15 Things Ranchers Do That Make Burglars Skip Their Place

At twenty past two on a Tuesday morning, my barn camera did exactly what the box promised. It sent a crystal-clear picture of a man in a grey hoodie walking out with my welder, and then another of his tail lights. The camera worked perfectly and the welder was still gone, because the nearest deputy was forty minutes away and he needed about four. That night taught me the difference between a witness and a guard, and this video is about the guard part: fifteen old ranch habits that make a thief decide your place isn’t worth the trouble before he ever reaches the porch. They all do one of three things. They slow him down, make him visible, or make what he takes worthless to him, and every one works just as well on an ordinary house with a driveway as on a ranch. I cover the cheap noise-makers that warn you early, the lighting and landscaping mistakes that give a thief cover, the tool-marking trick that makes stolen gear hard to sell, and a five-dollar fix for the way front doors actually fail, which has nothing to do with the lock. I also call out one old ranch habit my own family kept for a hundred years that turns out to be one of the easiest ways to get robbed today. And I’m plain about what you should never do if you hear something at night. Tell me about the dog your granddad kept on his place and what it did when a stranger turned in the drive. I read every one, and the best stories shape what I cover next.