Dedicated to
Sabion, Maddie, Kenzie & Ian
Who I hope, if ever need be,
Can take on a Zombie Apocalypse
and do it well
Copyright 2016 Beez Publications
Table of Contents
1. Where to Go & Supplies pg. 5-8
2. Your Fellow Man pg. 8
3. Hotwiring a Car pg. 10
4. Driving a Clutch pg. 12
5. Getting Gas pg. 14
6. Basic First Aid pg. 16
7. Universal Edible Plants pg. 21
8. Universal Healing Plants pg. 22
9. Water pg. 25
10. Fishing pg. 26
11. Fire Starting pg. 30
You’re chillin on your couch watching some evening television. Just finished dinner, a beautiful sunset had marked the evening… Breaking News!! Flashes across the screen as a blonde newscaster looking very frazzled pops up in view. You choke on your beer as the cameras pan out to the streets of Washington D.C. and you see nothing but carnage, panic, fires and violence. The news lady barely gets two words out before you watch in horror as she is pounced on by some creature… The T.V. screen goes black…
Time to go. Not time to worry about what you need to grab. Not time to worry about Washington and if they will tell you what’s happening or not. Time to go! Now! You can already sense the madness piling up outside the front door of your apartment. A scream from the hall distracts you as you try and focus on what you should grab. Your eyes fall on your Beez 24 Hour Zombie Apocalypse Go Bag hanging on the doorknob of your closet and you know you are going to make it. You grab it up by its handy shoulder strap, take out your respirator mask and mini crowbar, and you step out on to the fire escape.
You review the situation on the street below. Chaos has erupted. Shots mix with screams and breaking glass and the sounds jab at you from all sides. Time to go… At the foot of the fire escape is a creature. You don’t know what the hell it is… maybe zombie? Maybe animal? Both? Who knows but it is definitely not your friend.
You have to whack it with the crowbar a few times. Finally it falls to the ground twitching, foaming from the mouth and you run. You run as fast and hard as you can, swinging your mini crowbar as you go. You know it hit things. Whether it was a zombie thing or a human thing you don’t know. No time… got to go! Have to get out and away from the city. You have to slow down, you can’t breathe… You finally reach a place where no one will see you. Panting for air you pull the bottle of water out of your go bag and lift your mask to chug some. The air smells thick and nasty.
Gotta think. Gotta focus. Compass out, you know you should head south, get to the woods… get to the springs… Compass says go left, then straight. You realize your going to need a car. A half-man, half-zombie comes right for you, fast… You swing out and hit it with the crowbar square in the forehead. Brains and blood explode in your face… The thing goes down… UGHH! What the Fuck!???
A big old Monte Carlo car is parked off to your right. You smash a window and extract your “how to hotwire a car” instructions from the bag. Things are running towards the car, you have to hurry. Smashing the plastic under the steering wheel you pull the wires out… Shit! You scramble for the screwdriver and jam it into the ignition banging away with the crowbar… Wires out, up; Thing trying to climb in the window, it’s scratching at your back… Finally!! Spark and start! Woo Hoo!! You shout as you step on the gas flinging your zombie friend into the street behind you. You are on the road. The back road… as Hwy 95 was a parking lot the last time you caught a glimpse of it.
When you reach the fields and farms things start to look a little normal again. The old houses lit up against the dark surroundings. It seems the terror hasn’t reached here yet. You feel you should warn them about the flood of gore and creatures following you out of the city… shot gun blasts fill the air and screams pierce the night. The peaceful scene is broken and you quickly change your mind about warnings and other things. You drive on…
The gas gauge is dipping lower and lower… At a gas station you realize the pumps aren’t on and you have no idea how to fix it so you snatch another car. At least this one is unlocked and with keys! This is the car you will eventually drive into a thick crop of bushes to hide and rest. God only knows what the morning holds. Digging in your bag you pull out the first of your 24 Hour rations. After washing your “dinner” down with some clean water, you fall into an exhausted, restless oblivion.
You are woken by the sound of heavy artillery, shouts and tanks rolling by. Your first instinct is to run out… yell “Here I am!” and beg for help. Your best bet is to stay laying low. As quietly as you can you slip out of the car and walk deeper into the woods. Away from the road and the sounds of Armageddon. As you walk you begin to notice the absence of sounds in the woods. No birds, no animals… Just the far away shouts and screams travelling on the breeze. You smell smoke and follow your nose to an old cabin where you run into another human being.
The old man didn’t have a clue, but he had a “feeling”… He knew something was up. Eventually others would find this place and eventually you will all move out in a group to wander and search for answers and supplies. For now though, you have made it…
Where Ya Gonna Go??
One should always have a plan or at least an idea of what they should do. It’s the year 2016 and even the United States Center for Disease Control (the CDC) has created a plan. You can find this plan online. If you don’t have a plan, if you really thought all the zombie apocalypse stuff was bullshit. This survival guide is for you!
I will tell you that populated cities are the worst places to be. More people equal more zombies. Easy equation. Plus, with all those buildings and places to hide, it’s quite dangerous. Head for the woods, mountains or wide open countryside. These areas not only have less people, but it is a lot easier to find food there.
You would also benefit by finding a place where clean water is easily accessible. Remember if there is no power, there is no clean water coming out of any tap. Modern well pumps run off electric and will be useless. Electricity is used to circulate, pump, and clean city water. It is also used to separate the sewage from the fresh water so just think on that one.
Clean water will eventually be one of the most important resources known to man. Zombie apocalypse or otherwise. Remember that. Thinking about water and how badly humans will need it to survive I like to recall a passage in the Bible: “Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; And thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it that the people may drink.” Exodus 17:6. If we examine this passage from a practical point of view, mountain springs are where the water comes from the rock. Flat land springs also emerge from the bedrock of the aquifer. Just a thought to remember… An alternative to fresh water springs and natural fresh water sources is a water treatment tablet and a coffee filter.
More than likely humans will all be on the move as public protection, public resources and all those things we take for granted will be a thing of the past. Staying in one place will make you a sitting duck, unless there are a lot of ducks sitting, then you may look like a lot of dinner. Staying moving will keep you safe. It will be better if you can stay on the move comfortably like the nomads of old…
Three Considerations of Camp
1. Food
2. Water
3. Defense
*Shelter is a factor but yours will probably be on wheels or in a pack on your back.
Supplies
Your 24 Hour Beez Zombie Apocalypse Go Bag contains just enough to get you through a 24 hour escape frame. You will need to forage and salvage for other things in the long run. Below is a suggested “loot list” for after all structure breaks down. Looting is illegal and unfortunate, but a zombie apocalypse is also unfortunate and you will need supplies even if there is no one around to buy them from. Loot rule #1. If you are going to loot, loot something you can use to survive. Loot rule #2. Stay the hell away from Wal-Mart. It will already be full of zombies and empty shelves.
Zombie Apocalypse Long-Term Survival Supply List:
| Military or Hiking Pack | Tent | |
| Tarps (2) | Bungee Cords | |
| Roll of Twine | Flashlights (Battery Free) | |
| Glow Sticks | Lighters (More than 1) | |
| First Aid Kit | OFF | |
| Compass | Machete | |
| Socks | Poncho | |
| Bar of Soap | Good Hiking Shoes | |
| Multi Tool | Large Hunting or Bowie Knife | |
| Coffee Filters | Water Treatment Tablets | |
| Cook Pot | Sleeping Bag | |
| Utensils | Towel | |
| Cup or Water Bottle | Toilet Paper | |
| Sugar | Asst. Spices – Salt | |
| Non Dairy Creamer | Multi Vitamins | |
| A Bigger Crow Bar | Manual Crank Fuel Pump | |
| Coffee or Tea Bags – Because treated water tastes terrible. |
*Note: Lights and Noise will attract people or zombies, so you really won’t need a whole lot of either at night.
Unfortunately when you are on the move or on the run you tend to lose supplies. You can pretty much count on having to replace your tent and tarps regularly. If you keep everything else packed up in your bag, you will have less chances of losing things.
*Tip: Sleep with your shoes on and your weapon at hand.
Your Fellow Man
Mankind is good and bad. As many folks know by now there are extremely good people and extremely bad people in this world. When catastrophe strikes, there is unfortunately a large part of the population that will take advantage of their fellow man. It’s a shame that we will have to look out for zombies eating us and being preyed upon by shitty humans but that’s what it will come to. If you have a car, someone will want it worse than you. If you have some food, someone will want it worse than you. In the zombie apocalyptical world you should adopt the attitude of a ninja. Silence and stealth are the keys.
Dealing with humans is a different type of situation. It’s easy to see a zombie and smash it in the head… You may feel differently doing that to a human being. Its okay, you should. This part of the guide is to help you determine who you may be able to trust and who not to trust ever, but all of this is always up to you.
1. Hide your stuff, look poor, hungry and crazy. This may not be too hard.
2. Hide and try to scope out others from a vantage point. If there is more than one,
Observe how they are treating each other. How they talk, the mannerisms they
Use.
3. Trust that gut. If it’s telling you to hide, stay hidden.
4. Loneliness and no human contact can cause carelessness. Don’t be fooled by a
pretty face.
5. If you are alone, stay away from large groups.
6. Get a dog, they are much better at “reading” humans.
Special Skills
Some people are better at some things than others. It is what makes us a great society when we are functioning at normal levels. There are some things that you would think would be useful… Making your own butter, canning food, building a house; but we are talking about an “age” specific situation. In the 20’s if you needed butter you made it. You had a cow and a churn, whatever. You’re not going to find that stuff easily in a 21st century zombie apocalypse so forget it until mankind has reestablished itself.
What people should be learning is how to hotwire a car, how to get gas when the pumps are off, how to work on an electric generator (even though, that is a terrible idea – they are not sustainable and make a lot of noise) first aid and stuff like that. Herbal medicine is great. If you can find the stuff in nature. That is not only age specific, but area specific… Herbs grow in New York that do not grow in Florida and vice versa… So let’s highlight some of these skills.
Hot Wiring a Car
You will need:
1. Flat head screwdriver 2. Hammer or something to hammer with 3. Cigarette lighter
Hopefully during a zombie apocalypse no one will be worried about cosmetic issues such as smashed panels and jammed up key mechanisms so this instructional is a faster than light method.
Step 1: Locate the panel under the steering wheel and smash it – No time to mess with screws and such.
Step 2: Grab the mess of wires in there and pull them out so you can see them all. You’re looking for the battery wire and the starter wire. Usually battery or power wires are thick and red with voltage or amperage stamped on them. Starter wires can be yellow or brown. It’s tricky but you can usually see where they are headed. The battery wire will be headed into the vehicle towards the battery, usually to the left or right, wherever the battery is located under the hood. Likewise with the starter.
Step 3: Pull the wires free of the harness and strip the plastic off of them down to about two inches. You can use the lighter to do this, just heat the plastic until it is soft and pull it off.
Step 4: Jam the flathead screwdriver into the ignition, like a key, and bang it in there. This bypasses the ignition switch, just so you know.
Step 5: Use the screwdriver to turn the ignition and unlock it.
Step 6: Touch the wires together and you should get a spark and ignition.
Note: If the vehicle is a clutch or a stick shift you will have to turn the ignition and press the clutch when you touch the wires together.
How to Drive a Clutch or Stick Shift Vehicle
So you just ran and ran until you can’t run anymore. You finally see a truck parked by the side of an old building, Whew! Thank God! You think… you reach the truck, it’s unlocked too! Yay again. There’s no bodies in it… this is getting better and better. Keys hanging in the ignition, you cannot believe your luck. You step on the brake and go to turn the key… Nothing happens. Wtf? Try again. Now your looking around you and notice the gear shifter is different and your foot just knocked up against a third pedal. The zombies are banging on the windows now…
If the only thing you know about driving a clutch is what you read in this manual you might want to brush up on your skills. I can describe it, but doing it makes all the difference. It’s that whole “easing up on the clutch” thing and remembering the gears. Takes some practice. But at least, if you’re reading this now, with zombies banging on the windows, you have some time to do that practice.
Step 1: Key in the ignition
Step 2: Foot down on the clutch – That’s that pedal all the way to the left and you want it all the way to the floor.
Step 3: Start the car – You have to keep the clutch pressed in while you turn the key.
Step 4: Keep your foot on the clutch. You will notice if you release it, the car dies.
Step 5: Look at the gear shifter – If it hasn’t all rubbed off, there should be a little diagram there of the different gears. Up to the left is first, down to the left is second, etc. You need to be in first gear to start the car and to drive off.
Step 6: Change your right foot from brake pedal to gas pedal, left foot still pressing on the clutch.
Step 7: Slowly press down on the gas while you slowly lift up on the clutch. Lifting up on the clutch too fast will stall the car. Pressing on the gas too hard will cause you to take off burning rubber.
Step 8: Feel for the engine strain and switch gears. Keep them in order. The middle of the gears is Neutral and you can coast, take your foot off the clutch, or idle the car in Neutral.
You should be going up the road pretty slowly now. Your next step is to press the clutch in and switch gears to second, then third, etc.
Step 9: Continue the “clutch down, shift gears, clutch slowly up, gas slowly down” procedure until your engine feels like it is running comfortably without strain.
Step 10: A common vehicle usually has 4 or 5 gears to go through.
Speed/Engine Strain Chart:
Park-10 MPH = First Gear
10MPH – 25MPH = Second Gear
25MPH – 40MPH = Third Gear
40MPH – 55MPH = Fourth Gear
55MPH and above = Fifth Gear
Getting Gas
So you found a car and you’re on your way. Driving down the road of an apocalyptical world. Everything you see is yours, a wasteland of what once was. The car putters and you start scanning the sides of the road, looking for any abandoned vehicles.
A big red pickup truck found, its color now turned a dirty brown color by the atmosphere… you have seen this done on T.V. your just not sure exactly how it works… The one thing you do know is you don’t want a big mouthful of petrol… like you’ve seen on T.V.
Siphoning
You will need:
1. A short hose- but long enough to reach from car to bucket
2. A bucket, gas can or other container
Step 1: Locate the gas tank on the vehicle and open it up.
Step 2: Insert the hose into the gas tank until it stops.
Step 3: Suck gently on the open end of the hose until you taste just a little bit of gas – this gets better with practice.
Step 4: Direct the hose and gas down into the bucket or container, using gravity to pull it from the vehicles tank and into the bucket.
Gas Pumps
Electricity runs the pumps. You probably never noticed what the store clerk was doing when they turned them on anyways so that makes no difference.
There are manuals and such about connecting to generators and whatnot but if you have just pulled into a dead station, your probably not going to have enough gas left to keep your battery running long enough to work a 12V fuel pump… So manually is the way to go! Sustainability people… humans can build pyramids, we can do this.
See those holes here in this picture? You’ve probably noticed them at the gas station before. These are the entrances to all the gas held in large tanks under ground.
This is a manual fuel pump:
You’re going to have to pry the cover off of the holes in the parking lot. Your mini crowbar should work. A hose can be attached to the top of this device and that part will go into your vehicle. The long metal pipe part of this device will go into the hole with the gasoline, then you will turn the crank and pump the gas.
Another method that you should be able to do rather easily, it’s just going to take more time, is to tie your twine around a cup or something and lower it into the hole as many times as it takes to fill your gas tank.
Basic First Aid
You will need:
1. Gauze wrap bandages 2. Any kind of tape but Scotch 3. Bottle of Alcohol – drinking or rubbing (the first can help two ways) 4. Soap and Water 5. Antibiotic Ointment
6. Some kind of sturdy stick if there is a break.
We could do a whole chapter on basic first aid but all I’m covering is emergency situations such as gashes, breaks, and fighting infections. Everyone knows if you get bit you’re a gonner… I have nothing for that.
Your Running and You Fall in a Hole
Now you can’t walk and your ankle has swollen to the size of a baseball. If the zombies or gangs you were running from haven’t gotten you yet, you may have to worry about your ankle being sprained or broken. At this point it might as well be the same thing except with the break you are going to:
1. Swiftly pull and straighten the ankle or appendage with the swelling. If you have the drinking alcohol here’s where you may want to take a swig.
2. Place the stick or “splint” on the underside of the ankle or appendage.
3. Wrap firmly with the gauze, attaching the stick to the appendage and secure with tape.
4. Don’t walk on it for about a month or two and massage regularly.
If it’s just a sprain, just wrap it tightly but not so tight you cut off circulation and stay off of it until it feels better.
Your Compadre Thought You Were a Zombie and Slashed Your Arm with a Machete
1. Reassess your compadre.
2. As soon as possible wash it out with soap and water. If no soap and water, refer to #3.
3. Douse it with alcohol. Make sure it really gets in there, you’ll know it.
4. If it’s bleeding profusely you will want to make a couple thick pads out of the gauze. Put one on and press firmly for 30 seconds or so. If blood seeps through, add another pad. Do not remove the first pads; just keep adding them until no more blood is seeping through.
5. Wrap with ointment, gauze and tape. Keep it clean. Change the dressing everyday or when it gets dirty and when it finally begins to heal (skin has sealed up) leave it open, keeping it clean until it’s fully healed.
You Scraped Your Arm Last Week and Did Nothing; Now the Skin is Swollen, it is Red, and it Itches, Am I Turning Into a Zombie??
Nope, just a regular old infection that can get in your bloodstream, turn gangrenous and kill you… Then you’ll be a zombie.
1. Wash the whole area really well with soap and water.
2. Douse with alcohol.
3. Put antibiotic ointment on it.
4. Cover and remove covering in about 24 hours. Let the wound air out and heal. If it gets funky again, repeat the process.
I Ate This Stuff I Found in the Trash and Now I’m Too Sick to Move
Sorry bout that. Can’t help that stuff in the zombie apocalypse… What can help is prevention. Here are some signs that what you are about to eat is not right:
1. It has fuzzy stuff on it. Unless this is cheese, leave it alone. Bread mold actually goes inside and all over so removing just the green part won’t help much… unless you’re trying for penicillin. With cheese you just need to cut off the fuzzy part, the rest should be okay.
2. Dairy products – except for cheese and butter- should not be consumed. They were all refrigerated at one point before the power went out… I would be surprised if the smell didn’t put one off to begin with.
3. It smells, don’t eat it.
4. Leave the old rotten meat alone. It too was once refrigerated and should smell like death.
5. This can has popped open a little… can I eat it? No! Once air gets inside a can of food it starts to grow bacteria. Bacteria that will mess you up.
6. If you are at the beach or river, don’t eat any dead things washed up on the shore. Seafood has to be live or refrigerated before you eat it. Same with finding things like road kill. If you do choose to go this route, make sure the food is thoroughly burned to well done.
7. Worse case scenario, drink water and induce vomiting until there is nothing left in you.
8. What is safe to eat: Canned goods in sealed cans, things that have never been refrigerated, eggs out of the chicken coop, and other things like non-moldy cereals, crackers and other grains. Chickens, fish, birds, cats, dogs, horses, rabbits, squirrels, raccoons… if your going to squirrel hunt, just make sure you cook it really well to get out all the parasites and worms.
Foods that grow in the wild should only be eaten if you absolutely know what you are eating. Slight variations in certain things like mushrooms or berries can kill you.
Universal Edible Plants
Eating wild plants can turn into a life or death situation. With so many of those going around, you might not want to mess with it a stick to scouting cans of beanie weenies… If you don’t know what you are looking for, just don’t mess with it is my motto. There are some plants though, that are very easy to recognize and are your friend.
1. Cattails – Ditch potatoes – The cattails grow along side of the ditches pretty much everywhere. They are easily recognized by their black spiked, pill shaped, fuzzy brown head sitting atop a tall green stalk. All you have to do with a cattail is pull it straight out of the mud. The root is quite similar to a potato. Eat it however you like.
2. Blackberries & Raspberries – Very easy to recognize, look like tiny red or black clusters of grapes.
3. Wild Grapes – Look for the vine. Wild grapes look a lot like a very poisonous little purple berry that grows everywhere. It grows on a bush, the grapes grow on a vine.
4. Palmetto Hearts – Here in Florida we have no shortage of palmetto plants. They are in mass proliferation as they are all up the east and west coasts. In the center of the palmetto is a thick white stalk. This pulls right out of there and can be salted and boiled to make a tasty dish affectionately called “Swamp Cabbage”.
5. Seaweed – Looks and smells like the worst, but it’s good and good for you. Seaweed is actually the best dried. The natural salt rises to the surface and makes a tasty treat. Hang it up in the sun a few days and let it dry out. Seaweed also makes a very good soup.
So that’s just the top few plants that are everywhere and can possibly sustain you until you get to the abandoned grocery or finally spear that squirrel.
Universal Healing Plants
One cannot teach about healing or edible plants in a small survival guide… Unless there are pictures, that’s helpful. There are too many and they are too varied by location to possibly know them all without years of experience or a guidebook. At any rate, there are some very common things that we see every day, everywhere that can help in quite a few situations.
The only problem I have with herbal medicine today is that our bodies are so accustomed to strong pain relievers and antibiotics that a lot of the herbal medicines can’t compete. The herbs and fruits listed here work, and they are easily recognized.
1. White Willow Bark – Can be chewed on for aspirin-type qualities. The willow tree is pretty recognizable. They grow everywhere and you can’t miss the tree that looks like a green Cousin It. If you have a headache, pains or possibly think you might be having a heart attack, get to chewing on some of this. Keep some with you if you find a tree, just shave off some of the bark with your knife. Don’t forget to thank the tree!
2. White Sage – This may not be plentiful where you are but it does grow in quite a few states that you may find yourself in later. This is the best stuff every for a toothache. It’s like a liquid root canal so brace yourself. You should boil the leaves in water until the water turns brown and then use the tonic hot as a mouthwash. It is going to burn, but when you get through all that pain, the toothache is gone and I have yet to have a saged tooth bother me ever again.
White Sage grows wild in Washington State, Oregon, California, Eastern Canada, Texas and surrounding states, Northern Mexico, Montana, Utah, Colorado and the Great Plains States. Look for it around streams, in prairie areas, and in sandy, rocky soil. It grows in a bush type of plant and has long jagged edged leaves that are a lighter green, soft and slightly fuzzy. You cannot miss the smell, it is extremely pungent.
3. Aloe Vera – Ahh the cool qualities of the Aloe Vera. Whilst learning and playing with fire in the zombie apocalypse you may want to keep some of this on hand as well. It will help with that nasty sunburn you could get walking everywhere too. Aloe Vera is well known for treating burns and in a lot of cases modern medicine has yet to find a good competitor. It also works well mixed in with water for heart burn and stomach ailments. Native only to North Africa, it is very easily transported and if you ever wonder how it was spread all over the world, look to the ancient nomads of our planet.
Aloe grows well in any place with a warm, dry climate; that said, there are many huge Aloe plants growing in Florida where it’s not so dry… So it’s a pretty adaptable plant. You could run into one anywhere. As mentioned above, its best use is to treat burns and you do this by breaking open one of the leaves at the bottom and rubbing the gel from the plant on the burn.
You can recognize an Aloe by its thick, lighter green leaves which grow in a triangular shape towards the sky. They have short barbs going down each side of the leaf and they can range from tiny little houseplants to humongous things growing by the side of the road. If you can’t find one in the wild, I’m sure you will have no trouble finding one at some abandoned plant nursery.
4. Cranberry – Oh man… all this adaptation has not helped your body at all… In fact, your whole system has had enough and when you pee it burns… Bad. Pains in the guts, burning pee… Look to a urinary tract infection, something that occurs for many reasons in our modern times and not all of them are known. Anyways, the cranberry grows up the east coast from North Carolina to Eastern Canada and up the west coast from California on northwards. The fruit ripens in the months of late August thru Early November. The color of the berries on the bush should be from a dark purple to a purple to a red graduation, to a bright red color. They look just like the ones in the grocery store.
One thing about Cranberry, it is not sweet at all. The cranberry is so sour that you will wish you had a lemon to chase it down with, but it works. It works fast and in any form. You can chew them up, squash or dry them and mix them with water to make juice, or you can dry them and carry them with you.
5. Oranges – Oranges were what the Spanish used to fight scurvy on ships. Scurvy occurs when you don’t have enough proper nutrients in your diet. So does Gout. The Orange is so full of absorbable Vitamin C that nothing can stop it. The more you eat, the better you will feel. Florida and California are full of wild Orange trees and they can be found domestically all over the United States. The fruit usually ripens in the fall months but like the Cranberry, the natural and wild Orange is a sour and bitter thing.
6. Cobwebs – Not an Herb or Plant but definitely a life saver. Cobwebs can be found anywhere thanks to our friends the industrious little spiders and they have the magical ability to clot blood. If you have a gushing wound, pack it full of cobwebs and the bleeding will stop shortly.
How to Find, Clean and Purify Water
So there you go, walking along… It’s now July… Last drop of precious water went down your throat about an hour ago. This sucks, but by now you’ve got this covered, at least if you can find a stream, river, large lake, creek or spring. If you’re smart you picked up quite a few of those boxes of water purification tabs. A lot hopefully, and some coffee filters.
You listen closely… Everything is silent. Since the zombies arrived not much made noise anymore… except for the water, remember these things about water:
“In areas where no surface water is available, dig into the damp soil and allow this muddy water to settle and become clear. Be careful of stagnant water with little or no signs of life… To increase your chances of finding water, look for the following:
1. Valleys and low areas are places where water naturally drains.
2. Rock crevices. Rainwater may have collected there.
3. Muddy or damp ground.
4. Patches of green vegetation indicate water of some sort.
5. Places where animal tracks converge, there may be a water source nearby.
6. Insects, as they often stay close to water.
7. Birds, as they will often circle a watering hole.”
Source:
http://www.wilderness-survival-skills.com/how-to-find-water.html
That is a great source so I figured I would just put the whole thing in there. So once you have found the water, you will take out your coffee filters, cook pot, treatment tablets and cup. Fill your cup with water from the source and run it through the coffee filter into the cook pot. You can boil the water first, then put the tablet in. This will give you better tasting water; or you can just drop the tablet into the filtered water. If you have no water treatment tablets, you can boil the water (after filtering) at a good rolling boil for about 5-10 min and that should do the trick.
Fishing- Crabbing- Oystering-Clam Digging
Since your not too keen on taking chances with getting poisoned by your lack of Au Naturel knowledge, you decide to head to the shore, river or ocean; it doesn’t matter which, sun, surf and fish… it just sounds better to you.
I’m not too sure you’ll be alone once you get there since the beach or river seems the better choice if you can get there. Nearly all of the ancient civilizations started near a clean, fresh source of water. I’m biased, I’m a natural born Floridian… Anyhoo, the water does have its perks.
Fishing
Ain’t much to say about fishing but that you do it. There are 4 basic elements to fishing: A pole or stick, fishing line or string, a hook and some bait. A hand net or cast net is handy to have as well – and maybe a small towel. There are sharp scales that run down the back of some fish that can stab you and give you a nasty infection. It helps to hold the fish with the towel or something that will protect your hand while you get the hook out.
Getting Bait
1. Worms (Freshwater) – If things are okay under ground, there should be some pretty large earthworms just under the dirt. Find some nice, rich dark dirt just off of the riverbank. Dig down a little and you will find many fat earthworms.
Putting them on the hook – Stick the hook in the top of the worm and carefully follow the curve of the hook as you put it through the whole worm, there might be some tail squiggling around but that is good.
2. Rotten Baloney, Hot Dogs, Chicken and Cheese (Freshwater) – This stuff is great for an assortment of freshwater creatures. Catfish and crabs love about the same things. Squash some cheese and chicken together and wrap with baloney. Your sure to get a crab or catfish.
Catfish Trap: Take a baseball size rock, a half a block of cheese and a piece of raw chicken. Put the cheese in between the chicken and the rock and tie it all together tightly. Tie the end of your roll of twine to it. Tie about 3 hooks to a piece of fishing line. Carefully wrap and secure this to the rock and stuff so that the hooks can swing freely in the water. You can test this by checking it in the shallows there. Toss it out into the water, secure the twine to something and wait. When it jerks hard check it a little. If there’s a heaviness to it, start to pull it in. You should start to get a fight, hang on and just keep pulling dinner in slowly.
Crab Trap: Take one end of your roll of twine and tie it tightly around a piece of raw chicken. Secure your twine roll to something (no need to cut the twine unless you want to or you want to make more traps) and the crabs will be there shortly. Reel them in slowly with the twine, they won’t let go of the chicken unless you really shake them up. Make sure you get the crabs all the way onto the sand or they will run back into the water. This will actually work with fresh or salt water crabs.
Pan Fish: If you have some really tiny hooks, put a small piece of baloney or hot dog on there and drop it into the freshwater. Watch the tiny pan fish come a running!
Oysters, Fiddler Crabs, Crabs, Sand Fleas, and Scrimps (Saltwater)
The beauty of these lovlies are that they are both delicious to man and fish. It’s not a normal delicacy, but in the zombie apocalypse, some little pan fried Fiddlers are crunchy but not too bad. It would be better to have what they can catch for you though.
Oysters can be used to chum the water up and attract fish. Chumming means to basically flood the area you are fishing in with bait. A good amount of oysters crushed up pretty good and dumped into the water will bring in all sorts of good things. Throw in some Fiddlers and Sand Fleas for flavor.
Fiddlers – When your hanging out on that abandoned state park walkway down by the water; look down. You’ll probably see some little brown crabs with one large claw. He is waving it defensively as he skitters sideways away from you and you may think its some mutant from the situation at hand. It is not. He is bait, food or pet. Whatever your use may be you can catch them relatively easy, the pinch is not bad if he gets you, just try and stay away from the big claw.
Putting them on the hook – Get ahold of that little sucker around the base of the big claw. Start the hook in the side, in between the top and bottom shell. Let it curve through naturally just so the hook barely pokes out the other side.
Sand Fleas – Are down by the ocean shore in the wet sand. These are a little more difficult to get. It helps if you have a shovel, but large desperate handfuls of sand will work too. Looking at the sand as the water pulls away you will see a lot of little holes with bubbles of water. Sand Fleas live in those holes. Dig down in the sand around the holes about 6 inches or so. They look like tiny reddish horseshoe crabs and are harmless to you but will attract all sorts of larger, tasty fish.
Putting them on the hook – Notice that the shell tapers down to a point. That’s his butt. You want to start to put the hook in the other end, in between the shell and the belly shell. Let the hook curve naturally until you can see it just barely sticking out the other side.
Shrimps – Are caught easiest in a cast net during the full moon while the tide is high. That is all I have to say about that. But if you happen to run across some nasty ol thawed out ones in an abandoned grocery, here’s what you can do with them.
Putting them on the hook – Start at the head and stick the hook in just under where the head shell meets the body. Let the hook curve in naturally with the curve of the shrimp. It may or may not stick out of the body.
*Note: You can always add jigs, flies, weights, fancy fishing poles and cast nets to your loot list too… This is just the basics.
Starting a Fire
Fire starting is not too difficult if you know what you are doing. As long as you have a source of flame to begin with. If you do not, I would suggest learning the mirror trick… being from the Sunshine State, I can tell you it is a lot easier than rubbing sticks together.
If you have a mirror (doesn’t matter what size) and a small pile of very dry leaves, tree fuzz and other highly flammable materials; you can use the mirror to direct a ray of sunlight into the pile. Hold it there for about a minute or two and it should start to smoke. Once you see some signs of fire, blow gently on the pile to get it going. Be easier with a lighter though…
Building a fire takes a little bit of patience. I have seen many potential fires go up in smoke because people do not let it grow. You cannot build a big pile of stuff and expect to be able to light it and have a bonfire. You must start small and work your way up.
1. Collect some very tiny dry sticks, not much bigger than toothpicks. Check to make sure they are dry by snapping a few in half. If they snap right away its good, but if you have to bend and peel them, they are too wet.
2. Make a small teepee looking pile out of the sticks. If you have some paper or fabric, put it in the middle of the tiny teepee of sticks. Light this.
3. As your tiny fire builds, add small amounts of more tiny sticks, leaves, and dry grass to build heat and then you can start adding some slightly bigger sticks.
4. Gradually add wood and burnables by size according to the size of the fire. When the fire is large enough, you can start adding larger logs and wood.
5. Blowing softly on the fire will help get it going as well.
3 Elements to Fire
1. Fuel 2. Heat Source 3. Oxygen
This concludes this little survival guide and I would like to include this thought. When and if the end of the world occurs know this, you are never alone, no matter how alone you may feel. Even with all of the survival skills on Earth, loneliness and a feeling of being all alone can cripple a human, make them go crazy. Get you some faith in something. Mine is in God. With Him, I know that I have back up, no matter what. Yours may be whatever, whoever, but they are helping you from another plane of existence. Believe that.