system or structure is perfect or will work 100% of the time every time but this was pretty impressive.

Of course we are well beyond the "chin link fence" method aren't we!

[RobertNashville]

Forget the catfish. He needs ill-tempered sea bass.

Sharks with 'fricken lasers on their heads????

[strickj]

man eating catfish in the inside moat.

How would that help?

[monkeylizard]

well played, strickj, well played....

[Trekbike]

How would that help?

I bet the lid of that opened can is probably sharp enough to cut a person.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

http://www.omegafence.com/en/secur.php

Yes the welded wire takes longer to cut thru than chain link because it doesn't "spontaneously unweave" after a few cuts. The welded wire in your posted link looks good, though common galvanized welded wire screams "chicken coop" and looks kinda shabby installed residential.

I got a little bit of practical experience with chainlink and welded wire dog-proofing my back fencing. One old section of four foot fence had to be raised to keep the jumper/climber dog confined, and I had to lay hundreds of feet home depot welded wire along the bottom of the back fence to contain the digger dog. It has been a sustained "war of wits" with the dogs and sometimes it looked like they were winning.

Raising the height of a four foot fence-- Neighbors wouldn't tolerate this in a ritzy suburb, but works fine at my house for back fencing where nobody can see it-- There was advice on how to do it that I found on the web and it works good if it doesn't have to be pretty. Take 3/4" galvanized conduit-- Comes in 10 foot sections. Cut em in half and use a conduit bender to put about a 45 degree bend on the top foot of each piece of conduit.

Mount a piece of the bent conduit to extend the height of each chainlink fence post with the bend at the top facing inward. Attach the conduit with chain-link post brackets or lots of aluminum chainlink tie wire or whatever works. There is about a 2 foot overlap between the conduit and the fence post to minimize wiggle. Then attach 3 or 4 foot welded wire over the conduit height extensions, to raise the fence to seven foot height with an "inward facing" anti-climb slope at the top. There are surely some gifted dogs who could scale this, but so far it discourages mine. It ain't the ugliest thing you've ever seen, though it is pretty ugly.

I don't know if that kind of extension would discourage a human from climbing in if he didn't happen to have wire cutters with him. Somebody with normal youthful vigor could probably tear the top-extension off entirely if given enough time and energy. Chain-link or conduit bolt-on straps would hold the conduit on more firmly than lots of aluminum wire fence ties. If a person didn't tear the extension off or cut thru, it would be messy enough to climb that I wouldn't be inclined to climb it, but some people are real good climbers.

Anyway, apologies rambling. I just found it easy cutting the chainlink where necessary, though some Ace Hardware $40 chinese bolt cutters makes an easier job of it than smaller pliers. The welded wire is a PITA to cut even though you can use smaller pliers, because you have to make so many cuts to get anything done.

[sigmtnman]

How would that help?

Imagine his breath!

[gjohnsoniv]

Gators apparently can climb fences, that's why the ones at NASA are curved outward. Not that this has any relevance, and not sure how true it is. I would think that having the top angle out would make it harder because you have to extend your body more at an angle to get over the top. Unlike the facing in where from the outside you just go straight, then across.

[Guest]

Yes the welded wire takes longer to cut thru than chain link because it doesn't "spontaneously unweave" after a few cuts. The welded wire in your posted link looks good, though common galvanized welded wire screams "chicken coop" and looks kinda shabby installed residential.

. . . .

The welded wire is a PITA to cut even though you can use smaller pliers, because you have to make so many cuts to get anything done.

It looks like each panel attaches to the post at 3 points. Couldn't a few strategic cuts remove the entire panel?

[UncleJak]

How about a decorative iron fence with shepard hooks? These look nice and are very difficult to climb over.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Gators apparently can climb fences, that's why the ones at NASA are curved outward. Not that this has any relevance, and not sure how true it is. I would think that having the top angle out would make it harder because you have to extend your body more at an angle to get over the top. Unlike the facing in where from the outside you just go straight, then across.

It sounds reasonable that keeping people or critters out, would want the tops curved outwards. It might be more discouragement for critters than people, except if topped with razor wire or whatever? I had been researching various homebrew and commercial fencing to keep in dogs. Even saw some fencing allegedly effective for cats. Those would obviously tilt inwards. Probably works better for critters than people?

It looks like each panel attaches to the post at 3 points. Couldn't a few strategic cuts remove the entire panel?

That's a great point. Hadn't thought it thru. If a bad guy came specifically prepared to break that design of fence then a battery powered angle grinder or sawsall might be better than bolt cutters? Cut three brackets and yer in?

Any metal or wood fence except when constantly guarded-- Perhaps effective for critters but only good for keeping honest people honest? Doesn't seem a completely silly task to keep honest people honest. If you leave out something valuable and unsecured then it will tend to walk off. Most likely toted off by a person who would never break into your house and steal it?

Betcha if I put a nice laptop out in the yard near the street then it would be gone by the end of the day. OTOH people don't daily come sneaking into my house stealing laptops. If there was a fence between street and a laptop sitting in the yard, then possibly it would sit there longer before walking off? Maybe a laptop would sit in the yard longer with an 8 foot fence than a 4 foot fence? Are there varying degrees of "honest people" when you tempt them too much? Some folks would walk off with the laptop without a fence, but wouldn't hop a fence to get it? Some folks would hop a four foot fence for a laptop but wouldn't scale an eight foot fence to get it?

Steel or wood fencing-- Especially in a rural area-- Somebody wants in could use a sawzall to mow down several fence posts right at the ground then push down the fence? Some criminals are experts so maybe I'm not smart enough to imagine the easiest entry methods. Maybe a criminal would just hook up a tow chain to the fence gate and snatch the whole gate off with one stomp on the accelerator pedal?

[gjohnsoniv]

@Lester; I really can't word it well enough to explain what I'm thinking. I might have to draw it and scan it. Basically what I mean is that it's difficult holding your feet against something when you are trying to climb something that tilts over you. Like rock climbing, I have the hardest time on overhangs. Though in that case it's more due to a lack of holds. On a fence though it wouldn't be as much of an issue. You would have to have a lot of upper body strength to get over an overhanging fence becasue at some point or another your feet are going to have to come off so you can get your body over the lip. Razor wire would make it even more difficult. That's just how I'm thinking about it though. People can get into anything given enough time and determination. We had some guys steal a large number of tools off a construction site out of a Conex container with one of those big@$$ flush locks on it. Guys took ac recharge packs or something and sprayed in on the lock then knocked it off with a sledgehammer.

[DannyP]

+1 on the moat with gators lol

Danny