Make Your Own Natural Bug Spray

Did you know that the main ingredients in most commercial bug sprays and repellents, Deet, is a neurotoxin and is harmful to the brain. Yup you read that right, harmful to our brains. If you do use deet it is recommended that the bug spray not be applied to the skin, but rather to the clothes.  I have never been a fan of deet before and avoid bug sprays for my family and myself, lucky for us we don’t get many bites these days. Something about a good diet makes you a bad target. For years I have sworn off bug repellants of all sorts. I have instead incorporated plants into the landscape that help to repel the bugs. This works well when we are at home, but now that kids are old enough to go off to camp they need something to take with them. Making your own bug spray is not that hard. It is just as easy as making your own cleaners. My favorite bug sprays are easy to make. You can take some of your favorite essential oils and combine them in a spray bottle for a safe and easy effective bug spray. In an opaque spray bottle combine

• fill about 1/2 full with distilled or boiled water
• fill almost to top with witch hazel
• add 20-30 drops of essential oils of any of the following essential oils: rosemary, lemon eucalyptus, citronella, clove, lavender or tea tree oil.  – The more oils you use the stronger the spray will be

Would you survive? — Survival Knowledge Quiz

Take this basic skills survival knowledge IQ test. The ideal survivalist should be able to score 90% or higher. The answer key is at the bottom, but try and answer the questions to the best of your knowledge first, you will only be cheating yourself otherwise.

1. To locate Polaris (North Star)

A. Look straight up

B. The two stars that form the handle of Ursa Major point directly to the North Star

C. The two stars that form the outer lip of Ursa Major point to the North Star

D. Find Orion’s belt and look west

E. It’s the brightest star in the sky!

2. The “open treatment” method is the safest way to manage wounds in survival situations.

A. True

B. False

3. You may use the moon to find the direction of North under certain circumstances. These are:

A. If the moon is half full it always points north

B. If the moon rises before the sun sets, the side which is illuminated will be the west

C. If the man in the moon is looking at you turn around and that’s north

D. This is not true, you can’t use the moon to find any direction, it varies too much

4. If you find yourself with an intestinal parasite problem you may do all of the following to remedy your situation except one. Which one should you NOT do?

A. Add a tablespoon of salt to 1 liter of water

B. Eat 1 to 1.5 cigarettes

C. Drink 2 tablespoons of kerosene

D. Eat hot peppers

E. Eat ½ tablespoon topsoil

5. If you are in a survival situation and have a serious laceration, the best thing to do after cleaning would be:

A. Suture the wound

B. Use a tourniquet

C. Leave the wound open

6. In a survival situation you may be forced to do things that are dangerous to your health, yet help you to survive. If you are extremely dehydrated you CAN:

A. Drink the blood of a dead animal

B. Drink your own urine

C. Drink Sea Water

D. Drink an alcoholic beverage

E. None of the above

7. You can eat worms raw after dropping them in water for a few minutes.

A. True

B. False

8. You may eat any plant after boiling it for 30 minutes.

A. True

B. False

9. You can boil water in a plastic bag or container.

A. True

B. False

10. Smoke from your fire can be a weather predictor.

A. True

B. False

11. To treat sea sickness:

A. Look at the horizon and close your eyes

B. Drink water

C. Rock back and forth in order to counter act the rocking motion of the vessel

D. Sing a song

12. All North American reptiles are edible.

A. True

B. False

13. All birds are edible.

A. True

B. False

14. To treat diarrhea:

A. Make a solution of handful of charcoal and treated water

B. Drink lots of water

C. Apply a cold compress to the lower abdomen

D. Eat dry foods such as crackers or bread

15. If you have a firearm you can use it signal distress. Choose the correct sequence for signaling.

A. 1 shot wait 2 seconds then 2 more shots consecutively

B. 3 shots with 2 second intervals

C. 10 shots with 1 second intervals

D. 2 shots fired simultaneously

16. The dandelion grows in Arctic regions.

A. True

B. False

17. Wool clothing or blankets will keep you warm and safe even when wet.

A. True

B. False

18. The square knot is used to join 2 pieces of equal diameter rope together.

A. True

B. False

19. 38 rounds for a handgun also work in:

A. 357 magnum

B. M-16

C. 45 ACP

D. 12 Gauge shotgun

20. It’s cold and you have no fire. In order to keep warm you would?

A. Remain motionless to conserve energy

B. Exercise vigorously

C. Cover you head

Click Read More to see the answers 🙂

How to siphon liquid

In emergency situations you may need to know how to siphon gas out of a tank. In other instances you may need to know how to siphon water. You just never know, that’s why I am adding this skill to SharedSurvivalKnowledge.com

What you need:

Tube or hose (ideally a clear tube works best so you know what is going on, and you don’t end up with a mouth full of liquid)

A bucket, can or other vessel to catch the liquid

How to do it:

Position the bucket lower than the tank you are draining.

Place one end of the hose into the tank as far as possible until you hit the bottom at least.

Start with the dry end of the tube higher than the water source, and suck water into the hose. Fill as much of the hose as you dare with liquid. Even with an opaque hose, you should feel the liquid approaching your mouth and have plenty of time to stop before you get a mouthful.

If you are using a hose that is too long, it will create a problem – an air bubble. To avoid bubbles from forming, keep the hose flat or running up towards your mouth, like a drinking straw.

Maintaining mouth suction on the liquid, crimp the hose or slip your thumb into your mouth over the (lips) end of the hose. You are trying to prevent air from getting back into the hose and ruining your hose-full of liquid.

Next, drop this (lips) end of the hose into your target bucket, gas can or front lawn. Release the crimp (or your thumb) and water should immediately start flowing out of the hose.

A good siphon is quiet. If there is a lot of gurgling and bubbling, you have some air in the hose, which will slow or stop the siphoning. It usually isn’t worth the trouble to re-start a slow siphon unless the water flow has completely stopped.

Once the liquid is flowing, your attention should turn to the wet (source) end of the hose. Keep it submerged. The longer you can keep air from getting in, the more liquid will be removed.

Eventually, air will get pulled in and will interrupt the path of the water, stopping your siphon.

If you follow these easy steps then you should be able to siphon without getting a mouthful of liquid.

 

 

 

12 Months of Prepping

Gaye Levy, Contributing Writer
Activist Post

Once the prepping bug hits, it is easy to want to go for it.  You know what I mean:  Let’s do it and let’s do it all Right Now!

There are some problems with this.  First there are time constraints, and second there are money and budget issues.  But the biggest problem and undoubtedly the one that is overlooked in the initial flurry of readiness preparations, is that without reasonable care and thought given to the process, the tasks and the actual products involved, you can make some costly mistakes.  I say this from experience.  In my haste to get “stocked up” I bought gear that I don’t like and will never use.  I purchased foodstuffs I will never eat.  Stupid stupid stupid of me.  I should have taken my time, done my research, and made a well thought out and educated decision before I even got started.

Today I would like to help you break down the overwhelming task of emergency preparation by providing you with a month-by-month calendar of things to do, tasks to complete and items to purchase.  For the newbies, this gives you a manageable number of things to do in a short period of time.  Instead of looking at a task list 10 pages long, you have a short list that is eminently doable in 30 days or less.

Clean Your Cooking Gear with Wood Ashes

When it comes to wilderness survival, large scale disaster, or even just camping outdoors we often try to do things in the same manner as we are accustomed to doing them at home. However what works well enough in civilization does not necessarily translate smoothly to a wilderness or disaster scenario where familiar supplies of every sort are limited or non-existent.

Solutions are available to most outdoor and survival problems, if only we have the knowledge and inventiveness to use them. But because we usually spend most of our time in civilization where specialized tools and products are readily available, we loose some of the edge in our abilities to utilize the common items we find around us in the wilderness.

Often it is simply a matter of key pieces of information missing in our expertise, which once provided suddenly gives us a powerful new way to accomplish necessary tasks. Survival Topics maintains that the best survivalists are experts at repurposing what is available to them under field conditions.

Wood Ash Soap  You can use wood ashes instead of soap to clean your mess kit and cooking gear Shown here is a greasy pot with food residue that we want to clean, a bottle of water that has been treated to destroy disease causing organisms, a pile of wood ash, and a scouring pad Important: do not wash your gear with 200 feet (60 meters) of any source of water

Consider the daily chore of cleaning your mess kit after a meal. There can be no doubt that the proper cleaning of your mess kit and cooking gear is an important wilderness or disaster survival task; when it comes to the food you eat and the cooking gear and utensils that come in contact with it, a lack of proper hygiene can lay you low in short order.

Easy Access to Soap is Limited

In a disaster or wilderness survival setting you will often lack soap with which to wash your camp cooking gear and mess kit. Soap takes up weight and space, which is a very important consideration when every ounce and every cubic inch of your gear must be measured against what is most important for your survival. Especially when you are on foot the less you carry the better off you are; hard decisions must be made on what you bring with you and what is left behind.

On extended stays in the wilderness or during a large scale disaster re-supply from outside sources is usually not available. You are likely to eventually run out of any soap you have so an alternative means for cleaning your cooking gear and mess kit is preferable.

When practicing survival skills in the field I usually do not bring soap to clean my mess kit and cooking gear. To save on bulk and weight, I would forgo using any soap I had in favor of rubbing and swirling a mixture of water, mud and sand on cooking utensils in order to scour off caked on grease and food particles. Although sanding down cooking gear certainly removes food residues, it often doesn’t eliminate all the grease. And the mess kit and cooking gear sure take a beating.

For many years I was content on using the sand and mud method to clean my cooking gear when in the wilderness. But one evening while sitting around the camp fire after having washed the remains of the evening meal from my mess kit with the usual mud, sand, and water mixture, the smoke sudden cleared from my eyes and the world seemed fresh and new. I had independently made a discovery that had already been known for centuries.

Bartering – 100 Items to disappear first

By Joseph Almond

#1. Generators (Good ones cost dearly. Gas storage, risky. Noisy..target of thieves; maintenance, etc.)

#2. Water Filters/Purifiers (Shipping delays increasing.)

#3. Portable Toilets (Increasing in price every two months.)

#4. Seasoned Firewood (About $100 per cord; wood takes 6 – 12 mos. to become dried, for home uses.)

#5. Lamp Oil, Wicks, Lamps (First choice: Buy CLEAR oil. If scarce, stockpile ANY!)

#6. Coleman Fuel (URGENT $2.69-$3.99/gal. Impossible to stockpile too much.)

#7. Guns, Ammunition, Pepper Spray, Knives, Clubs, Bats; Slingshots

#8. Hand-Can openers; hand egg beaters, whisks (Life savers!)

#9. Honey/Syrups/white, brown sugars

#10. Rice – Beans – Wheat (White rice is now $12.95 – 50# bag. Sam’s Club, stock depleted often.)

#11. Vegetable oil (for cooking) (Without it food burns/must be boiled, etc.)

#12. Charcoal; Lighter fluid (Will become scarce suddenly.)

#13. Water containers (Urgent Item to obtain. Any size. Small: HARD CLEAR PLASTIC ONLY)

#14. Mini Heater head (Propane) (Without this item, propane won’t heat a room.)

#15. Grain Grinder (Non-electric)

#16. Propane Cylinders (Urgent: Definite shortages will occur by September, 1999.)

#17. Michael Hyatt’s Y2K Survival Guide (BEST single y2k handbook for sound advice/tips.)

#18. Mantles: Aladdin, Coleman, etc. (Without this item, longer-term lighting is difficult.)

#19. Baby Supplies: Diapers/formula/ointments/aspirin, etc

#20. Washboards, Mop Bucket w/wringer (for Laundry)

Peanut Butter – Stock up NOW

Stock up now….while you can, and beat the 30% price inflation on Peanut Butter and peanuts. It has just been anouced over the past couple of days that peanuts and peanut butter will have a dramatic price inflation due to the crummy crop season.

Peanut Butter has great survival benefits including:

• Of the fat in PB about 47% is mono-unsaturated, about 27% polyunsaturated, and only 20% saturated. (compare to olive oil which is nearly 75% monounsaturated oil)
• There is a good amount of protein in peanut butter, about 15% of the calories in PB are protein calories.
• In the “natural” brands of peanut butter, there is very little sugar, less than 1 gram per 2 tablespoon serving in many brands.
• There is very little sodium in most brands of peanut butter.
• Peanut butter is rich in magnesium.
• Peanut butter also contains Resveratrol, a potentially healthy polyphenol.
• Peanut butter is very high in calories because 71% of the calories in peanut butter are from fat.
• Peanut butter and peanuts provide vitamine B3 and E magnesium, folate, dietary fiber, arginine, and high levels of the antioxidant p-coumaric acid.

Nutrition Data

And for some new articles on the reason for crummy crops….

Survival Compartment – Contents and Layout

This is the second video in a series, I thought it to be very useful to see how other people organize including the reasoning behind it.

 

How Do We Communicate With Each Other During A Disaster?

 

The Life Network

Cold Weather Survivial

One of the most difficult survival situations is a cold weather scenario. Every time you venture into the cold, you are pitting yourself against the elements. With a little knowledge of the environment, proper plans, and appropriate equipment, you can overcome the elements. As you remove one or more of these factors, survival becomes increasingly difficult. Remember, winter weather is highly variable. Prepare yourself to adapt to blizzard conditions even during sunny and clear weather.

Cold is a far greater threat to survival than it appears. It decreases your ability to think and weakens your will to do anything except to get warm. Cold is an insidious enemy; as it numbs the mind and body, it subdues the will to survive.

Cold makes it very easy to forget your ultimate goal–to survive.

COLD REGIONS AND LOCATIONS

Cold regions include arctic and subarctic areas and areas immediately adjoining them. You can classify about 48 percent of the northern hemisphere’s total landmass as a cold region due to the influence and extent of air temperatures. Ocean currents affect cold weather and cause large areas normally included in the temperate zone to fall within the cold regions during winter periods. Elevation also has a marked effect on defining cold regions.

Within the cold weather regions, you may face two types of cold weather environments–wet or dry. Knowing in which environment your area of operations falls will affect planning and execution of a cold weather operation.

Wet Cold Weather Environments

Wet cold weather conditions exist when the average temperature in a 24-hour period is -10 degrees C or above. Characteristics of this condition are freezing during the colder night hours and thawing during the day. Even though the temperatures are warmer during this condition, the terrain is usually very sloppy due to slush and mud. You must concentrate on protecting yourself from the wet ground and from freezing rain or wet snow.

Dry Cold Weather Environments

Dry cold weather conditions exist when the average temperature in a 24-hour period remains below -10 degrees C. Even though the temperatures in this condition are much lower than normal, you do not have to contend with the freezing and thawing. In these conditions, you need more layers of inner clothing to protect you from temperatures as low as -60 degrees C. Extremely hazardous conditions exist when wind and low temperature combine.

WINDCHILL

Wind chill increases the hazards in cold regions. Wind chill is the effect of moving air on exposed flesh. For instance, with a 27.8-kph (15-knot) wind and a temperature of -10 degrees C, the equivalent wind chill temperature is -23 degrees C. Figure 15-1 gives the wind chill factors for various temperatures and wind speeds.

Remember, even when there is no wind, you will create the equivalent wind by skiing, running, being towed on skis behind a vehicle, working around aircraft that produce wind blasts.