Travel Bug Prisons

5.9k · August 25, 2005

Here’s 10, post your favorites.

Excerpts from some random prison rulebooks: (No emphasis (or spelling/grammar corrections) added)

1. This freeway close location only allows trading travel bugs, no other caching items. The number of travel bugs may never decrease, so only take a bug if you leave one….snip…Remember that anyone can log this find, but only trade if you bring travel bugs with you.

2. Here are the rules for the this cache, You should only come to it, if you have a TB, otherwise wait until you have one. To keep this from being a bad cache, You can only take a TB if you leave a TB. That will make sure there are always TB's here. Please do not put random trinkets in this cache, only put TB's in it. PLEASE ONLY TAKE 1 TRAVEL BUG, LEAVE AS MANY AS YOU WANT BUT ONLY TAKE 1.

3. Please, only take a travel bug if you are going to leave one, because bugs like lots of company.

4. PLEASE NOTE: This is a Travel Bug exchange point. DO NOT take a Travel Bug unless you leave one!

5. "PLEASE, DON'T TAKE A TRAVEL BUG IF YOU DIDN'T BRING ONE TO DROP OFF"…snip… This cache is also a Travel Bug cache, if you take a bug, leave a bug ("PLEASE, DON'T TAKE A TRAVEL BUG IF YOU DIDN'T BRING ONE TO DROP OFF"). If you have more then one bug, then take with you an equal amount of bugs that you leave. Please do not take a bug if you don't have one to leave in it's place ("PLEASE, DON'T TAKE A TRAVEL BUG IF YOU DIDN'T BRING ONE TO DROP OFF").

6. ****THIS IS A TRAVEL BUG CACHE. SO IF YOU ARE TAKING A TRAVEL BUG YOU MUST LEAVE A TRAVEL BUG. ***** If 5 travel bugs is too much and they are staying in the cache too long I will move them onto another cache.

7. If you take a bug you must leave a bug! Only take the same number of bugs as you leave

8. Please leave at least 5 bugs, coins etc. in the hotel at all times, if you don't have a bug to trade, just write down a number, log the travel bug out and then back into the cache...

9. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO LEAVE BUGS AND NOT TAKE ANY. SEVERAL CACHERS HAVE COMPLAINED THAT THERE AREN'T MANY BUGS. PLEASE DON'T TAKE MORE THAN YOU LEAVE. THAT'S HOW IT GETS IN ITS 'LOW BUG' CONDITION.

10. There must be one travel bug remaining in the cache at all times.

9.1k · August 25, 2005

In your log, PLEASE POST YOUR DIAGNOSIS of my control issues. LOGS WITHOUT A COMPLETE PSYCHOANALYSIS WILL BE DELETED!!!!!

2.2k · August 25, 2005

There is a TB prison not far from me. The owner said that if there was 3 or more bugs, you didnt have to leave one to take one. If there was only 2 bugs in the cache, please don't take one because the other may get lonely.

Here is my log for the cache:

Came by with the kids and it was my youngest who made the find.
Was going to take a bug, but I didnt want the other to get lonely so I grabbed them both.

Thanks for the hide.

2.3k · August 25, 2005

In your log, PLEASE POST YOUR DIAGNOSIS of my control issues. LOGS WITHOUT A COMPLETE PSYCHOANALYSIS WILL BE DELETED!!!!!

Hoo! :huh: That will definately work for a local bug pris...., er, hotel.

August 25, 2005

"As for the TB/geocoins, take one, take two. Just don't leave the "hotel" empty. This is not a TB/Geocoin "prison"."

"If you don't have one to swap , please TAKE ONLY ONE---and leave some for others. IF YOU DON'T OBEY THE "TAKE ONLY ONE" RULE, THE CREEK WILL RISE BEFORE YOU GET BACK TO THE ROAD, LIGHTNING WILL BE VIOLENT, TERRIBLE WINDS WILL BLOW TREES OVER AND YOU WILL BE WASHED DOWN TO BEAR CREEK--THEN TO HINKSON CREEK--AND YOU DON'T WANT TO GO THERE!!!"

22k · August 25, 2005

This cache requires a boat/canoe to reach. Also may need some climbing gear if the water level is low.

Please if you take a bug, leave a bug or only take a limit of 2 bugs each visit. I placed the restriction due to a couple of suggestions from cachers. It will only make it more fun for all.

2.2k · August 25, 2005

"Please do not take a bug if there are fewer than 1 in the cache"

3k · August 25, 2005

ATTICA! ATTICA!

(link in case this is too obscure to be funny)

August 25, 2005

ATTICA! ATTICA!

(link in case this is too obscure to be funny)

hehehehe

August 25, 2005

"As for the TB/geocoins, take one, take two. Just don't leave the "hotel" empty. This is not a TB/Geocoin "prison"."

Okay, I can take a hint.

It now reads:

"As for the TB/geocoins, take one, take two. This is not a TB/Geocoin "prison"."

:huh:

August 25, 2005

I just ordered 3 TB dog tags today so I can release my first bugs. Hope they never end up in places like these!

Maybe TB Hotel cache owners need to be more proactive about collecting bugs for their hotels? My local area has the apparent King and Queen of TB travelling who also maintain a hotel, BIG Orange Travel Bug Convention Center. They seem to travel alot and collect bugs. If the bug stays too long, they drop it elsewhere.

August 25, 2005

6. ****THIS IS A TRAVEL BUG CACHE. SO IF YOU ARE TAKING A TRAVEL BUG YOU MUST LEAVE A TRAVEL BUG. ***** If 5 travel bugs is too much and they are staying in the cache too long I will move them onto another cache.

Ahhhh, so it's ok for the owner to move a TB that has overstayed its visit, but no one else can???

1.1k · August 26, 2005

THIS CACHE IS TO HAVE A MINIMIUM OF TWO TRAVEL BUGS IN IT AT ALL TIMES. If you come to take a travel bug, please leave one also. The Rule is placed so everyone has a chance to pick up a fresh new travel bug for them as they are leaving one behind.

I was going to take all five just out of spite... but all five want to go east, not west.

August 26, 2005

8. Please leave at least 5 bugs, coins etc. in the hotel at all times, if you don't have a bug to trade, just write down a number, log the travel bug out and then back into the cache...

You've got to be (bleep) kidding me...

"ATTICA"... :anitongue:

2.2k · August 26, 2005

I was going to take all five just out of spite.

I will typically clean out TB prisons and relocate all the prisoners to other caches in the area.

August 26, 2005

Before you can find this cache, you have to find the third cache of the <hard multi> cache. The coordinates that are listed here are for the parking area close to this cache. "PLEASE, DON'T TAKE A TRAVEL BUG IF YOU DIDN'T BRING ONE TO DROP OFF". <p>The Travel Bug Hotel is a place for Travel Bugs from all across the world to come and rest before it's next trip. <snip>This cache is also a Travel Bug cache, if you take a bug, leave a bug ("PLEASE, DON'T TAKE A TRAVEL BUG IF YOU DIDN'T BRING ONE TO DROP OFF"). If you have more then one bug, then take with you an equal amount of bugs that you leave. Please do not take a bug if you don't have one to leave in it's place ("PLEASE, DON'T TAKE A TRAVEL BUG IF YOU DIDN'T BRING ONE TO DROP OFF")

The worst part is, he calls it a Travel Bug HOTEL. Seems like Hotel California to me... (You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave!)

August 26, 2005

t is hoped that this hotel will be frequented by many guests. If you find all the rooms empty, it's because our clients are visiting other parts of the world right now!

But, there are TB hotels with kinder "rules".

:laughing:

1.1k · August 27, 2005

I was going to take all five just out of spite.

I will typically clean out TB prisons and relocate all the prisoners to other caches in the area.

And do you log them as well?

I saw your log above... I assume so.

I made a bit of a judgment call yesterday:

I was traveling through South Dakota... and the TB Prison I'd located on my route the night before was in my path. Kind of. It was way up a hill out of town... the road was windy and with a 14% grade.

I'm towing the biggest uHaul trailer I could get... behind my suburban.

So, of course, knowing all of this, um, you know, ahead of time so I wouldn't drive the big ol' truck with the heavy trailer up this road that doesn't have a decently sized turn-around for MILES so I would end up having to use a service road that appears to be used by the local police to dump off all of the deer people hit on the freeway (I hear there are at least a half-half dozen full carcasses up there with bones from many more in the immediate cache area.) and then being required to back the trailer down this steep service road to get back on the road...

To say NOTHING of finding the cache itself, of course.

Well, more of what I'd heard was that the five bugs that were in there, were really only three.

It was a REALLY good thing I didn't go up there because I later found all three bugs in another cache just down the road a'piece.

Picture me scratching my head as to how they got there since, as far as I know, they're still logged into that other cache.

Hm.

:rolleyes:

8.8k · August 27, 2005

Cachers can do what they want with their "hotels", but they don't make the rules for a travelling travel bug. It's up to the bug owner, and as far as I know, there are no bugs out there that say "Please let me languish in a bug prison until the proper criteria is met to please the cache owner". I say move them along. I think any cache is a good cache for a travel bug, unless it doesn't fit. I'm not fond of the "hotels" placed in busy locations. We lose more bugs that way.

August 27, 2005

Kinda sorta along the same lines as the TB prison rules are those emails that the bug owner sends that have a list of do's and dont's with the bug. Don't put it there, don't put it here, place it this way. I can see them not wanting the bug to end up in one of those bug black holes but if the point of the item is to travel from cache to cache what does it matter what cache it takes to get there?

August 27, 2005

Don't TBs have "stripes" on them like the old fashioned prison uniforms? :laughing:

August 27, 2005

I'm headed by one with this in the description.

There should be no LESS than 10 travelbugs in this hotel at all times. This is very important because it seems that most of the travel bug hotels we have visited lately have been entirely devoid of all travel bugs...we want this hotel to attract new "residents" but then have them "check out" quickly as well.

When I stop by this weekend, I may have to assist in a breakout by the inmates. There's 12 listed, but some are already MIA.

1.5k · August 28, 2005

And these types of caches are why I've been including the following text both on my TB pages as well as on a tag attached to my TBs themselves:

"NOTE: Cache rules regarding travel bugs DO NOT APPLY to this travel bug. This TB may be taken by anyone at any time from any cache with no restrictions. No cache rules may limit this TB's movements. TB Hotel cache rules like "Don't take one if you don't leave one" do not apply to this TB."

It's my TB "get out of jail free" card. No cache owner has the right to limit the movements of MY travel bugs. Frankly, such prisions should be routinely raided and stripped of all bugs just to prove a point. If the cache owner gets mad and archives the cache because of it, so much the better.

Edited August 28, 2005 by DocDiTTo

August 28, 2005

Kinda sorta along the same lines as the TB prison rules are those emails that the bug owner sends that have a list of do's and dont's with the bug. Don't put it there, don't put it here, place it this way. I can see them not wanting the bug to end up in one of those bug black holes but if the point of the item is to travel from cache to cache what does it matter what cache it takes to get there?

This might be a little different. TBs are designed to be able to have specific goals. Some may only want to travel a certain direction. Maybe someone should come up with one whose goal is to avoid all TB Hotels that have funky trading rules. :wub:

August 28, 2005

Yeah, travel bug prisons beg for a good break out. There are many other black holes that TBs can end up in without having TB hotels messing up travel plans. Up here in the Great White North, in the dead of winter, most caches get as many visitors as a Siberian goolag and any TBs become "wintering patners" until Mother nature decides to change the seasons to something a little more geocache friendly.

Second only to my fear of keeping a TB longer than expected, is my fear of dropping one off in a cache that doesn't get a visit for a long period of time, for whatever reasons.

Keep them bugs moving, it's their "raison d'etre".

dutchmaster

edit spelling

Edited August 28, 2005 by dutchmaster

August 28, 2005

Yeah, travel bug prisons beg for a good break out.

I'm watching the Get Out of (TB) Jail Free bug to see how it works out. This may be a style of TB that we need more of.

2k · August 28, 2005

Yeah, travel bug prisons beg for a good break out.

I'm watching the Get Out of (TB) Jail Free bug to see how it works out. This may be a style of TB that we need more of.

Love the Get out of Jail Free bug!

For what it's worth when I had two TB hotels (that now has been transferred to other owners) I NEVER used the trade one to take one or must be on in hotel rules etc....

I don't care for those rules at all.

2k · August 28, 2005

Travel Bugs are meant to travel. At a minimum, owners need to buy a tag or number and ussually the bug itself. So.... any cache that has a "rule" about not allowing a Travel Bug to travel will soon find that the old saying is true "rules are only suggestions if they are not enforced".

So, unless the "hotel" owner sits next to the cache 24x7 they will see their "rule" ignored quickly.

What kind of prison expects to keep prisoners there without guards? What kind of hotel expects guests to stay forever?

If you want a successful "hotel" then make it attrative -- choose a pleasant and convenient location, etc, etc....

August 29, 2005

I'm sorry to say we have a Travel Bug Jail in our area with some very strict "rules." The owner (who I have met and seems to be a very nice fellow) even went to the trouble of creating a special log book so you could easily record your bug-for-bug swap. I can sorta see his point... lots of TB hounds run out to a cache as soon as they see a bug listed and grab them. If you are going to pick up a TB that you can geniunely help on it's goal only to find it gone when you get there it can get frustrating. But at the same time restricting a bug's movements is cruel. He provides bug owners a way to release their bug from Jail, but they have to mail him a bug to take it's place!??

I'd thought a few times about staging a Jail-break. But he's the leader/founder of my local geocaching club and I really don't want to create any hard feelings.

There is another "TB Hotel" in the area that states:

this cache is a place to help TB's find thier way to thier destinations.
If you have a TB to trade, it would be appreciated, but it not required.

Perhaps a friendlier way to handle such a cache. However, it frequently finds itself void of bugs, and at least one of the bugs listed on the page is MIA.

22k · August 29, 2005

Travel Bug Jail - Well a least he is calling it what it is and I see it's an MOC as well.

2k · August 29, 2005

I see no problem "asking" someone to try and trade bug-for-bug. I've started a "trade fair" note in my caches to try and get folks not to just take coins from a cache and leave low-value items behind.

The problem is when you "require" a bug-for-bug trade. Folks don't like being told what to do.

Most people are reasonable, but some folks will "jail-break" simply because they are TOLD they must trade a certain way.

I think a nice note that says "We're trying to make sure our hotel always has at least one guest and appreciate when you can drop a bug at the same time you pick-up a bug -- thanks!" goes a lot further than "You MUST trade a bug for a bug or I will DELETE your log!!!! DO NOT bother visiting this cache unless you TRADE a bug for a bug. Don't be a loser and LEAVE a BUG in the Hotel!!!!!'

2.4k · August 29, 2005

I'm sorry to say we have a Travel Bug Jail in our area with some very strict "rules." The owner (who I have met and seems to be a very nice fellow) even went to the trouble of creating a special log book so you could easily record your bug-for-bug swap. I can sorta see his point... lots of TB hounds run out to a cache as soon as they see a bug listed and grab them. If you are going to pick up a TB that you can geniunely help on it's goal only to find it gone when you get there it can get frustrating. But at the same time restricting a bug's movements is cruel. He provides bug owners a way to release their bug from Jail, but they have to mail him a bug to take it's place!??

I'd thought a few times about staging a Jail-break. But he's the leader/founder of my local geocaching club and I really don't want to create any hard feelings.

There is another "TB Hotel" in the area that states:

this cache is a place to help TB's find thier way to thier destinations.
If you have a TB to trade, it would be appreciated, but it not required.

Perhaps a friendlier way to handle such a cache. However, it frequently finds itself void of bugs, and at least one of the bugs listed on the page is MIA.

I'm kind of surprised that this one was approved, with a rule like that (that a bug owner would have to mail a replacement hostage to the jail owner in order to ransom his own property).

I wonder, would it be approved if I set up a "Shoplifter's Cache" with a rule that all trade items had to be things that were stolen from stores? (I hope it wouldn't be!)

Team Zebra -- if you ever do decide to raid the cache and want to do it anonymously, let me know. Just go and take them all, and ship them to me -- I will pay for shipping. I'll log them out of the cache and distribute them around here, so your name won't be attached to the jailbreak at all.

2k · August 29, 2005

I''ll also extend the offer above if you wish to send them to me in Canada in order to assist them with their missions.

8.8k · August 29, 2005

I'm sorry to say we have a Travel Bug Jail in our area with some very strict "rules." <snip>

Furthermore this guy is asking that you add a ziplock and a note to any travel bugs, regardless of what the owner wants done with their bug. Way too many rules for a happy cache, and way too many rules for TB's he doesn't even own. Some cachers would be upset knowing their bugs have been placed in a ziplock bag or altered in some way.

8.8k · August 29, 2005

And upon further investigation, he has placed mothballs in the dirt under the cache. This is not a good idea!

Mothballs are composed of napthalene and/or paradichlorobenzene. Both are toxic substances. By law in the US, pesticides can not be used for purposes other than stated on the label. Mothballs are a pesticide. Scattering them over the yard for repelling animals is definately not on the label. Mothballs have been implicated in several poisonings of small children who mistake them for candy. The label almost certainly states that they are not to be placed where they can be accessed by children.They could also be hazardous for animals such as cats and dogs, chipmunks, racoons, foxes, squirrels, groundhogs, field mice, skunks, possums, and any other animal that may frequent the local park.

There are two different formulations for mothballs. One is NAPHTHLALENE and the other is PARADICHLOROBENZENE. These are potentially very toxic. The naphthalene type is more toxic. Mothballs vaporize to produce fumes wich can cause toxic effects on the central nervous system (possible seizures) and the liver. Naphthalene can also cause blood disorders (eg hemolytic anemia).

Mothballs should not be used around birds. Exposures to high concentrations of vapours of mothballs by humans, especially young children, can also result in toxicity.

Naphthalene is used in the production of phthalic anhydride; it is also used in mothballs. Acute (short-term) exposure of humans to naphthalene by inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact is associated with hemolytic anemia, damage to the liver, and neurological damage. Cataracts have also been reported in workers acutely exposed to naphthalene by inhalation and ingestion. Chronic (long-term) exposure of workers and rodents to naphthalene has been reported to cause cataracts and damage to the retina. Hemolytic anemia has been reported in infants born to mothers who "sniffed" and ingested naphthalene (as mothballs) during pregnancy. Available data are inadequate to establish a causal relationship between exposure to naphthalene and cancer in humans. EPA has classified naphthalene as a Group C, possible human carcinogen.

Need I say more? I suggest you let this person know that mothballs are a very bad idea. And the land managers may have an issue with it as well. Perhaps you could link the cache owner to this thread?

This makes me wonder why we even manufacture mothballs!?

August 29, 2005

And upon further investigation, he has placed mothballs in the dirt under the cache. This is not a good idea!

Mothballs are composed of napthalene and/or paradichlorobenzene. Both are toxic substances. By law in the US, pesticides can not be used for purposes other than stated on the label. Mothballs are a pesticide. Scattering them over the yard for repelling animals is definately not on the label. Mothballs have been implicated in several poisonings of small children who mistake them for candy. The label almost certainly states that they are not to be placed where they can be accessed by children.They could also be hazardous for animals such as cats and dogs, chipmunks, racoons, foxes, squirrels, groundhogs, field mice, skunks, possums, and any other animal that may frequent the local park.

There are two different formulations for mothballs. One is NAPHTHLALENE and the other is PARADICHLOROBENZENE. These are potentially very toxic. The naphthalene type is more toxic. Mothballs vaporize to produce fumes wich can cause toxic effects on the central nervous system (possible seizures) and the liver. Naphthalene can also cause blood disorders (eg hemolytic anemia).

Mothballs should not be used around birds. Exposures to high concentrations of vapours of mothballs by humans, especially young children, can also result in toxicity.

Naphthalene is used in the production of phthalic anhydride; it is also used in mothballs. Acute (short-term) exposure of humans to naphthalene by inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact is associated with hemolytic anemia, damage to the liver, and neurological damage. Cataracts have also been reported in workers acutely exposed to naphthalene by inhalation and ingestion. Chronic (long-term) exposure of workers and rodents to naphthalene has been reported to cause cataracts and damage to the retina. Hemolytic anemia has been reported in infants born to mothers who "sniffed" and ingested naphthalene (as mothballs) during pregnancy. Available data are inadequate to establish a causal relationship between exposure to naphthalene and cancer in humans. EPA has classified naphthalene as a Group C, possible human carcinogen.

Need I say more? I suggest you let this person know that mothballs are a very bad idea. And the land managers may have an issue with it as well. Perhaps you could link the cache owner to this thread?

This makes me wonder why we even manufacture mothballs!?

We have a problem with a nitwit in my area who leaves mothballs and sprays Raid at her cache sites. She's admitted to the activity and then had to gall to say that she would "never harm nature in any form." :shakes head:: Some people are utterly clueless.

August 29, 2005

What kind of hotel expects guests to stay forever?

Hotel California?

dM

September 15, 2005

Hotel California?

Like This One?

September 15, 2005

This cache requires a boat/canoe to reach. Also may need some climbing gear if the water level is low.

Please if you take a bug, leave a bug or only take a limit of 2 bugs each visit. I placed the restriction due to a couple of suggestions from cachers. It will only make it more fun for all.

Ahhhh, but shortly after that was posted, the cache was emptied. No problem, the owner and I filled it up again. And if you notice, one of the people who had previously emptied the cache suggested that taking all the bugs was a bad idea.

22k · September 15, 2005

This cache requires a boat/canoe to reach. Also may need some climbing gear if the water level is low.

Please if you take a bug, leave a bug or only take a limit of 2 bugs each visit. I placed the restriction due to a couple of suggestions from cachers. It will only make it more fun for all.

Ahhhh, but shortly after that was posted, the cache was emptied. No problem, the owner and I filled it up again. And if you notice, one of the people who had previously emptied the cache suggested that taking all the bugs was a bad idea.

Ya think the bug owners would agree with that?

September 15, 2005

"Please do not take a bug if there are fewer than 1 in the cache"

Gotta be my favorite.

MissippiSlim

September 18, 2005

I have a verry large cache with two padded fleece lined shelves that would welcome liberated TB's, I have afew prisions around the phoenix area I am thinking about liberating. I also know several frendly places to stash the refugees. We should make a list of TB friendly caches. Or better yet a group of people in black vans dressed all in black that swoop down and seize all said caches. Little to drastic? Could we get the caches that demand bug for bug archived due to violation of the guidlines?

Travel Bug Prisons

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