Food storage

Just a quick heads up for anyone planning to store food.

If you have a Tractor Supply near you or want to order online, they have 5 gal food grade certified buckets for dirt cheap. I looked online at some and thought "Holy smokes!" The ones I saw were $30 or more.
I found these at Tractor Supply for $5. Good, heavy duty plastic, But The Lids Are Sold Separate. Make sure you order lids if you're buying online.

Even if you're going to go with vacuum packing, it would be an extra layer of protection against mice or insects and doesn't break the bank.

Lowe's has the same thing for $8 bucks, but hey...3 dollars is 3 dollars. I know they may not be as good as the super duper $30 buckets, but I got 6 and that's $180 vs $30.


www.tractorsupply.com...

Good advice ……I live in south Florida , waaaaay down at the end . We don’t have a Lowe’s or tractor supply near us . I am closer to Cuba than any Walmart, tractor supply or Lowe’s . I have been slowly trying to educate myself on survival techniques . For buckets , we re-use our tidy cat litter buckets . Comes with a lid , and after we use the litter , we keep and use the bucket. My worry is water . I have been trying to figure out the water issue , if SHTF .

a reply to: Meldionne1

lol I can't tell you how many of those Tidy Cats buckets we have. I use them for just about everything except food. I even have one that is my bait storage/chair when I'm fishing. I'm kinda surprised they don't sell just the buckets. Some I've had for several years and those things are damn near indestructible.

South Florida.....food storage could be tricky with all the heat and humidity. Maybe look into smoking and curing meats. If SHTF electricity will be gone and a deep freezer would be useless.
Also, if you live near the ocean, invest in some fishing gear. Seafood will be a big part of your diet.

a reply to: DAVID64

sorry to burst your bubble, but plastic is no deterrent for mice or other rodents. metal and glass is the only ticket for rodent save container.
there are some technical solutions to make certain containers or whole areas rodent proof...

a reply to: Terpene

Nope.

I've had veggies stored all winter in a plastic bucket, lined with straw all winter, in a pole barn, where there are chickens. No mice whatsoever.

I can most everything OP, but I may get one or two for the rice & such.

Thanks for the link

originally posted by: Terpene
a reply to: DAVID64

sorry to burst your bubble, but plastic is no deterrent for mice or other rodents. metal and glass is the only ticket for rodent save container.
there are some technical solutions to make certain containers or whole areas rodent proof...

If you are experiencing problems using plastic pails with lids then I was just reading where rodents hate aluminum foil because it has sharp edges and they can't get a grasp of it. Why not cover the plastic pail with it?

I am also reading if rodents are OK to eat. City ones - not so much because they eat garbage, live in sewers, and resort to canabalism, which all gives the mice various diseases. Country mice, however, would be the safer bet or to start farming mice for food even better because you can control the cleanliness of their pens. Preparing the mice is a must to research to deal with any diseases and scent gland chemicals on the fur, etc.

originally posted by: Meldionne1
Good advice ……I live in south Florida , waaaaay down at the end . We don’t have a Lowe’s or tractor supply near us . I am closer to Cuba than any Walmart, tractor supply or Lowe’s . I have been slowly trying to educate myself on survival techniques . For buckets , we re-use our tidy cat litter buckets . Comes with a lid , and after we use the litter , we keep and use the bucket. My worry is water . I have been trying to figure out the water issue , if SHTF .

In Florida you literally have food throwing themselves at you!
You are right water is a big issues, but you also have that throwing itself at you (rain)
Figure out a good rain collection and purification system and you'll be gold.

If there is a drougt and not enough rain learn to look for signs of underground aquifers. Where you are at it may still have salt in it. Learn other methods like evaporation systems, sand filters, getting water from trees and plants.

a reply to: quintessentone

I am also reading if rodents are OK to eat. City ones - not so much because they eat garbage, live in sewers, and resort to canabalism, which all gives the mice various diseases. Country mice, however, would be the safer bet or to start farming mice for food even better because you can control the cleanliness of their pens. Preparing the mice is a must to research to deal with any diseases and scent gland chemicals on the fur, etc.

The level of chaos it would take for people to have to resort to eating mice would be highly unusual, and in a lot of case that would mean inprisonment or complete anarchy with other animals like birds being hard to get at.

originally posted by: DAVID64
a reply to: Meldionne1

If SHTF electricity will be gone and a deep freezer would be useless.
.

Thats why you need solar panels, a large battery bank, and multi generator back up.


I use the more expensive multi color buckets, with Gamma lids. The gasketed screw top will allow easy access. I drop in a chunk of dry ice, fill the bucket, then screw on the top loosely. Then tighten down the screw top after the dry ice has done its thing. I have stacks of these buckets, full of foods like rice, beans, pasta, salt, etc.

a reply to: chiefsmom

I suppose you were lucky, there is enough leftover from the chickens, and the place was kept mice free with poison and traps?
rodents will get trough a plastic container without a problem if they have to.

I've lived out and about for long enough to know what stops the little buggers, plastic is not part of it...

a reply to: Terpene
Fun fact about chickens. They will kill and eat mice.

a reply to: Meldionne1
Please don't worry about water. Have you ever seen any movies with Moonshiners in? No mater what others tell you stilling liquid (whether for alcohol or potable water) is as easy as falling off a bike. AND you have a really big pool by you called the Atlantic. You just need the right equipment, keep it clean and be safety conscious. The hardest part is a cooling coil, but if you know a good plumber (or do it yourself) the rest is just a boiler.

a reply to: Quadrivium

The good ones indeed, a cat is still better at it...

originally posted by: quintessentone

originally posted by: Terpene
a reply to: DAVID64

sorry to burst your bubble, but plastic is no deterrent for mice or other rodents. metal and glass is the only ticket for rodent save container.
there are some technical solutions to make certain containers or whole areas rodent proof...

I am also reading if rodents are OK to eat. City ones - not so much because they eat garbage, live in sewers, and resort to canabalism, which all gives the mice various diseases. Country mice, however, would be the safer bet or to start farming mice for food even better because you can control the cleanliness of their pens. Preparing the mice is a must to research to deal with any diseases and scent gland chemicals on the fur, etc.

I can't think of a more disgusting and inefficient food to raise.

Guinea Pigs would be way better, they get really fat and are actually raised for food in places, plus, as a bonus, their skins can be used for clothing.

Or you could just give up completely and raise crickets...

a reply to: MykeNukem

They'll loot the mice farm after the cricket one, if ever...

originally posted by: Terpene
a reply to: MykeNukem

They'll loot the mice farm after the cricket one, if ever...

I'm sure you've read about my distaste for all things cricket....but yea...I'd rather eat crickets than rats and mice ffs.

There are way better solutions than that, lol.

Could easily be stored in OPs buckets, too.

a reply to: MykeNukem

We conclude, miice is a loot proof option to consider in a SHTF scenario...

originally posted by: MykeNukem

originally posted by: quintessentone

originally posted by: Terpene
a reply to: DAVID64

sorry to burst your bubble, but plastic is no deterrent for mice or other rodents. metal and glass is the only ticket for rodent save container.
there are some technical solutions to make certain containers or whole areas rodent proof...

I am also reading if rodents are OK to eat. City ones - not so much because they eat garbage, live in sewers, and resort to canabalism, which all gives the mice various diseases. Country mice, however, would be the safer bet or to start farming mice for food even better because you can control the cleanliness of their pens. Preparing the mice is a must to research to deal with any diseases and scent gland chemicals on the fur, etc.

I can't think of a more disgusting and inefficient food to raise.

Guinea Pigs would be way better, they get really fat and are actually raised for food in places, plus, as a bonus, their skins can be used for clothing.

Or you could just give up completely and raise crickets...

If you bother to research it, country mice that is, and if one is in dire straits, in the country that is, then it becomes a necessity to learn how to catch, kill, prepare and cook all types of food sources, including insects.

I guess my wilderness survival courses, which required us to lift up rotting logs and eat whatever is slithering underneath, has equipped me for success in a survival scenario.

originally posted by: Terpene
a reply to: MykeNukem

We conclude, miice is a loot proof option to consider in a SHTF scenario...

Yep, instead of using the buckets to keep mice out, fill the buckets with mouse jerky, AND it'll keep the live ones out.

Win-win, really, lol.

originally posted by: quintessentone

originally posted by: MykeNukem

originally posted by: quintessentone

originally posted by: Terpene
a reply to: DAVID64

sorry to burst your bubble, but plastic is no deterrent for mice or other rodents. metal and glass is the only ticket for rodent save container.
there are some technical solutions to make certain containers or whole areas rodent proof...

I am also reading if rodents are OK to eat. City ones - not so much because they eat garbage, live in sewers, and resort to canabalism, which all gives the mice various diseases. Country mice, however, would be the safer bet or to start farming mice for food even better because you can control the cleanliness of their pens. Preparing the mice is a must to research to deal with any diseases and scent gland chemicals on the fur, etc.

I can't think of a more disgusting and inefficient food to raise.

Guinea Pigs would be way better, they get really fat and are actually raised for food in places, plus, as a bonus, their skins can be used for clothing.

Or you could just give up completely and raise crickets...

If you bother to research it, country mice that is, and if one is in dire straits, in the country that is, then it becomes a necessity to learn how to catch, kill, prepare and cook all types of food sources, including insects.

I guess my wilderness survival courses, which required us to lift up rotting logs and eat whatever is slithering underneath, has equipped me for success in a survival scenario.

I'll be as gentle as I can.

Courses don't teach you #. You have to go out and do it, for extended periods.

I've been actually going out and surviving with only my wits in the bush for over 20 years, in the roughest wilderness in the world, in both summer and winter, with almost the coldest temperatures in the world.

I know what I'm talking about.

Chewing a mouse takes more calories than it provides. So, your solution is to eat a lot of them? Mice contain zero useful fat, and you will slowly die from that lack of fat. Same thing with insects and worms.

This isn't like on TV.