Finding Food
You can go weeks without food, however hunger can weaken
you, and impair your “will
to survive”. Lack of food can also increase
your chances of hypothermia, and effect your overall
health and feeling of well being.
In this section we will go over the very basics of
finding food. Hunting mammals, gathering plants, and
other advanced techniques will be covered in greater
detail in future updates.
Insects & Snails
Insects are one of the best survival foods available;
they are easy to find & catch, and are high in protein
and fat. In a life or death survival situation you need
to get over the yuk-factor and do what it takes to survive.
Slugs, snails, grubs, earthworms, mealworms, ants,
termites, locust, grasshoppers, and crickets are some
examples of creatures that can be eaten. Insects can
usually be eaten raw (grasshoppers,
locus, and crickets should be cooked to kill parasites),
but will taste better if fried, roasted, or boiled.
You can find insects inside of rotted logs, and under
tree limbs. There are always insects to be found around
water, and under leaves.
Plants
If you don’t know what your eating, don’t
eat it! Watching what animals eat proves nothing; some
animals can ingest toxins that are harmful to humans.
Choosing plants for food is beyond this basic survival
guide, for an advanced plant gathering guide check out
our “Advanced Gathering” survival guide.
Mushrooms
Don’t eat mushrooms unless you are 100% sure
that it is safe!!! Mushrooms can kill the untrained.
Water Wildlife
Fish, are the next easiest to catch food source. Turtles,
frogs, snakes, newts, salamanders, lizards, mollusks,
crustaceans, shrimp, and ells are some of the available
food that can be found near fresh & salt water.
Fishing
The best times to fish is before dawn, and after dusk.
Use bait (small fish, worms, etc.), or create a lure
out of a shinny piece of metal to attract fish.
You can make fish hooks out of natural
or man-made materials
You can make fishing line from plant or cloth fibers.
Some materials that work well for fishing line are the
inner bark of trees, hemp, nettle, milkweed, yucca,
and reeds.
- Gather the fibers together and tie one end together.
- Tie the strands onto something solid (tree branch,
etc.).
- Separate into two separate strands.
- Twist each strand clockwise.
- Wrap the strands together in a counter clockwise
motion.
- Tie the lose end together.
You can also set out trot lines, and check them every
hour.
You can also make a fishing spear out of many man-made
& natural materials.
You can make a fish net for catching smaller fish,
or pulling large fish to shore.
You can also make several handy types of traps for
catching fish.
You can even poison fish by dumping a lot of lime into
the water. Heat coral, or shells till brittle, and beat
into a powder to create lime (or use lime stone).
Hunting
We will only cover a few types of traps here, for more
hunting techniques visit our “advances hunting
guide”.
Noosing Wand
A noosing wand can be used for catching a variety of
animals including lizards and nesting birds.
Squirrel Pole
Ground Snares
Dead Falls
Preparing Food
Below are recommended methods for cooking various foods.
Insects
Fry, boil, or eat raw (grasshoppers, locus, and crickets
should be cooked to kill parasites).
Frogs
Skin, cook, and eat the whole body.
Salamanders
Skin, gut, and eat.
Snakes
Cut of the head, gut, skin, cook, and eat.
Lizards
Skin, gut, cook, and eat. Small lizards can be skewed
and cooked whole; meat is done once skin bubbles and
cracks.
Turtles
Birds
Pluck feathers, gut, cook, and eat.
Mammals
Skin, gut, cook, and eat.
Tip: You can skew small animals, and
burn off the hair; this will help to kill parities,
ticks, and fleas that may carry diseases.
Fish
Gut, remove scales, and cook. (You can fillet the fish,
but cook and eat all of the remains.).
Cooking
One of the fastest ways to cook something is by skewing
it, and cooking over open flames. You can boil many
foods to remove unsavory flavors, and to retain many
of their vitamins and minerals.
Boiling
If you don’t have a pot available for boiling,
you can use natural and man-made materials.
Turtle Shell
Coconut Shell
Sea Shell
Bamboo
Rock Method for Boiling
For non-fireproof pots, you can heat rocks and place
in your water. Keep replacing cooled rocks with hot
rocks until your food has been adequately boiled.
Warning:
Porous rocks, water logged river rocks, and concrete
may explode when heated.
Wood Bowl
Animal Stomach
Animal Hide (Skin)
Wool, or other water resistant material
Cooking Fires
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