Preppers Worst Enemy: The Rat
Kevin Felts 06.14.17
Preppers, let’s talk about what may be our worst enemy, the rat. These pests are destructive, have contributed to famine and disease and have been with humanity for thousands of years.
Let’s take a few minutes and talk about the four legged and two legged rats.
The word “rat” has two meanings:
- Four legged rats that spread disease.
- Two legged rats who talk too much.
Four Legged Rat
On the back of my farm there is a small cabin that was built in the mid-1970s. From time to time, a rat will make its home in the building and it has to be dealt with. While taking up residence, it will exhibit destructive behavior. If there are any plastic jars of peanut butter, the rat will chew a hole in it. Any food not in metal cans will be rummaged through.
Eventually, the rat will build a nest and will start having baby rats. Then the problem quickly expands.
Here on the farm, I have to keep chicken feed in a metal trash can. If the feed were in a plastic drum, rats would chew through the plastic.
Two Legged Rat
These are the people who talk too much and compromise your operations security (OPSEC).
You take time to show them your preps, and they go and tell people about your setup. It is almost like they are bragging, “I know this guy who has X number of rifles, X amount of food, he lives down that road, he is all setup for the end of the world, etc”
You think someone is your friend, you confide in them and they just can not keep their mouth shut. They may not even realize what they are doing.
In my experience, two legged rats usually do not have any serious preps. They use their friend as bragging rights to make themselves feel better.
Take Precautions
Just as livestock feed is kept in metal drums to protect from four legged rats, we must take precautions to protect ourselves from the two legged type.
Personally, if someone is not on the same playing field prep wise, I show them very little. When the topic of prepping comes up, let them do the talking and feel them out. If they have put little time and effort into prepping, all I have is a few canned goods and a couple of flashlights.
So, be careful who you talk about your preps with and keep the two legged rat at bay.
