So movie Zombies are a problem because they multiply quickly and become a massive horde of fast moving infectors that can readily sniff out healthy humans to infect.
In all the depictions I’ve seen (i.e. Walking Dead, World War Z, etc.) they are somewhat stupid and act on base instincts.
We’ve also seen them climb (or shamble) up stairs.
So in the large cities, I propose baiting the rooftops of tall buildings with attractants that are tied just out of reach. Zombies will step off the roof trying to get to the bait and splatter on the ground below.
If Zombies follow noise, tie a windchime or other noise makers. If Zombies follow live bait, then tie some live bait.
This should steadily kill Zombies, limiting their numbers and eliminating the giant horde swarms. Any horde swarms that are left can be lured to the trap, where they eliminate themselves.
Heck, why aren’t all buildings already equipped with auto-Zombie elimination devices?
Have any of the zombie universes portrayed mass zombie-zappers of any kind? It does seem like a variety of self-disposing systems could be set up. I hadn’t ever thought of using ol’ man Gravity, though.
Troops use canine companions to go up to the tops of cleared, uninfested buildings, and bark to attract the zombies from other buildings to do exactly what you’re proposing - walk off of buildings in pursuit of the dog.
Only the ones that are a danger to people. Otherwise, all the people who live on the second floor would be completely safe and you’d have no Zombie movie. And the new way to survive the Zombie Apocalypse would be to simply get to the second floor.
I always thought the best way to hole up against a zombie apocalypse was to stock up on supplies on the upper floors of a building and blow all of the first set of stairs. Zombies can’t climb. Then you simply make runs down using a set of pull-up rope ladders.
Wouldn’t work. The insects feeding off of the zombies would be infected, and thus would lose interest in eating any part other than the brain, which would in turn heighten the zombie’s already strong drive towards brain-eating.
In the game “Half-Life 2”, there was a section called, “We Don’t Go to Ravenholm” (video link) which featured some fun zombie traps - walkways with gas jet traps, spinning blades, and a generator/lever which let you drop a car on zombies, repeatedly.
Hi Kolga. I saw the movie, but haven’t read the book. I know in both, there’s an extended fight between humanity and zombies. How well did the tactic you described work? It seems like it would clear most of the zombies from a city in short order. Or did the zombies find a way into the bait and thus defeat the trap?
I know the plot demands the traps ultimately fail so they can have interesting melees between humans and zombies, but I am thinking the trap described in OP would be highly effective and would work most anywhere. You just need a tall place (if no buildings nearby, then a water tower, a grain silo or just a cliff), a pole, some rope and some bait. Very simple and easily replicated all over the place and each trap can disable thousands of zombies or more.