fishdirt

If your burning ticks off or using vasoline you may as well pull them off. Doing either of these causes the tick to panic and release it's saliva into the bloodstream which, when done, pretty much gives you whatever disease the thing is carrying. Burning and Vasoline are myth removals. I use an open flame and keep it over where the tick is and was for up to 30 seconds (high pain thresh hold). This bakes the saliva and blood in the area. Though after some research I may avoid even this now.

Today went caching for a puzzle cache. It's located in a pretty woody marshy area. Couldn't find it. As I was walking back to the parking lot with my two pals I kept feeling my neck. I told the others to do this as well. It's an instinctual check I do for ticks. They found none. One of my reaches I felt one. One pal said he'd flick it off and of course I said don't. He said it wasn't attached and flicked it onto my shoulder. Immediately pull out my lighter and burn it. At the car I told them to check themselves thoroughly. I just got a call from one of them telling me he found one on his stomach. His friend took a hot tweezer to it. DO NOT do this. The tick will secret saliva which can contain bad bacteria. I'm not sure how the removal works, I can tolerate pain so I soak my skin in flame for a few seconds. As a kid Butter was the trick. I read that tweezer removal at an up angle is the best method for complete removal (save the tick in a bag in the freezer just in case you get ill, it will aid the doctor). So I know how to find ticks and remove them on myself. Have since the whole lyme disease thing. Here's what I want to know...TICK PREVENTION! 2 weeks in a row of a tick on me but not dug in. I love caching in the woods but I will have to stop because of this. Any advice?

With development as bad as it is yes, there are areas that are worse off then they were 20-50 years ago. Not to mention tree disease and parasites. Here in the state of Michigan we were attacked by some bug that killed many of the white birch trees. I remember as a kid seeing them everywhere and realizing now that I haven't seen one in a long time. So not only is it a good ideal for trees in general but it'd be nice to help bring back disappearing species. Trees are also good air filters so the more the merrier!

Ok, I've just delved into the arena known as mystery caches and I must say after I stood back the codes I found that seemed difficult at first became fairly obvious after talking to my friend google. I want to make a code uncheckable on google. One that relies on logic and common sense to break. Code crackers will probably get it in no time but others may cuss me out or ask for hints. My question is this...should I make it this difficult? It's fair game right? Or is there some kind of unfair rule?

Oh I wish I could remember her name (she likes rock climbing) but someone here mentioned about how she was in the woods and saw a guy, faked like she was tying her shoe (messing with the cache) got up and the guy was flash/peeing her. From a distance but still obviously looking at her. You get two, two posts in one!

Oh I wish I could remember her name (she likes rock climbing) but someone here mentioned about how she was in the woods and saw a guy, faked like she was tying her shoe (messing with the cache) got up and the guy was flash/peeing her. From a distance but still obviously looking at her.

Here's the story. I found a cache about a month ago with a travel bug in it. I grabbed it. Later when I got home I discovered there was a rubberband ball that was supposed to go with it (It wasn't attached and I remember asking my friend why would someone put a rubberband ball in here? Dogs can't play with those-pet theme cache). So, since this was out of my way I wrote notes on the cache page for no one to remove the ball and wrote the mistake I had made. Eventually I was able to make it back (after a failed attempt as muggles were present) and got the ball. Here in lies the problem. I misplaced the bug! I don't know what to do. Do I replace it? I feel like a heel right now. I know I have it but where it is is the question. Would I inform the bug owner? I don't want to make anyone mad but at the same time I want to own up to the responsibility. Help!

Always. Cut a sapling of the right size, debark it, stain and seal it, put a leather wrist strap on it, and there you go. Forget the store bought things. ANYBODY can get those. Make your own! Here's a handy little guide on making one that will lat you many years. Have fun! Not to sound too much like a negative nancy but I'm a pretty environmental type of guy and have to ask, why a sapling? A branch works just as well and doesn't hinder the regrowth of forests and woods. Promoting this also seems like a bad idea. Branches work just as well, Not harmful at all to the environment and can be found anywhere and of any type. If your growing your own trees and waiting the 3 years it takes for a sapling to get big enough then forget what I said.

I made one for my friend and I'll be making more along with another friend. So far I have pine and maple to work with. I'm just starting but as an artist I am already carving nice designs and staining them in two tone (well natural tone of the wood and a darker tone) and then sealing them. I'd like to get real intricate with the designs. It'll be a nice side job to my freelance art as well (living on a highway don't hurt!). I'm thinking 10 to 50 dollars each depending on the detail. Something so salt of the earth having a wooden walking stick. They help a lot up hills.

Ok 2 questions: 1) What's up with the socket leaves? Not saying anything bad about them but they tend to be common sizes and I've noticed they sit long enough to rust. Was there some event where this was considered tre Cache? 2)anyone ever do a Christmas cache or a secret santa cache where someone hides a cache and gets fellow cachers from nearby to do a secret santa gift exchange? Say red , blue and green. The cache owner gives red a gift, contacts red to find the cache. She finds it and leaves a gift for her secret santa blue. The cache owner contacts blue and he finds the cache and leaves a gift for green and so on. With a 20 dollar maximum and perhaps a gift list that can be sent. Red would know blue is who she gives a gift but he doesn't know where he's getting it from. Of course the cache owner maybe left out or all three may leave something in a section in the cache. Ever been done?

The Ghosts live near a cache near here. I used to work Tom Ghost's son , Jerry. Good Christian family. Never bother anyone but always more then happy to help with things such as moving. Perhaps if you ran into some ghosts you can tell me where and I can ask Tom if he's related.

haha, yeah nothing shockingly loud or sudden. I'd like to do stuff like what a ufo would sound like or something walking in the leaves.

This may work. I was planning on using ammo can caches but this is making me think about using micros too. I hope to get up to 10 themed caches going. Is there such thing as an instant inflator? I've seen rafts use them but I'm thinking a blow up alien inside a cache triggered by the lid lifting up.

Thought about this but not quite sure how solar panels work. Ok, maybe I should explain the illusion I want to give. Close encounters of the third kind. Basically a bright light overhead (say in a branch) and a small speaker that gives off a ufo type sound. The underwater thing would be great as well for the theme but the only public accesses I have to water ways are pretty populated in the summer. I may implement it on someone's property near a public access (with their permission). These are all great ideas and if I build a few caches I'll be sure to make plans and take pictures.

Good idea! May modify it...i could use these ideas for a whole series haha...people will get white hair in no time!

This is what I thought. It could be weighted on one side. I was thinking instructions to place it back properly. Not quite sure how I could set it all up though or if there was maybe a better method. I like the idea of using a sensor but how in this instance? Would save on wiring.

Thought about it but the cache is always moved before opening. I need a trigger that goes off as soon as someone lifts the cache.

my pal mike teague for being the first.

I thought about the motion sensor thing but I don't want it going off until the cache is found. Any ideas for a modification of this? Also had a good idea for one near lakes, though I doubt I can pull this off around here. Wire a light under water to a trigger cache. At night, when lifted the water would glow. Again, waterproof light and cables and low wattage (modified taplight perhaps).

I thought about the motion sensor thing but I don't want it going off until the cache is found. Any ideas for a modification of this? Also had a good idea for one near lakes, though I doubt I can pull this off around here. Wire a light under water to a trigger cache. At night, when lifted the water would glow. Again, waterproof light and cables and low wattage (modified taplight perhaps).

I have a theme involved in my caches. Aliens. I keep thinking there really isn't anything alien about them or where they are placed other then the names and an alien toy. So I got to thinking today about building a cache rig. Here was the idea. Using minimum electricity (2 aa or a 9 volt battery) I want to rig a light or two with small speakers to a trigger under a cache. Once lifted the lights and a noise would go off. How could I make a trigger to do this to where the cache doesn't need to be replaced exactly on it? This would be in a wooded area and I am considering grabbing some vines and hollowing them out to hide wiring. If you have any other ideas on improving or for going what I want effect wise, let me know please

In a pinch rubber bands work. I've used rubberbands on my two peanut butter jar caches and their dry as a bone.

I got to thinking about this today while caching. A lot of nature cache hiders put caches in holes in trees and fallen logs. I saw quite a few snakes today and one of the caches was clearly stated as being in the hole of a fallen tree. So I carefully looked into the trees i saw that were fallen and had holes. Still couldn't find it but I was reminded of yesterday when I thought a cache was behind some dead grass stuffed in a hole in a tree. I went to remove the grass and got the shock of my life. A little snout popped out. So my deducing came to this, I had more of a chance of getting ravaged by some wild animal then getting electrocuted by unfenced boxes.

I think starting as an online mag is a good idea. Back in the day a lot of bigger magazines started as newsletters. Growth can be rushed and succeed but let it grow naturally and it maybe safer in the long run.

Man, definitions of common sense are way off base here. Kind of funny. Anywho, a couple thoughts. 1) If they cause so much controversy why place them? Obviously they are not too original or creative. So what's the draw? That sick enjoyment one gets from watching a car race and hoping someone crashes? Or is it lack of places in metropolitan areas? 2) By not stating a safety policy I would think Ground speak is releasing itself from libel should a suit from serious injury or death occur. You wouldn't think it but the cache placer could be sued should something like this happen. Just as you can sue an amusement park for injury on a ride you know is potentially dangerous. Common sense has nothing to do with knowing what is or is not an electrical box. Common sense either could be and the real could have been pried open, forgotten to be locked prior to the discovery. Common sense tells you, do I really want to harm another in a way they can kill them. Of course it may not and they may be safe and everyone else but electricity, like fire, is unpredictable and dangerous. As someone has said though, their here and nothing will make them leave. I believe living a code number in the hints or a tip to the right one is smart. As far as anyone asking permission to plant caches. Seems around here that's the rarity as I see them in cemeteries, LPC, public accesses run by county parks departments and see no permission was acquirred. Bottom line, people are gonna do what people are going to do.