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How to Store and Preserve Your Food Stockpile

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© How to Store and Preserve Your Food Stockpile

How to Store

and Preserve Your

Food Stockpile


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DISCLAIMER .................................................................................................................. 4

How to Build Your Food Stockpile............................................................................... 5

How Much Food Will You Need? ................................................................................. 5

Freeze Dried or Dehydrated?....................................................................................... 7

Dehydrated Foods .................................................................................................... 8

Freeze-dried Foods .................................................................................................. 9

Building Your Stockpile .............................................................................................. 10

The Lifeless Enemies of Your Stockpile ................................................................... 13

The Mistakes that You Make...................................................................................... 13

Moisture ..................................................................................................................... 17

Exposure .................................................................................................................... 18

Lack of space ............................................................................................................. 18

Not Storing the Right Foods ....................................................................................... 19

Mice and Other Rodents ............................................................................................ 20

8 Steps to Eliminate Mice ....................................................................................... 20

Some Things That Won’t Work in a Disaster .......................................................... 24

Smart Tips on Building a Good Cellar ....................................................................... 25

The Best Place for a Survival Cellar .......................................................................... 26


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Important Things to Do .............................................................................................. 26

Things You Should Avoid ........................................................................................... 27

Using Earth Bags to Build Your Cellar ....................................................................... 28

Things to Keep in Your Survival Cellar ...................................................................... 29


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DISCLAIMER

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN “How to Store and Preserve Your Food Stockpile” IS

MEANT TO SERVE AS A COMPREHENSIVE COLLECTION OF TIPS THAT THE AUTHORS OF

THIS COURSE LEARN OVER THE YEARS RELATED TO SURVIVAL/PREPAREDNESS.

SUMMARIES, STRATEGIES, TIPS AND TRICKS INCLUDED IN THIS E-BOOK ARE ONLY

RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE AUTHORS, AND READING THIS E-BOOK DOES NOT

GUARANTEE THAT ONE’S RESULTS WILL EXACTLY MIRROR OUR OWN RESULTS.

THE AUTHOR OF “How to Store and Preserve Your Food Stockpile” HAS MADE ALL

REASONABLE EFFORTS TO PROVIDE CURRENT AND ACCURATE INFORMATION FOR THE

READERS OF THIS COURSE. THE AUTHOR WILL NOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY

UNINTENTIONAL ERRORS OR OMISSIONS THAT MAY BE FOUND.

THE MATERIAL IN “How to Store and Preserve Your Food Stockpile” MAY INCLUDE

INFORMATION, PRODUCTS, OR SERVICES BY THIRD PARTIES. THIRD PARTY MATERIALS

COMPRISE OF THE PRODUCTS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED BY THEIR OWNERS. AS SUCH,

THE AUTHORS OF THIS GUIDE DO NOT ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR ANY

THIRD PARTY MATERIAL OR OPINIONS. THE PUBLICATION OF SUCH THIRD PARTY

MATERIALS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE THE AUTHORS’ GUARANTEE OF ANY INFORMATION,

INSTRUCTION, OPINION, PRODUCTS OR SERVICE CONTAINED WITHIN THE THIRD PARTY

MATERIAL.

WHETHER BECAUSE OF THE GENERAL EVOLUTION OF THE INTERNET, OR THE

UNFORESEEN CHANGES IN COMPANY POLICY AND EDITORIAL SUBMISSION GUIDELINES,

WHAT IS STATED AS FACT AT THE TIME OF THIS WRITING, MAY BECOME OUTDATED OR

SIMPLY INAPPLICABLE AT A LATER DATE. THIS MAY APPLY TO THE “How to Store and

Preserve Your Food Stockpile” AS WELL AS THE VARIOUS SIMILAR COMPANIES THAT WE

HAVE REFERENCED IN THIS EBOOK.

GREAT EFFORT HAS BEEN EXERTED TO SAFEGUARD THE ACCURACY OF THIS WRITING.

OPINIONS REGARDING SIMILAR WEBSITE PLATFORMS HAVE BEEN FORMULATED AS A

RESULT OF BOTH PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, AS WELL AS THE WELL DOCUMENTED

EXPERIENCES OF OTHERS.

NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION SHALL BE REPRODUCED, TRANSMITTED OR RESOLD IN

WHOLE OR IN PART IN ANY FORM, WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE

AUTHORS. ALL TRADEMARKS AND REGISTERED TRADEMARKS APPEARING IN “How to

Store and Preserve Your Food Stockpile” ARE THE PROPERTY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE

OWNER. ANY AND ALL REQUESTS FOR SUCH PERMISSION SHOULD BE SENT BY TO

[email protected].

COPYRIGHT 2015 SurvivopediaTM, How to Store and Preserve Your Food Stockpile


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How to Build Your Food Stockpile

How Much Food Will You Need?

If you’re like most people from this country, you have about a week’s worth of food in

your refrigerator and pantry.

If you lose power, the perishables in your fridge such as meat will only be good for

about 3 days so use those first. Even after they’re gone, you’ll still have non-perishables

such as peanut butter, canned meats and legumes to provide protein.

Just to be on the safe side, don’t allow for more than 3 days without access to food

without having an emergency food supply. Even if you’re only preparing for a natural

disaster that only requires a week or so worth of food, it’s a good idea to stock up in

advance.


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When news of a pending disaster such as a major storm is announced, unprepared

people tend to panic. They rush to the stores and strip the shelves of food, water,

batteries, and emergency supplies.

If you’re already stocked up, you don’t have to fight the crowds or worry about not

getting there before the stores sell out. You also don’t have to waste critical time

shopping while you could be battening down the hatches and handling last-minute

details.

In order to survive, you don’t just need food; you need nutrients to replenish your body

and calories to create energy and maintain bodily function. For the sake of this

discussion, we’re going to show you how much you need of each for basic survival and

let you determine how much you’ll need to stockpile for your emergency ration based

upon how long you want prepare for.

Macronutrients are the major nutrients that your body needs to function. They

include carbohydrates, fat, and protein and you need a certain amount of them per day

to stay healthy.

According to the USDA, here is what you need:

Infants and toddlers: 5-20% protein, 40-65% carbohydrates and 30-40% fat.

Kids and teenagers: 10-30% protein, 40-65% carbohydrates and 25-35% fat.

Adults: 10-35% protein, 40-65% carbohydrates and 20-35% fat.

Not all food is created equally. Shoot for sources of good quality, monounsaturated fats

that include omega-3’s and 6’s such as tuna. Stay away from nutrient-poor

polyunsaturated fats that are found in chips and processed foods.

CALORIES are what your body converts your food into and uses for fuel. How many

calories you’ll need will vary widely based upon your size, your age, your activity level

and even the climate.


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A good base number to shoot for just for basic survival is a minimum of 1200-1500

calories. They will keep you alive as long as you’re getting the nutrition that you need,

so buy nutrient-rich foods and stay away from the junk.

Freeze Dried or Dehydrated?

There are a lot of options available when it comes to long-term food storage. Choices

range from heavier, bulkier wet foods such as regular canned goods and MREs (Meal

Ready to Eat) to dry foods such as dehydrated grains or pasta and freeze-dried meals,

and there are some distinct advantages and disadvantages to each method of storage.

Let’s review some of the key differences between dehydrated foods and freeze-dried, or

astronaut foods.

First and foremost, dehydrated and freeze-dried foods have several things in common.

Both these types of foods are known as dry foods, meaning they contain very little to

almost no water content. In fact, dehydrated and freeze-dried foods both require

additional water to be properly reconstituted, which is an important factor to consider if

you live in an arid or desert-like area.

Both these types of emergency rations are very light-weight, as well, so you can carry a

lot more food in the form of dehydrated or freeze-dried rations than in canned goods

or MREs.

With comparable shelf-lives of 20 – 25 years or more, you can also store substantially

more dehydrated or freeze-dried food in a smaller location, such as under your bed or in

a closet. Canned foods and MREs, by comparison, are heavy and bulky as well as

having short shelf-lives of only 3 – 5 years or so.

Dehydrated and freeze-dried foods do have some differences, though:


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Dehydrated Foods

Dollar for dollar, you will generally be able to

purchase more dehydrated food than you

can freeze-dried food, simply because the

freeze-drying process is more expensive

than the regular dehydration process.

So if you’re on a tight budget, or you want to

set aside a substantial amount of emergency food for yourself and your family, stocking

up on dehydrated food is an economical option to consider.

When foods are dehydrated, they typically lose 90% – 94% of their moisture content; it’s

this lack of moisture that enables dehydrated foods to be stored for such long periods of

time, often upwards of 20 – 30 years.

Unfortunately, dehydration causes certain nutrients to break down, since it basically

amounts to a slow cooking process as hot air is circulated over the food to sweat the

water out of the fruits, vegetables or other dehydrated material.

Dehydrated foods, as a result, take on a shriveled and leathery appearance, and things

like fruit are extremely tough and chewy if you don’t rehydrate them. A huge advantage

of dehydrated foods, however, is that you can dehydrate your own fruits and vegetables

if you have the extra produce.

This is an especially useful skill in the event of a major disaster or catastrophe where

there may be shortages or interruptions of the food supply, or if you simply have a large

garden that produces an abundant harvest each year and you want to save the excess.

Another aspect of dehydrated foods is that usually they are comprised of raw materials

for cooking with. So you may have rice, pasta, potatoes, onions, corn and other staples,

but you have each of these things individually packaged or in separate cans, and it’s up

to you to combine the ingredients with water and cook something of them.


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Most dehydrated foods also lack seasoning, spices or herbs, so it’s up to you to add

seasoning or spices to whatever you end up cooking.

In terms of prep time, dehydrated foods also take longer to cook (generally between 20

– 60 minutes or longer depending on the dish) than freeze-dried foods. Dehydrated

foods typically require a larger quantity of water to be properly reconstituted, as well.

Freeze-dried Foods

Because the process of freeze-drying

allows the water to be immediately

extracted from the fruits, vegetables or

other food, freeze-dried foods are quite

nutritious, more so than their dehydrated

counterparts.

Typically able to be reconstituted with hot

water in just 5 – 15 minutes, freeze-dried

foods are available in several forms. Many

companies sell individual freeze-dried foods, such as raspberries, blueberries, cherries,

TVP (meat substitute), beef, peas, corn and a myriad of others, in #10 cans and air-tight

Mylar bags.

There are a huge variety of freeze-dried meals available from various companies;

Mountain House, Wise Company, eFoods, and Harmony House are just some of them.

Offerings from these companies range from granola with raisins and milk, creamy pasta

and vegetable rotini, beef stroganoff and teriyaki with rice to beef stew, chicken pasta

and lasagna with meat. All of these meals are freeze-dried and come with 20 – 25 year

shelf-lives.

On the downside, freeze-dried foods are not always the most calorie-packed, especially

if you were to eat as little as 2 – 3 servings a day. Two servings of your average freeze-

dried entrée, such as those listed above, will usually come out to about 500 – 800


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calories. This might be enough to subsist for a short period of time, but realistically most

people need far more calories on a daily basis, so you’ll either have to eat more or

supplement your diet with other foods.

Ultimately, when it comes to long-term food storage it really seems that diversity is the

key. If you want the lightest-weight emergency rations for hiking or in case of a helter-

skelter GTFO of dodge dash for your designated bug out location, then freeze-dried

foods are a great option. Dehydrated foods are also good for emergency bugging out,

when weight is an important issue, and if you have a larger group or family that you

need to feed, dehydrated may be best.

But if you’re stocking a pantry at a designated bug out location, or you just want to fill

out your own home food storage as a hedge against emergencies or uncertainty in the

food chain, a variety of different foods are best.

Traditionally canned foods, such as those you can buy in the grocery store, are usually

marked with a shelf-life of 3 – 5 years or longer. A tin of peaches, a can of pineapple or

even a can of baked beans can go a long way toward lifting your spirits if you’ve got to

live primarily off emergency rations and other stored food for a while.

Alongside the canned foods in your storage, you can stash away extra supplies in the

form of dehydrated foods like pasta, beans, bread mix or flour, rice, pancake mix and so

on. Then, if your budget allows, you can invest in freeze-dried foods, ranging from

individual cans of freeze-dried fruits and vegetables to complete entrees and desserts

like beef stroganoff, chicken noodle soup, cheesy chicken and rice, chili ‘n cheese, and

many others.

Building Your Stockpile

A one-year backup supply of food for yourself and your family is a good place to start.

Companies such as Wise Foods, Mountain House, and eFoods Direct all offer supplies

of dehydrated and/or freeze-dried foods.


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With a typical shelf-life of 20 – 25

years or more, these foods are

designed for long-term storage and

come in sizes ranging from 3 day

supplies, 2 week supplies and 1 month

supplies, to 3 month, 6 month and 1

year supplies.

If you’re fortunate to have the extra

cash to run out and purchase all the

food that you need for your stockpile in one fell swoop, then great. Unfortunately, most

of us don’t have that luxury. To build your stockpile without going broke, buy a little extra

each time you shop. If something is buy-1-get-1-free or on sale, grab a couple extra.

Whether you stock up on dehydrated and/or freeze-dried foods with a long shelf-life, or

you prefer to focus on regular canned and dried foods with a shorter shelf-life, you’ll

need plenty of:

Flour, flour and more flour! Unless you have some specific reason to avoid it

and/or an alternative you prefer, flour is necessary for so many things, chiefly

bread. A one year supply for an average adult is 200 – 300 pounds of flour; if this

sounds like a lot, just think of how much bread, pasta and other dough you’ll be

making if SHTF.

Powdered milk is immensely useful in cooking, as well as reconstituted for

drinking. In addition to 40 – 60 pounds of powdered milk, 100 or 150 cans of

condensed milk (just regular condensed milk, not sweetened, condensed milk)

are also indispensable.

Yeast, baking soda and baking powder are all rising agents used in various

recipes. Yeast is particularly important in bread making, so be sure to stock up

on plenty of it. I have found the active dry yeast from Bob’s Red Mill to be a

particularly good, versatile brand of yeast that I use in bread, doughnuts, pizza

dough and other yeast-risen recipes.


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Sugar or honey (or a lot of maple syrup); seriously, you’ll need 50 – 60 pounds at

a bare minimum to get through a year; if you’ve got a sweet tooth or kids, you

can easily double that amount. Be sure to stock up on salt, as well, you’ll want 5

– 10 pounds per person.

Meat, beans and TVP or other high protein food sources; you’ll typically need

100 – 150 pounds (if it isn’t freeze-dried) per adult, per year. Canned meats,

including tuna, chicken, SPAM, corned beef and ham will generally last 1 – 4

years on the shelf. Canned beans will typically last 2 – 5 years on the shelf, and

quite a lot longer when dried.

Cooking oil and butter, lard or other fats are integral to cooking, as well as an

important source of energy and nutrients during a famine. You’ll want a minimum

of 50 pounds of fats and oils, think more along the lines of 150 – 200 pounds if

you have a larger family. Vegetable oils typically last several years on the

shelves, as do most shortenings and lard.

Fruits and vegetables are crucial, especially during a famine because they

become your main source of vitamins and minerals, the nutrients your body

needs to function. The average adult needs upwards of 600 pounds of fruits and

vegetables a year, but that weight is drastically reduced if you opt to store

dehydrated or freeze-dried produce. Canned fruits and vegetables generally last

anywhere from 2 – 10 years or so.

If you are lucky enough to have a garden or can hunt, do some extra canning. It doesn’t

have to cost a fortune all at once to build your emergency rations stockpile, but it is

critical that you do so!


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The Lifeless Enemies of Your

Stockpile

In preparing against eventualities, it is important to be aware that incorrect storage and

cold weather can wreak havoc on your stockpile.

While you are busy getting your emergency items ready, here are a few lifeless

enemies that are lurking around to make a mess of your efforts.

The Mistakes that You Make

From all of these enemies, the first one is… YOU. Most people make a lot of mistakes

when stockpiling food, and beware of these DON’Ts so you wouldn’t be one of them!

http://www.survivopedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/BIG-enemy.jpg


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1. Don’t Tell Anybody You Are Stockpiling Food

Though many of us have a need to share information with those that we care about, our

well-intentioned advice to the neighbor could be exactly what sinks the ship when

SHTF.

If you tell people that you have stores of food, it’s a sure bet that they’ll come knocking

(or shooting) when they’re starving because they didn’t have the same foresight that

you did.

Encouraging people to be prepared is a good thing but do it in vague terms that don’t

reveal exactly what you’re doing. Put out feelers by asking if they’ve considered what

they would do in case of emergency.

If you get a positive response, you may wish to discuss generalities but don’t share the

fact that you’ve already stockpiled 6 months’ worth of food for yourself and your family.

It makes you a target.

2. Don’t Store Dry Goods in Their Original Containers

Though cardboard boxes and plastic bags stack easily and fit nicely on shelves, they’re

vulnerable to pests, rodents and weather. If you’re storing pasta, rice, flour or other

dried goods, do so in air-tight containers that critters or humidity can’t permeate.

Even though it’s relatively inexpensive when you consider the cost per box, it’s wasted

money if the food is eaten by rats, infested with bugs or ruined by weather.

Plastic containers with lids are readily available at just about any yard sale that you visit.

If you want new ones, they’re extremely inexpensive at places like Wal-Mart or the

dollar store.

There’s no need to waste your time stockpiling food if you’re just going to end up

throwing it away or feeding it to the rats!


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3. Don’t Forget to Rotate Your Supplies

Though canned goods are often good for 10 years or

more, they do begin to lose flavor and nutritional value

as time goes by.

Operate your supplies on a FIFO basis – first in, first out.

This means that you use the old food and store the new

food.

The easiest way that we’ve found to do this is to simply

store the new food behind the old so that when you

reach for a can of green beans, the oldest one is in front.

This keeps your stockpile fresh and ensures that nothing

is going out-of-date.

4. Don’t Buy Food You Don’t Eat

Though canned lima beans may be on sale at 5 cans for $1, they’re on sale for a reason

– most people don’t eat them on a regular basis! They may be nutritious but if you don’t

eat them now, you probably won’t want to eat them later, either.

The easiest way to stick to this is to simply pick up an extra can of corn when you’re

already buying a can or two for dinner that night. That way, what you buy for your

stockpile corresponds with what you’re already eating.

If you notice items in your stockpile that have been there for a while, don’t buy any more

of that food.

5. Don’t Concentrate on Buying Freezer Foods

Yes, it’s wonderful to have a freezer stocked with meat but don’t forget that if the power

goes out and you don’t have back-up electric, all of that meat will be bad within about a

week.


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Also, frozen meats only survive for about six

months before they start getting freezer burn

and tasting weird.

If you want to store meat long-term (and you

should!) consider other preservation methods

such as canning or dehydrating.

Canned meat can last for up to 10 years and

dehydrated meat is good for a couple of years

as long as it stays dry.

Preserve your own meat instead of paying

somebody to do it – that way, you’ll have the

experience necessary for when SHTF in real time.

6. Don’t Skip Steps when Preserving Food

Canning and dehydrating can be arduous tasks. The success of the process depends

highly on how well you follow each and every step.

Skipping the heating process won’t kill the bacteria in the food and jars and your food

will spoil. If you don’t get the rims of the jars clean after filling them, the lids won’t seal

and your food won’t be properly preserved. If you don’t dry your meat or produce

enough or you don’t trim all the excess fat off, your dehydrated food will quickly mold or

go rancid.

Food preservation techniques have steps for a reason. Follow them to avoid wasting

food and time.

7. Don’t Store an Imbalanced Supply of Food

Your body requires nutrients that are supplied from a wide array of foods. Red, green,

yellow and orange produce have different nutritional profiles. Meat and beans have


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protein. When you’re building your stockpile, don’t forget to include a variety of food that

meets the dietary needs of your family.

Another reason for this is that there are instances where people were surrounded by

food, namely rice, and they starved to death due to food fatigue. This happens when

your body consumes so much of a single food that it simply can’t stand to eat another

bite of it. Varying your food stores will eliminate the risk of food fatigue.

Though stockpiling food is a fairly simple process, you do need to put some thought into

it. Make sure that when you’re planning your list, you take dietary needs such as food

allergies into consideration.

Also, do an analysis of how much food you’ll need per day, per person so that you don’t

come up short should SHTF. In this case, it’s always better to have too much than not

enough.

Moisture

Cans and perishable items should be stored in a cool

dry place away from moisture. Exposure to moisture

may cause your cans to rust, thereby predisposing them

to spoilage.

Your stockpile should be kept away from locations

where the temperature is likely to reach below freezing

point. As much as possible, keep your stockpile in the

basement or an indoor room.

If you must store your items in a garage, make sure they

are well insulated by using plywood or pallets beneath

and above your stockpile.


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Try as much as possible to build around the pile to prevent moisture from getting to

them.

Another option would be to use old blankets and newspapers to cover your stockpile to

prevent spoilage.

If your canned foods exhibit any of the following appearances, it is likely they have been

exposed to moisture and have spoiled as a consequence; bulging lid, milky liquid,

rusting at the edges of the can, corrosion, slimy texture, rancid odor, mold and off smell.

Exposure

If you are going to store water in any quantity, for example, make sure it is at least

covered to protect it from spoilage. Even in times of emergencies, water safety should

be a top priority.

Storing water in open containers without covers can attract mosquito larvae and other

life forms like algae; these make it unfit for drinking and other domestic purposes. You

need pure water to survive in emergency situations without adding disease pathogens

into the mix. It is best to keep your water covered at all times.

Your stored water should be obtained from clean and uncontaminated sources and then

sealed and covered for optimum safety. Using nonfood grade materials to store your

drinking water may also cause some of the materials to leach into the water.

For example, lead in water containers can easily make your stored water poisonous.

The rule of thumb here is to make sure that your storage containers are made from food

grade materials like glass, stainless steels and food grade plastic gallons.

Lack of space

If your entire stockpile is cramped together in some little space, there is every chance

that you will have a snowball reaction on your hands.


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Imagine placing your water, canned foods, dried foods and other emergency stockpile in

a 2×2 meter space with your canned foods going on top of your storage water facilities.

You are simply asking for trouble if this is the case. There is every probability that heat

and humidity will quickly set in and spoil your stockpile in a split second.

It is important that your stockpile has as much space as possible to enable it to breathe.

Keep your perishables as close to the floor as possible and canned food should be

stored closer to the top of the shelf. Keep your items away from sunlight as this will

facilitate spoilage.

If space is going to be a problem, make shelves that will hold your stockpile at different

sections. Your stockpile should be kept in a cool dry place.

Not Storing the Right Foods

Storing the right kinds of foods is very important in case of emergencies. Not storing

the right kind of foods can lead to disaster.

For example, dried or canned milk, honey, salt, dried beans and wheat are usually

advised for emergency stockpiles. On the other hand, consecutive wheat meals are not

entirely good for the human body.

It is advisable to have a variety of foods available in your stockpile and not rely on a

particular food staple.

Include foods that no one in your family or group is allergic to. Your body needs all the

nutrients it can get, so don’t short change yourself. Considered having a variety of foods

such as powered eggs, dehydrated and freeze dried foods, canned foods and grains.


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Mice and Other Rodents

Have you ever bought a huge bag of flour and stored it in the attic or spare room

thinking it would be safe there?

Did you go back a few months later and find the bag torn to pieces by rats or mice?

Did you ever feared of the disease that these

little rodents might bring upon?

If so, then you can readily understand why it is

so important to guard your stockpile from mice

and rats, and why they deserve a special

attention in this report.

No matter how much you spend on edibles and

non-edibles, rest assured that just a few

rodents can destroy your supplies in a very

short period of time.

8 Steps to Eliminate Mice

Typically, to guard everything from candles to herbs, water, food, and even books, you

will need a comprehensive plan that includes, at a minimum, the following eight

elements.

1. Avoid Damp or Swampy Storage Places

Rodents are like any other animal in the sense that they need food and water to survive.

When it comes to choosing an area, they will always gravitate towards swampy or moist

areas. Therefore, you should avoid these places as much as possible when it comes to

stockpiling.

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Aside from that fact that excess moisture tends to be destructive when stockpiling, you

will have fewer, and smaller sized rodents to deal with when your supplies are located

on higher, and drier grounds.

In fact, even if there is a dark, damp area in your home that doesn’t seem to attract mice

or rats, it is possible they may pass through without your noticing them.

Once they smell food or anything else they consider edible, you will become

overwhelmed by them and lose all your supplies.

2. Keep the Area Clean and Free of Food/Water Smells

The kitchen is one area of your home where rats and mice will gravitate. Since these

animals can detect even trace scents of food and water, it is very important to make

sure your stockpile remains air tight and clean.

This will prevent scents from traveling by air, and also make it easier to cover any traces

with other odors that act as deterrents to rodents.

It is also very important to keep the stockpile area free of dust, debris, and anything else

that rodents may find useful.

For example, piles of newspaper left out can serve as nesting material, while dust and

mildew can alert rodents to areas that are quiet and relatively undisturbed. Once they

feel safe in an area, they will set up housekeeping very quickly and start multiplying.

3. Maintain a Constant Presence in the Storage Area

Even though an occasional mouse or rat may be foolish enough to wander into your

well-occupied kitchen, they will usually leave as soon as they realize there is too much

going on. In a similar way, when you move bins around or disrupt your storage area in

other ways, mice will quickly vacate.

As a rule, you should move things around at least once to twice a week while cleaning

and carrying out other tasks.


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4. Use Peppermint and Spearmint as a

Deterrent

There are certain smells that rodents hate. This

includes peppermint and spearmint which irritate

their nasal passages.

Simply grow heavy layers of these herbs around

the storage area, and also place dried leaves in

among the bins.

If you are vigilant about replacing the leaves twice a

week, the odor will remain strong enough to act as

a deterrent and also help mask the odor of food and

water.

5. Store Everything in Chew Proof Bins

Contrary to popular belief, wood or plastic bins

serve as very little deterrent to rodents. They will actually use chewed bits of wood for

nesting, and also quickly work their way through plastic. Typically, metal, cement, or

cinder block bins are the only ones that rodents cannot chew through.

Metal ammo storage containers work well, and are also inexpensive. You can also

solder together metal from tin cans or use sheet metal to construct your own bins. Just

be sure to create a tight fitting lid that rodents cannot lift or push to make a hole for

entrance.

6. Keep and Maintain Traps

As common as it may sound, a few simple spring traps work wonders when it comes to

getting rid of vermin in a storage area. You can modify the traps by attaching nail

boards on the top metal bar so that you have a better chance of catching rodents of

different sizes with the same trap.


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You should also have one or two larger animal traps on hand just in case conventional

rat traps are not large enough for unwanted rodents. Regardless of the trap type, be

very careful when setting them, and never let your hands or other body parts get near

the trap’s path of motion.

Use peanut butter or flour to attract rodents to the trap, and place them along the wall.

Since fairly large rodents may encounter the traps, it is also important to secure the

traps to the floor. When traps are set, you should inspect them at least once each

morning.

If there are live rodents in the trap, dispatch them with a hammer. This ensures the

rodent will not escape and is also more humane than letting the rodent linger for hours

on end.

7. Keep a Few Cats

If you are going to use traps in the room where you

keep stockpiled foods, do not let cats (or other

animals, children, etc) into the area where the traps

are located.

That said, there is no harm in letting 4 – 6 cats roam

outside the storage area.

Aside from keeping mice and rats further away, cats

will also go after rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks,

moles, and just about anything else that might take

an interest in your food stores.

8. Keep a Steel Rod Handy

When you have things stored that are edible or

useful to rats or mice, never assume that the area is free of these animals. Even if you

do not see animal droppings and you faithfully follow the steps above, it is still possible

for rodents to nest.


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Unfortunately, it takes only one bit from an infected rodent to cause serious illness or

death. Before you stick your hand in a bin, or walk around a corner, use a steel rod to

investigate the area and see if anything moves.

Since rats can easily grow to 15 inches in length under the right conditions, it always

pays to have a 2 – 3 foot rod on hand to bash it with. Needless to say, if you have a gun

available, it will not hurt to have one loaded and ready when you approach your

stockpile.

Some Things That Won’t Work in a Disaster

As you read through this list, you may be wondering why poisons and sonic deterrent

systems are not included. In a disaster scenario you will already be at a higher risk of

contracting diseases. The last thing you want to do is have poisoned mice laying around

and acting as a breeding ground for bacteria and other pathogens.

With regard to sonic deterrent systems, they will only work if they have sufficient power.

Therefore, if you have no electricity, they will be worthless. By the same token, rodent

traps that kill by electrocution will also be useless without power.

When you put money aside each week to build up survival supplies, you may not realize

how vulnerable these items are to mice and rats. While deterring and getting rid of

rodents is not especially difficult, you will still need to take specific actions on a routine

basis and take care to store your supplies correctly.

At the very least, these eight methods are tried and true ones that can be used

effectively in the field for as long as needed.


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Smart Tips on Building a Good

Cellar

No matter how much you may try to disguise your property, set up traps, or plan for

bugging in, there is no replacement for a well hidden and well stocked survival cellar.

Individuals that currently have unfinished cellars with dirt floors or just crawl spaces

under the house may be best able to make some of these modifications.

Alternatively, if you cannot dig under the house safely, then you can build a cellar

separate from any building and then find ways to disguise the entrance.


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The Best Place for a Survival Cellar

Your survival cellar should be on high ground and as far as possible away from

conduits, drains, or anything else that might cause a flood. That being said, if you are

planning to live in the cellar without leaving it for weeks or months, you should try to find

an area where you can easily reach an underwater stream.

Try to locate the cellar in such a way that the underground water source will not flood

the cellar, yet you can still dig through and use a pipe and valve to get the water into the

cellar in a controlled way.

Some other places where you may be able to build something of a survival cellar

include:

Old cave systems with well hidden entrances or areas where you have to climb

down to get to the cellar area.

Old mine, bunker, well, and cistern sites where you can shore up the walls or

build sideways.

Abandoned underground subways or other areas where people are not likely to

look for you or your cache.

Important Things to Do

During the process of planning and building a survival cellar, it is very important to think

about what you will use the cellar for and how much room you will need for each

activity.

Here are some things you should incorporate into each plan:

Make sure the structure is strong enough to build downward with disguises on

each floor.


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Be able to extend the cellar underground without needing to go to the surface or

use complex tools.

Have multiple entrances and tunnels on and off your property.

Be able to supply water and remove wastes without being detected.

Take advantage of passive heating and cooling methods.

Make sure there is enough room to store food, ammunition, weapons, medicine,

and other survival goods.

Leave enough room to grow food using hydroponics.

Reserve an area for growing mushrooms, edible moss, and low light edible

algae.

Look for ways to install power generating features and lighting sufficient to grow

crops and carry on daily living activities.

Think of the cellar as your future home if it becomes impossible to bug out and

bugging in becomes too dangerous.

Choose building materials that are durable and easy to repair if needed.

Consult with engineers and architects to make sure that your building design is

sound and will remain safe in earthquakes, floods, and other situations.

Things You Should Avoid

It is very important to realize that your survival cellar may wind up being used for many

functions, and may also become your home for decades under some circumstances.

Lack of proper planning and building protocols now can truly wreak havoc later on when

you need your cellar to be in top form.

Here are some things you should avoid:

Do not start building your survival cellar without a viable budget.

Do not cut corners or try to use cheaper options just to save money.

Do not do the work yourself if you are not qualified or do not have adequate

resources to do the job.


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Do not believe that your current cellar is good enough just because it is in good

shape or you have already started putting supplies there.

Using Earth Bags to Build Your Cellar

If you cannot take advantage of caves or existing structures, then you will need to find

some way to construct the walls of your cellar. A number of people today are taking

advantage of earthbags to build cellar walls and reinforce them. Across time, military

bunkers and many emergency structures have been constructed using similar

earthbags.

All you will need are some strong sacks and plenty of soil or rock (not sand). Typically,

you can build an earthbag cellar by layering the earthbags like bricks, and then use wire

and plastic sheeting for reinforcement and dampness control.


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While these materials are all inexpensive and easy to obtain, you should still discuss

your plans with an architect or contractor familiar with earthbag cellar construction. In

particular, you will need to know how to setup the curvature of the cellar walls and

create braces within the entire layout for the roof.

Things to Keep in Your Survival Cellar

Once your survival cellar is built, you will need to start stocking it. Aside from the usual

survival items such as food, water, weapons, ammo, medicines, seeds, tools, fuel, and

how-to books, it is also important to store the following:

Materials to triple the size of your cellar plus repair all of the major parts.

Tubing, valves, and other materials to help manage sewage and water needs.

Equipment to control air quality and provide lighting.

Building a survival cellar is very different from simply storing supplies in a pre-existing

structure. In particular, you may need to live in your cellar for weeks or months as well

as manage a number of emergencies that may come up during that time.

If you cannot afford to store away large quantities of food and water, building in lighting

and water features combined with earthbag construction may offer you the best chance

to obtain a relatively inexpensive cellar that will meet all of your survival needs.

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