What to do about the dead (No, not zombie apocalypse)

I was thinking the other day about survival scenarios as they relate to our situation and preps and something I'd not thought about popped into mind. Here's the scenario:

A series of inevitable global economic events take place and cause the banking system to fail. This triggers a number of (so far) limited military exchanges between a variety of countries including Russia, the U.S., China, North and South Korea, etc as they attempt to stabilize their own situations. Power, water, fuel and transportation collapse over a few weeks and the cities inparticular become unlivable. People begin exiting the more population-dense areas en masse and move into the suburbs and rural areas looking for food, water and shelter.

As small and medium sized groups wander into your area you find the situation uncomfortable but are able to convince these refuges to move on with strong words and threats. But as conditions continue to deteriorate you find groups of people marauding at night and there are isolated episodes of violence. Then the inevitable happens. A group of six men approach your home and demand food and supplies. When you try to warn them away it becomes confrontational and you fire a warning shot. At least two of the men are carrying handguns. They retreat --- temporarily --- and then attempt to rush your position from multiple directions. You and your family members open fire and there is a short fire-fight. You kill two of the intruders, wound two (one seriously) and they retreat.

What now? You have two bodies lying on your property and there may be a third further out in a wooded area. You have seriously pissed-off at least two of the intruders who may be wanting revenge --- or at least your wepaons. What do you do with the bodies? Do you attempt to dig graves on your own property exposing your people in the open? You can't just leave them there (disease reasons if nothing else). What would your plan be?

Get yourself that two-year-supply of beef jerky. Yummy.

Thanks for reminding me to stock up on about 10 bags of lime. As to the answer to your question, I would think that *nature* would be fast at work taking care of part of the problem. By that time, there will probably be numerous packs of feral dogs looking for anything to eat. Sounds gross I know, but that's life.

The decent thing to do would be burial or cremation, but letting nature take it's own course may be the only alternative in some situations.

Des

In a collapse, you will end up abandoning your nuclear-family-style home, and coalescing with other decent families into a village with a defensible perimeter and a nightwatch. It will feel completely

Resolve the conflict with the opposition. Appear to abandon your position; they will investigate to look for any supplies you left behind. Neutralize them once they are in your building. It will be a long time before people go back to the "rules of war" like honoring cease-fires or flags of surrender. I'm saying you cant take prisoners.

Don't bury the dead on your own property. The next government may eventually create a war-crimes commission. No one can predict whether that future tribunal will be fair or just. So don't give them a decision to make.

I'd say display the bodies on the perimeter of your area of influence. Either hanging from trees or mounted and posted a la Vlad Tepes. It will probably reduce the number of future incursions.

If you cannot display the evidence, go ahead and dig a shallow circular pit and then cover the remains with the powder you flush into a septic tank, that breaks down debris. Cover it up and water it constantly for six weeks.

reply to post by jtma508
If the bodies are not going contaminate your water source, and the smell wont be to unpleasant leave them in place. ( a good visual deterent to other mauraders)
Once you feel that "the coast is clear" if need be drag them to an open area such as a field or sandy area cover them with plastic then rocks, concrete, dirt to keep the plastic in place and the animals from pulling them out.
digging a hole by hand is to time and energy consuming and will leave to exposed for to long.
Make it quick and efficient, hence using plastic and covering with debris at hand, and have your best marksman cover you from inside your house.

P.S. I have used similiar methods on badly decomposed animals before. I refer to as "bury in place". Basically pour household bleach over the corpse (to make it termporarily tolerable to work around and cover the corpse with a large pile of dirt. Let it sit until decomposed then remove the dirt, bleach again if necassary and remove the remains.

P.S.S For your human subjects, Dont forget to check the bodies for good stuf such as ammo, knives and information.

Put the heads on pikes.
at each corner of your land.
It lets others know some one lives here...

Yeah I'm all for leaving the bodies right where they drop, provided it doesn't pose a risk to your water supply. Feral dogs, as one poster mentioned, and charming woodland creatures will eliminate the stinky stuff.

Living in a city, I've already imagined the advantages to one dead body on my doorstep. It could potentially do the work of an army!

But I love the idea of appearing to be gone, then doing as you please with your house now full of ne-er-do-wells. Very spicy stuff.

what about flies attracted to the rotting corpses? now theres a million flies around your house and contaminating any food you leave unattended for a minute. Have you ever smelt a dead body before? I mean dead for a month half decomposed by flies. It makes you want to vomit to say the least..

Disease will be one of the biggest killers during a SHTF situation. Historically in war more people use to die of disease than from battle. Reading about modern collapses, lack of hygene and disease are just as likely to get you as a bullet.

Just burry the body in a shallow grave. less work than 6 ft.

Also OP in said situation, if you hear people screaming after being shot, your ganna have to let them bled out on the street. Its way to easy to get shot trying to help.

I will make scarecrows out of the forst few at strategic points of entry. With signs painted on wood that say; banditry and theft will be dealt with by violence.

The rest of them can be fed to the hogs as they will decimate a corpse in short order leaving little to deal with. I am pretty sure they are fine to eat after that as well.

Reply to post by Golf66

"I will make scarecrows out of the forst few at strategic points of entry. With signs painted on wood that say; banditry and theft will be dealt with by violence."

I think this would be a bad idea, unless you like action. This would be the equivalent of putting a giant neon sign that welcomes banditry.

I would like to burn the bodies but that might be worst. The smoke would be a giant arrow in the sky that screams 'here I am, come get it!' unless the sky is littered with smoke from other fires.




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Same thing man has done for centuries...

Burn them. (at night) toward the edge of the property, or just beyond the property if able. Even if the smoke is seen, it will be much harder to see (and travel to the source) at night.

Pure and simple.

However, this is AFTER getting rid of the others out there. Until then, move their bodies to the perimeter of the property. If they don't have a fire source, I don't want to give them one (they could use it against you) If it's really at a bad time, and famine is high though...heck yeah, beef jerky time.

I would not use corpses as decoration...why advertise a) someone survives here, and b) the survivors are bat$%&t crazy.... The best defense in such a time will be to not have others aware of your location.

Originally posted by Golf66
I will make scarecrows out of the forst few at strategic points of entry. With signs painted on wood that say; banditry and theft will be dealt with by violence.

The rest of them can be fed to the hogs as they will decimate a corpse in short order leaving little to deal with. I am pretty sure they are fine to eat after that as well.

I wasn't going to be so specific, but you went there; so I am definitely going there.

My phrase would be "NOT WORTH IT." I would paint that on a sign I would pin on every mobile I constructed. And of course put them out of smelling range from your house. blocks away, or at the entrance to your valley or whatever.

I might have a superscription that varied from one artwork to the next; but always the same subtitle. So one would say, "No Trespassing: NOT WORTH IT," and another would say, "Stop! Thief! NOT WORTH IT," and another would say "Die by the sword: NOT WORTH IT."

And then you make one final sign at the entrance to your property. No grand guignol, no fleshy bits. Just a large placard that says.... "NOT WORTH IT."



As far as attracting attention.....once there is no air conditioning, everyone opens their windows. And once all the motors grind to a halt, there will be silence. Every time you cook a meal, you will be calling attention to yourself. Every time you start a motor that breaks the silence, you will be calling attention to yourself. Every time you chop wood, cook food, or laugh out loud, or use a firearm, you will draw attention to yourself.

You can only keep your existence a secret if you stay hidden and subsist on a diet of crickets (raw).


Otherwise you're going to have to meet the new neighbors eventually.

Truthfully? In a true SHTF situation, the bodies are on stakes at the perimeter of my property.

reply to post by tovenar


First you say "Don't bury them on your property" because you may be accused of "war crimes".

Next you continue to say "Hang them from trees close to your property"

So, which one is it, your advice is a contradiction in itself.

Can always cook with a Dakota fire pit to reduce visibility. The best way to stay hidden is to be away from major traffic arteries (and large cities).

Once someone is close enough, sure, they'll be able to recognize habitation....but I'd rather they be unsure of our strength, and ruthlessness, and simply think a kindly old farmer is holding out there...than a well armed bunch of friends who'll be intent on surviving...

There's strength in numbers. For most, as long as they were pretty cordial off the bat, I'd be seeking to have them join us (with a probation period, of course) if they find us, rather than destroy them. Of course, until we're sure, they'd certainly be watched and guarded (even if they didn't know they were).... If they were hostile though, no mercy, and they'd be dead at best, meat at worst....though I'm hoping I'd never have to resort to that.

Let's put it this way, the more dead bodies that are left to rot rather than put in caskets, the more fertile the soil will be. I disagree with burials in anything other than directly into the soil anyway, the Carbon and Nitrogen Cycles are natural laws that exist for a reason, so that dead things are reabsorbed by the Earth to provide the nutrients for more life


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reply to post by H1ght3chHippie


No it's not; in the sense you that don't bury them, which can sometimes preserve evidence. hang them in trees on your neighbor's property, which you don't have direct responsibility for. Put them at the end of the valley you live in, or at the county line or something. Not close enough that you lose plausible deniability once order is restored.