One thing a prepper knows if they have been prepping for a while is no matter how many supplies you have, it's still important to use what's around you. That is why it is important to know all the different ways something as simple as tree bark can be used. This way you will make the most of everything that's available. You'll be amazed at how beneficial tree bark really can be!

Five Ways Tree Bark Can Be Used To Survive Are:

1. Tinder
Once trunks and branches have died and become a little bit rotten, the species with a fibrous inner bark can be peeled to yield fire building tinder. Generally, the longer the fiber strips – the better the tinder.
2. Rope
Most of the long strips of dead bark that are good for tinder can also be used for rope, cord and string production. Basswood and mulberry are excellent prospects, yielding strong durable cordage. Tulip poplar and cedar barks make mid-grade cordage.

3. Medicine
Red oak inner bark can be chopped from live branches and boiled in water until brown to release tannic acid. This solution is great at soothing inflamed skin, rashes, ingrown toenails and many other maladies of the skin. Slippery elm twig bark can be steeped in hot water as a tea and slowly sipped to relieve coughs and sore throat. Black willow twig bark can be scraped and made into tea for use as a pain relieving beverage.
4. Bedding
The corky, airy nature of most outer tree bark materials can make a natural barrier between you and the cold wet ground. Lay them on the ground in your shelter, and then use a thin layer of vegetation on top to soften the bed.
5. Containers
Bark buckets, baskets and containers can be made from the thin-skinned barks of birch, tulip poplar, cedar.

As you can see, tree bark has many more uses than you may have never even thought about. It can be used for tinder to help keep a fire burning and as a rope when you don't have one available to you.

If you are feeling sick or in pain, tree bark can also be used as medicine to help you feel better. It may sound strange but it can also be used as bedding and for making a container to store items that you collect. You'll definitely want to use tree bark as much as possible when SHTF.

To learn more ways tree bark can be used to survive, visit Outdoor Life.

Featured Image via Tactical Intelligence