Best Prepper and Survival Items at Tractor Supply

Tractor Supply Co. is a farm and ranch retailer that has locations in 49 states. It is also one of the best places to pick up various prepper and survival items.

The best prepper and survival items at Tractor Supply Co are:

Water Storage Containers
Canning Supplies
Pet and Animal Care Products
Garden Supplies
Fencing Supplies
Books
Work Clothes
Pest Control
Tools
Vehicle and Equipment Maintenance Items

Tractor Supply is an ideal place for homesteaders, however, even preppers who don’t have land should be able to find useful survival items. In this article, I’ll go further in-depth over the different types of items that they sell that would be beneficial to preppers.

Water Storage Containers

Tractor Supply Co. is one of the best places for preppers to pick up brand new water storage containers. They have water barrels, IBC totes (the big square ones), and even larger storage tanks that can hold 1000 gallons or more.

Water containers such as these are ideal for bulk water storage as well as for rainwater catchment systems. Purchasing these containers new can be more expensive than purchasing them used. However, you know for sure that they haven’t been used to store dangerous chemicals and are safe for water storage.

Canning Supplies

I didn’t know this until recently but Tractor Supply Co is an excellent place for preppers to pick up canning supplies. It has pretty much everything you would need, including pressure canners, jars, lids, and kits.

Canning will help you preserve your food for longer and prevent waste. Having items such as these is especially useful if you grow your own fruits or vegetables.

Related: How Do Preppers Store Food?

Pet and Animal Care Products

Tractor Supply Co. is also a good place to pick up pet food and livestock feed. It has been my go-to place for pet food for the last few years. They have a good selection of food for dogs, cats, and even other animals, like rabbits.

Tractor Supply also has food for poultry and livestock animals. You can find feed for chickens, pigs, and horses along with bales of hay. During the spring and summer months, you can even buy baby chicks.

Tractor Supply Co. is also a good place to pick up medications for your animals. They have what you need to treat various types of ailments, including skin conditions, wounds, and pain. They have immunizations as well along with fish antibiotics such as penicillin and amoxicillin.

Tractor Supply Co. locations also have preventative veterinary clinics. They offer services such as vaccinations, heartworm medications, and deworming. Our locations advertises the dates for these clinics on a folding sign right next to the entrance.

Related: Best Dogs for Preppers

Garden Supplies

Tractor Supply is a great place to pick up pretty much anything you need to work in your garden or start one. They have garden plants, soil, and fertilizer.

Tractor Supply also sells the tools that you need to work in your garden. These include things like rakes and shovels, as well as garden sprayers and pruning saws. If you are into composting, they also sell compost tumblers.

Fencing Supplies

Very few places sell the same wide variety of fencing supplies as Tractor Supply Co. They have most of the supplies that preppers will need to keep people off of their property and prevent animals from escaping.

It is a good place to buy t-posts, barbed wire, chain-link fencing, wooden posts, electric fences, and even gates. You can use many of these things now or store them until needed.

5-Gallon Buckets

Tractor Supply Co. is my favorite place to pick up new 5-gallon buckets. Unlike buckets sold at other retailers, their buckets are specifically advertised as “food-grade” and BPA-free. This makes me much more comfortable about storing food in them. I also use their buckets as planters for my container garden.

Tractor Supply also sells Gamma Lids. These are upgraded lids that allow you to use your buckets as watertight containers. They consist of a screw-on lid and a ring which you hammer onto a lid. They are great for items that you want to keep pests out of but still need regular access to. We use one for the bucket that we keep our dog food in.

Propane Tanks and Refills

Tractor Supply Co. also sells empty propane tanks and provides refill services. This is a far better option for people that use propane frequently than tank exchanges. (A tank exchange is how places like Walmart and gas stations sell propane.)

Buying a new propane tank allows you to have a storage container that will be good for at least 12 years. That is how long a tank is qualified for from its date of manufacture.

Having a tank refilled is also cheaper than a tank exchange. When you have a tank refilled you pay for the propane by the gallon, similar to how you would gasoline. Tank exchanges usually only fill a standard 20-pound propane tank to 15 pounds. This means that you are basically being shorted 5 pounds of propane each time you do an exchange. You also waste any propane that was left in your old tank.

Books

Many places sell books, however, the ones at Tractor Supply Co. are ideal for people in the prepper and survival communities. They cover survival, gardening, firearms, and other relevant topics. There are probably more pages of useful information on Tractor Supply’s book rack than there are in an entire Barnes and Noble.

During my latest trip, I saw books about backyard medicine, bushcraft and survival, root cellars, keeping chickens, and DIY solar projects. A prepper could build an entire library just from the books at Tractor Supply Co.

Work Clothes

Tractor Supply Co. is also a good place for preppers to pick up work clothes. They sell good-quality jeans and shirts from brands like Carhartt. You can also find work gloves and hats as well.

Pesticides and Animal Traps

Tractor Supply Co. is also a good place to pick up everything you will need for pest control. Insects and rodents are infamous for spreading disease, especially during long-term survival situations. You can find everything that you need to keep insects and rodents out of your home, yard, and garden.

Tractor Supply also sells different types of animal traps. You can find regular mousetraps as well as larger catch and release traps. Catch and release traps are good for animals ranging from squirrels to raccoons. Animals that you catch can either be released or if appropriate, eaten.

Tools

Tractor Supply is also an excellent place for preppers to pick up tools that they can use in everyday life as well as survival situations. They carry power tools by quality brands such as Makita and Dewalt. Having good-quality power tools will allow you to work quickly to prevent or reduce damage to your home. In the case of a hurricane, working quickly can mean getting protecting your home while still getting out before everyone else.

Tractor Supply also sells many types of hand tools. I think my local store may have thinned out their selection, but they still offer good name brands like Crescent. You can also find larger hand tools such as axes, sledgehammers, and mattocks which have numerous uses around the house and in the woods.

They also sell other tools such as chainsaws and generators along with other useful items such as tarps, super glue, epoxies, and duct tape. If you have large equipment, such as a tractor, then you can find come-alongs and chains to help you transport them.

Vehicle and Equipment Maintenance Items

Tractor Supply Co. also has many of the things that preppers would need to keep their vehicles and other gas engines running during an emergency. They sell different types of gas cans that are color-coded for the type of fuel that they hold. Essential fluids, such as oil and diesel exhaust fluid, are available as well.

Tractor Supply also stocks replacement tires for things like riding lawnmowers along with batteries. If you have a tractor, it is also a good place to find spare parts and user manuals for it.

Other Items

Tractor Supply Co. also has many sizes of gun safes. You can find everything from small cabinet-style safes to larger safes that can hold dozens of firearms.

They also sell decent-quality knives from companies like Case and Kershaw as well as Leatherman multitools. I was even able to find a worksharp knife and tool sharpener there as well.