Hello Again Zombie Hungry Populous,

     Here we are, part 3 of my should I stay or should I go series.  We have covered the city and the suburb, so naturally, we must turn to the last remaining region...

The Country.

     In the city scenario my advice was to hit the road in order to avoid facing an inordinate amount of potential targets and limited space to hoard supplies.  In the suburban scenario, we determined a series of questions that needed to be answered before the decision to stay or go was made.  For the rural scenario, my advice is to stay put.  Let us examine why.

     First, we should ask ourselves the same basic questions we asked in the suburban scenario.  We should know where resources are, how close you are to the nearest urban metropolis, and how many potential infected you will come up against.  But in the majority of cases, if you are out in the country, you aren't going to be close enough to any city to face an influx of potential targets, and there wont be too many homegrown infected.

     Secondly, we need to reinforce our entrances/exits.  This will be a topic I will go into more detail on in a later blog, but for now we should go over the basics.  We need to identify all doors and windows on or accessible via the ground floor, and use anything we can to permanently close them.  Interior doors (bedroom, closet, etc.) and table tops are your best options and can be reinforced with heavy furniture, such as shelving units, entertainment units, breakfronts, etc.
     (*on a side note, you are going to need plenty of nails and screws to board up your weak spots.  You should use larger nails and screws and always put them in on an angle.  Angling nails will make them much harder to pull out.)

     Finally, we have to think about what resources to stock up on.  (Yet another topic that will be revisited in future blogs.) Your faucets should work for a few days, maybe even a week or so, but soon after water will become scarce.  Having water stocked up with some buckets on the roof to catch rainwater for some natural renewal is always a good idea.  Also, canned foods are your best bet for stocking up on.  They last for years and are easily stored.  You should stock up on foods high in vitamins, minerals and proteins.  Canned fruits, beans, and vegetables are ideal, but you do need to keep some fatty foods around (yes you will indeed starve without fat.)
     The last few things you should stock up on include matches, batteries, weapons and ammo, and medications.  Each item is self explanatory as to why you need it, but the last bit, medications, might be a bit tricky to procure.  You will want painkillers, analgesic creams, antacids, and bandages which should be easy to find over the counter; but you will also need antibiotics which are much less accessible.  This is something you may want to make an initial trip to the local pharmacy when things first start going awry.

Well... This concludes the discussion on what to do in each scenario.  Stay tuned for the next series which is very closely related.  What to bring on the road and what to stock up on when you stay put.

Till next time....