Our team has been working to train people for the coming Zombie Apocalypse through tools and tips learned in their various fields of expertise. We expect to give you the same tools and training to ensure your one of the survivors, and not part of the undead plague.
By keeping up to date on the latest literature, tools, and training we plan to show you how to stay healthy and avoid becoming one of the undead horde that will pillage humanity. So check back with us on a regular basis to ensure you are prepared to survive the Zombie Apocalypse
Urban Preparation: Part 1, Doorways
Zombies can enter a building in many ways, but the most likely option is the way you enter, through the door. This makes the type of door you have one of the most important details to address when making your home or business zombie proof.
We, of course, recommend a reinforced steel door with no windows or ornamentation. Of course, no one wants to live in a bank vault, and that’s the aesthetic one of these puts forth. Luckily there are many options out there for both steel doors and door reinforcement.
Now, you should note that not all doors are created equal. Before you purchase any door, door frame, or door reinforcement solutions you should ensure the product is ANSI certified. That should ensure that the production quality is of the highest standards possible to ensure that no unwanted undead can enter.
So, that said, here are some solutions to the ever-present doorway problem:
Steel Doors: Yes, we just mentioned this, and pointed out a significant check in the “con” box. However, it is still the best solution, regardless of aesthetics. A steel door is solid, protects you from the outside elements, and can be easily sealed to ensure and passing zombies can’t see, smell, or hear you.
Reinforced Locks: While zombies aren’t necessarily known for their strength or their ability to use a doorknob, this is at least partially due to the fact that mass media has rarely shown us a zombie football player or rocket scientist. While it has never been proven, there is a strong consensus that zombies can and will retain at least a portion of the abilities of the human being it once was.
This said a muscular zombie may be able to push through a weakly held door, and a highly intelligent person may create a zombie that can out-think a doorknob. If you have a strong door with a reinforced locking mechanism, these two possibilities can be, at least somewhat, negated. So regardless of your door type, make sure you get a strong lock.
Storm Shades: These can cover both windows and doors and many are made to protect the building against tornado or hurricane strength winds. Most will even let a good amount of light and air through allowing you to live in both safety and comfort while you wait for rescue or the eventual decay of the undead outside.
Storm shades are often retractable as well, so they will only be used and visible when you need them. This would solve some of the aesthetic issues that many wish to deal with, however there are some drawbacks to storm shades. Primarily, that many affordable types require you to manually pull them down to use them.
This requires you to go outside and present yourself to any zombies in the area and hope that you don’t forget that one on the bathroom window that you always miss when going through test runs. Mechanical options, while available, also require the power to be on in order to work. If the power does go out, then you’re stuck going outside anyway.
Barred Windows: If you do insist on a door with a window (or several) then we would be remiss if we didn’t insist you at least put bars on those windows. Again, we understand that there are aesthetic considerations, but seriously, this is the walking undead we’re talking about. They don’t care what your house looks like, only how tasty your flesh and/or brains are.
Rolling/Sliding Gates: Like Storm Shades a rolling or sliding gate system is a recommendation you may wish to utilize, especially if you have any sliding glass or French doors in your home. While these two options are extremely susceptible to zombie attacks as they are poor at hiding the person on the other side, and they have notoriously poor ventilation allowing scents and sounds to escape, they aren’t completely useless as a zombie deterrent.
A properly locked and sealed sliding glass door can give you minutes and even hours to escape while the zombie attempts to get through the incomprehensible barrier. Still and all, we would recommend you do something else to impede their ability to enter, and a sliding or rolling gate system (much like those you see on stores in the mall) is recommended to offer you at least a small additional protection.
All in all we still, and will always, recommend nothing but fully reinforced steel doors, preferably of vault-type thickness, to protect yourself and your home from any attacking zombies. We hope, however, that we have provided you with at least a few reasonable alternative protection options, and that you look into purchasing and installing them soon.
Photo Credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/51035774131@N01/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, http://www.flickr.com/photos/slimjim/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
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There seems to be a great deal of confusion on whether or not zombies will attack animals, and if they do, will those animals become infected, simply die, or go on with their lives. As this video shows, some types of zombies will indeed attack animals that enter their vicinity, but this is not always the case.
Some types of zombies will indeed attack an animal, though those same types will typically attack any warm or moving object. Some types of zombies will only attack certain types of animals (e.g., mammals but not lizards,) and some types of zombies will only go after a human being.
To make this a little more straightforward we have come up with the following lists to help you in knowing whether or not your family pets are safe.
Zombies that Will Attack Animals:
Zombies that Will Only Attack Humans
- Chemical Zombies
- Nano-Zombies
- Techno-Zombies
- Other Miscellaneous
To understand how to identify each type of zombie, please click on the links above and review the various articles. This will advise you on how to identify your zombies, and find out whether they are a threat to only you, or if you need to protect your pets as well.
One important item to note when reviewing the articles, not all zombie types can be spread to your animals. So while you may want to protect Spot from being eaten, if he does get bitten, you do not necessarily need to put him out of his misery.
If your pet/horse/cow/sheep does receive a bite, and you are unsure what type of zombie you have encountered, the safest option is to put the animal down. We understand that this is difficult (nigh on impossible for some.) We are pet owners and animal lovers ourselves, and to have to put down your own animal is one of the most difficult decisions one can make, even if it isn’t due to an infected bite from a zombie.
That said, the infected pet is no longer the loving, caring creature you have shared time and adventures with. If not now, then soon it will turn into a vicious, ravenous creature with only your death in mind.
If you cannot bring yourself to put your pet down, and you have not been able to identify the type of zombie bite it has received, you have two options.
- Have an acquaintance do the dirty work for you. Do NOT let a friend do it. It will ruin your relationship completely. You will always question your decision, and if a friend has to put down your beloved pet, you will forever look at them with that question, and that anger. Make sure the person you ask is someone you either don’t like, or don’t have a close connection with. It will change your relationship with them as well, but it’s less likely to ruin a friendship. Ironically, it may even lead to a stronger connection with that person.
- Lock the possibly infected animal up and monitor it over the course of several days. An infection that can spread to an animal will show its signs within 72-120 hours (three to five days.) If your pet is still its same old self after that time, you can consider yourself reasonably safe and release them.
NOTE: We cannot stress enough how dangerous, and frankly stupid this option is. Primarily, keeping a potentially infected animal locked up for up to a week can cause issues of its own. What if you have to move because of a coming horde? What about the animals natural biological processes and the necessary cleanup? Where can you keep a horse locked up that where you can guarantee it won’t escape, break free, etc.?
Additionally, there is no guarantee that even after five, ten, or even 100 days that your pet is guaranteed infection free. All creatures have different resistances to infections. Your chihuahua may be naturally immune to the zombie bacteria, but can still pass it on if he bites you. The only way to guarantee your safety from your pet is to put it down, no matter how difficult the decision.
To be blunt, it’s you or them. In a war against the zombification of all humanity your pet may become collateral damage. It’s sad, it’s difficult to come to terms with, it’s your only guarantee for safety.
In the war against zombies, animals are often caught in the middle. Many people are forced to abandon their pets when they go on the run. Even more are turned and have no recollection of their family and friends, much less their pets.
While some animals are trained to help humanity against the zombie threats, many are left to fend for themselves and have been known to become a danger in themselves. Feral packs of both dogs, cats, and even escaped zoo animals have been known to roam urban wastelands after an outbreak.
For these reasons, we recommend that if you are a pet owner and you realize that an outbreak is occurring, please do something about your pets. They will not likely be able to make it through the outbreak alive, and may even become a danger to you and your survival group. We know it’s difficult, but it may become necessary.
Video Credit: VideoSlave
[...] Urban Preparation: Part 1, Doorways Oct-12-2009 ADD COMMENTS [...]
Posted on October 24th, 2009 at 12:14 am
[...] a year ago we mentioned that Security Doors are an important part of Urban Defense. In fact they are really the first line of defense against a Zombie home invasion, and [...]
Posted on October 8th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
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