Drones are becoming a menace to society. So much so that military officials are investing in anti-drone “death rays” in order to blast the unmanned vehicles from the sky. They are invading private property and air space, with government officials scrambling to find ways to stop them.

Drones have been involved in all sorts of activities lately: a drone smuggled drugs into an Ohio prison, a drone smashed into the Cincinnati skyscraper, a drone battled out of control California wildfires and a drone almost crashed into two airplanes flying above one of the nation’s busiest airports in New York.

The situation is proving even more dire outside the country, such as in South America. Two men are pleading in U.S. federal court to using drones to smuggle 28.5 pounds of heroin over the border. Drone accidents are also becoming increasingly common. There have been a number of reports where drones have actually smashed into people and hospitalized them. And last May, a drone disrupted a concert in Tjuana by flying onto the stage and slashing the singer’s finger wide open. ¹

Fortunately, drones aren’t unstoppable forces of nature. Their are plenty of ways to destroy the unmanned vehicles. Next time a drone poses a threat to your neck of the woods, consider implementing any of the following tactics.

Shotgun: Blasting a drone from the sky does not require a whole lot of fire power. Drones are very fragile, so anything that hits or touches them will likely cause them to veer off course. This being the case, virtually any firearm can be used to take out a drone. A shotgun, however, is probably the best firearm of choice. Drones are elusive creatures, so it will probably take multiple shots to blast the sucker out of the sky. Increase your chances with as many pellets per cartridge as possible. Just make sure shooting the drone does not pose a threat to the public. ²

Hack a drone: For those who are technologically equipped, hacking is a great way to decimate a drone. Most drones have open Wi-Fi, so anyone with a free drone app can pair with the drone in flight. You can disconnect the drone from the owner and seize control of the flying object. The original owner will scramble to reconnect with the drone. For the window of opportunity you have, turn the drone into a kamikaze pilot and send it spiraling into the ground. ²

Blind it with a powerful laser: Fixing a laser on a drone’s payload will wreak havoc on its datalink. This is an easier option than using a shot gun. It neither poses a threat to the public nor is it impaired by environmental factors like wind and rain. ³

Jam its GPS: Like Wi-Fi, drones require radiowaves and GPS signals to function. A signal jammer can emit radio ways which thwarts devices from establishing and maintaining connections. They can also be used to block calls and text messages.⁴

Fly another drone into it: Fight fire with fire by flying one drone into another. It’s a great way to kill two birds with one drone. As noted earlier, drones are incredibly sensitive, so even a mild collision will send it off course. You can purchase drones online for as little as $60.

The military is investing hundreds of thousands of dollars into destroying the very technology they created. As has been shown, you don’t have to resort to expensive equipment to take out a drone. You can destroy the flying menaces from the comfort of an arm chair with nothing but an a laptop or shotgun. Don’t fear drones. Make drones fear you.

Sources include:

(1) Fusion.net
(2) Devcentral.F5.com
(3)MotherBoard.vice.com
(4)PcWorld.com