Besides a firearm, what’s your plan to handle an intruder in your home at night? We have motion detectors by our entryway indoors that lets us know if someone is downstairs at night and it went off false alarm the other day. I realized I don’t have a good plan if someone did actually break in.

Take your family and get out. Stuff is replaceable. Lock yourselves in the bathroom and sit it out.

The fundamental approach is 4D: discourage, deter, decamp, defend.
Discourage: these are passive measures. Take steps to not make your home a target and intruders don’t find it interesting. For instance, you have a security camera flashing, you don’t have expensive things visible through the window.

Deter: these are active measures. A dog barking, a perimeter or motion sensor going off at 100DB+ and waking the neighborhood. Bright lights triggered by motion that puts the intruder in the limelight.

Call 911 as soon as you detect an intrusion.

Decamp: if this is a safe option (often is not), flee the home based on your exfil strategy or get to the safe room (most people don’t have this luxury) and wait for LEO.

Defend: you did not want this option - firearms are the most effective if you’re appropriately trained and practice regularly.

A firearm is pretty effective… Go to a range or take a lesson if you need. Feel confident with it. Being as you’re likely a dad (on this bowl), make sure to store it responsibly. I’ve got a safe in my nightstand that takes either a 4digit number or fingerprint.

My wife is also a pretty damn good shot. Take your SO shooting while you’re at it.

Other than that… flood lights, cameras, home security that monitors and sends police (and throw their logo somewhere around your house), and lock your doors.

1. Have dogs - this has been the best deterrent and protection which has saved my family from intruders on at least 2 occasions.

2. Be physically fit and consider BJJ or another martial art.

3. Have less lethal close contact weapons hidden but close to the bed (K-bar knife, pepper spray, stun gun, etc.)

4. Have an action plan / safe room where the family knows to bunker down if trapped in the house. Know where in your house you can hide that you have the upper hand if someone were to try to enter. Barricading when you can't escape the home is key to ensuring your safety and knowing when your lives are in danger vs. just your property which can be replaced.

5. Practice enough for it to be second nature but make it a fun practice for your family because it's better to make positive associations with safety protocols (intruder, fire, etc.) than to instill fear in your kids unnecessarily.

If you do get a firearm, all carriers in your home should get extensive training and consider some advanced scenario-based home simulation training. You'd be surprised how many people think they're safe with a gun but in 90%+ of cases it's safer to leave your gun out of the situation. You need to be able to retrieve it quickly from a secure safe in a stressful situation and then have the wherewithall and accuracy to make smart decisions without breaking the law (i.e., responding with equal force) which varies state by state. You also should ask yourself - could I take another person's life if my or my family's life is in danger? If you have any hesitation with that question, don't get a gun.

Alexa, Roomba, and a lawn gnome filled tannerite big homie.

Do you live in a high crime area?

911

Kill em with kindness. Once you step on my block, you are done good sir.

I'm sorry I know this isn't the answer you want, but why are you ruling out a firearm? It seems like we agree we have an imperative to protect our families, and imho one major piece of that is by being well armed. Totally acknowledge this requires an investment in training, storage, etc to be done responsibly, but personally I believe it's worth that effort.

That's just 1 component of a home defense strategy though. You got another really good reply on that front already. Alarms, dogs, pepper spray, etc. Good luck!

F

Fake cctv cameras or even real cctv cameras