Frightened Melbourne families who felt they had no choice but to arm themselves with baseball bats after a series of violent home invasions have now moved to protect their properties with barbed wire.

The residents who live in Melbourne’s western suburbs are now talking about fortifying their homes to reduce the risk of dangerous thieves breaking in.

‘I will be doing this soon. It's either barbed wire or broken glass siliconed around the top of the fence,’ one resident said in a thread about barbed wire being used on properties in the area.

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A home which has been 'fortified' against aggressive thieves using barbed wire extensions

Comments on a Facebook thread about the need to fortify homes with barbed wire

‘Go the glass. They might see barbed wire and look for another way in but the glass would be easier to keep hidden until it's too late,’ replied one.

‘Go all the way and install a high voltage electric fence see those bastards bounce off that real quick and fry,' commented another.

While some have already installed razor wire fence extensions to make themselves feel safe in their own homes.

‘I actually know people who have done those things and more to their home, as also they have been broken in before so its their ways to prevent it from happening again and they feel safe,’ one person said on social media.

Another shared photos of their neighbour’s property with three rows of barbed wire extending above the tall colourbond fences.

A resident who lives next to a lane way said they had considered using barbed wire to protect their home.

‘Most nights my dogs (and our neighbors dog) are barking for hours at sounds they hear from the service lane. It's a harsh and extreme move but I have to think of the safety of my family. If barbed wire will at least deter and at most stop a gang of louts from entering from this lane then it's something I have to consider (amongst other alternatives).’

Another resident planned to install ‘fake CCTV cameras’.

Others condemned the comments and said the suburbs would start to look like 'Compton' or 'The Bronx' if people were to install barbed wire fences on their properties.

Others reminded those involved in the discussion that it could be illegal to install such fences without council permission.

Residents in the street where a 12-year-old girl who was threatened with death during a violent carjacking linked to the Apex gang last month told Daily Mail Australia they are terrified to leave their homes.

The shocking incident has left neighbours so frightened that one couple, who have lived in the street for 40 years, will not leave the house at night.

'I am a man and I am too scared to go for walks in my own street,' the man said.

'It is scary to even sleep - I am keeping a metal bar beside my bed in case they come inside.'

A member of the Apex Street gang accused of many of the violent robberies in Melbourne's western suburbs

Another neighbour said the area has become 'so scary' in the last year with groups of young teenage boys hanging out in the nearby park drinking.

'They drink and do drugs and are so loud,' she said.

'It makes you not want to live here anymore.'

Frightened residents across the city - especially in satellite suburbs like St Albans are buying weapons to defend themselves - and patrolling the streets at night in the hope it will keep their families safe.

Pictured - two members of the Apex Street gang accused of leaving a trail of despair around Melbourne

One man told Daily Mail Australia he had armed his wife and children with bats and hammers, and 'taught his eldest son to defend the family if he wasn't home'.

'The two younger kids know to hide in the cupboard and my 13-year-old has his own little bat,' the man said.

'I taught him not to hit people in the head with it but he knows where it is if he does need to use it.'

Roving patrols organised by neighbourhood watch groups have reportedly been told they can no longer operate by police.