Bugging out as a term is something that’s risen in popularity over the last couple decades. You may have heard of bug out bags, bugging out prep, or bug out locations. This popularity stems from growing worry that something could come around the corner. Something that could destabilize life as we know it.
Bugging Out In A Nutshell
“Bugging Out” is when you take your close loved ones and some survival supplies. Then you leave the place where you normally live and do business. There are different degrees of bugging out.
A Common Bug Out Example
For instance, when you live in a coastal area with hurricane risks you have to evacuate. This is asked by the authorities if a dangerous storm is moving in. You’d likely pack up your loved ones and pets and pile into a car with some basic supplies. For something at this level, you can just head to go stay with family or friends or even at a hotel. Even though you’re planning on coming home after it blows over, this is still bugging out.
You’ve probably heard the term “Bug Out Bag” if you’ve heard about bugging out. These can go from simple to elaborate. For this hurricane threat, you may consider having a bag (or tub) with some water, some protein bars, a first aid kit, and maybe a few other pieces of gear. This would be planning for the unlikely event that something unexpected happens while you’re evacuating.
Complex Bugging Out
Bugging out can get a lot more involved than a simple evacuation. Some bug out plans don’t involve ever coming home again. This of course would be very unnecessary in the case of a hurricane. Of course, a more catastrophic disaster could make this necessary. Even some sort of threat from a foreign military presence could call for this. In the case of these more serious events your bug out bag is going to be much larger. It’s going to have a lot more supplies. And it may even be geared to just getting you out of your normal area and to a secondary location. This secondary location (or bug out location) is somewhere that you’ve planned to evacuate to before hand.
In larger situations like this you may hear the term “INCH Bag” or other “INCH” related phrases. This stands for “I’m Never Coming Home”, and is as serious as it sounds. The only situations you would consider this in are ones where you believe that your home won’t even be there anymore. Possibly, situations where the area around your home will become too dangerous to ever return.
A Historical Bug Out Example
A historical example of an INCH situation might be the Chernobyl Disaster. The residents of Pripyat hardly had time to gather anything before being hurried out of the city. They were never able to ever return to their homes due to the radiation. INCH situations are a severity of bugging out. They’re the highest one you could encounter.
For situations like the one we mentioned about with hurricanes, it’s a good idea to have at least a basic bug out plan. Some people consider this and all “prepping” to be doomsday nonsense. That couldn’t be more wrong. There are plenty of situations that you should be prepared for. Situations that wouldn’t be nearly interesting enough for a movie plot.
You don’t need to let the fear of something bad happening get you down, though! In fact, knowing that you’re prepared if something should happen can bring a lot of peace of mind. In the event of a real disaster you won’t have much time to prepare. By preparing ahead of time you can ensure that you’ll be ready. As they say, hope for the best, prepare for the worst!