Good day YouTubers! Muskrat Jim here and today I want to talk about “Beaver Fever”, what it is and how to prevent it.
We’re also going to talk about pocket-sized water filters and chemical tablets you can use to filter and disinfect drinking water.
And finally, I’ll demonstrate the filter and tablets that I carry whenever I venture into the bush.
If you happen to drink untreated water from a Beaver Pond or other place frequented by animals, you risk getting BEAVER FEVER. This is a gastrointestinal illness caused by GIARDIA CYSTS. Symptoms include stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea.
CRYPTOSPORIDIUM and E.COLI bacteria may also be present in the water. These two bad boys can also make you quite sick with pretty much the same symptoms. E.Coli has also been known to cause death in children and the elderly.
In a survival situation, you cant afford to be sick. So it’s very important to treat the water before you drink it.
Filters:
Commercial filters are used to remove the cloudiness, suspended particles down to the microscopic level, and bad taste. There are many commercial filters available on the market. Some are quite expensive, but there are other less expensive pocket-sized ones too.
1. Aquamira Frontier Filter / $10 / 2pc unit / 75 L – 20 gal. / 99.9%
2. Aquamira Frontier Pro / $20 / 2pc unit / 200 L – 50 gal. / 99.9%
3. Life Straw / $30 / 9″ one piece unit + lanyard / 1000 L – 250 gal.
it claims to remove 99.999 including E.Coli
Tablets:
Also available are water disinfection tablets. There are basically two varieties… those that use chlorine as an agent and those that use iodine. Some taste better than others, but they all do the job.
1. Coghlan’s (iodine) 1 tab -> 1qt. 15 minutes
2. Potable Aqua (iodone) 2 tabs -> 1 qt. 30 minutes
3. OASIS (chlorine) 1 tab -> 1 qt. 10 minutes
4. Aquamira (chlorine) 1 tab -> 1 qt. 30 min room temp up to 4 hrs cold
If you REALLY want to be sure your water is safe to drink, after filtering you can sterilize it further by treating it with the tablets.
The filter I use is the Pristine Pioneer Pro, which is the Canadian version of the American Frontier Pro. With this filter you can:
– drink directly from a water source
– screw onto a standard soda pop bottle
– bite valve can be removed and the filter can be gravity fed
– using the hose, it can also attach to standard hydration packs
I also picked up these AQUA tabs at Canadian Tire. 50 tablets for $12.95. These use chlorine as the disinfectant agent. 1 tab -> 1 qt clear water, 2 tabs -> qt cloudy water. Mix well for 10 minutes, let stand for 30 minutes.
I keep a quart-sized zip-loc bag and a few tablets in the back pocket of my Les Stroud Ultimate Mountain Survival Knife. Just in case I am ever separated from my pack. I also carry some in my E.D.C. pouch.
These tablets use chlorine as the active ingredient. The instructions recommend one tablet per quart for clear water and two tablets per quart for cloudy water. It also says to wait 30 minutes for the chlorine to do it’s work.
These tablets also have safe handling instructions and poison warnings because eating a tablet would be a very bad mistake. READ THE PACKAGE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY!! Keep safely out of the reach of children.
Don’t take chances with surface water. With a bit of preparation, it’s easy to make sure your water is safe enough to drink.
So until next time, this is Muskrat Jim signing out.
