The Most Important Decision: Bug Out Or Stay Put

Bugging out is the subject of a lot of discussion amongst preppers, and is a major topic on many prepper websites, however the decision of whether to bug out or stay at home does not get anywhere near as much coverage. Most preppers focus on apocalyptic scenarios, and have an image of happily living in a camp in the woods while society collapses around them, but for most realistic scenarios, bugging out would actually be a less favourable option.

Deciding when to bug out and when to stay put is very important; bugging out should only be considered when staying at home is impossible or becoming very dangerous and you have a bug out location that you know will be safer. Consider many disaster scenarios and think about whether your planned bug out locations would actually be safer than your home.

Don’t Bug Out

Really? A prepper website telling me not to bug out? Well, kind of. Bugging out could save your life, but bugging out when it would actually be safer to stay at home could put you in serious danger.

Why should I stay at home instead of bugging out?

• Supplies & Comfort
  • Your home is where most of your supplies are
  • Your home is more comfortable than a bug out location
  • You can keep warmer in your home than outdoors even if there is no power
• Security & Safety
  • You can prepare your home to be secure and defensible
  • You may become a target for attack or robbery travelling to a bug out location
  • Bugging out puts you at higher risk of injury

When To Bug Out

There are some situations where bugging out would be safer, or staying at home would be impossible. Bugging out in some scenarios may not always mean leaving the area to camp in the woods somewhere, it could be as simple as having to spend a night in a hotel or some other temporary accommodation if your home becomes temporarily unusable, because of a burst pipe for example.

Reasons to consider bugging out are:

• Home not usable
  • Water leak
  • Gas leak
  • Property damage
  • Flooding
• Area unsafe
  • Rioting
  • Home or area at risk of being overrun
  • Bug out location reachable and known to be safer