What To Do About Lost Travel Bugs?

[C&CHunting]

Cachers,

 

Out of my original 4 travel bugs, only one is still alive and kickin'. The other 3 are MIA. What do you suggest I do? Is there anyway to mark them as missing? Or, do I just accept them as lost?

 

Does anyone have any techniques to keep them active such as private emails or special travel bug attachments that have been successful? Does it really matter what the travel bug is attached to that reasonably determines it's longevity?

[+Snoogans]

Does it really matter what the travel bug is attached to that reasonably determines it's longevity?

Did someone say longevity?

[+wvcoalcat]

As the owner you can mark them as missing using the drop down menu on the right side of the page.

 

I'm sorry the two I handled are missing. Kind of feel like I jinxed them somehow .

Or it could be the cache I placed them in giving them bad karma as it seems that a lot of the TB's that pass through it come up MIA.

[Keystone]

Moving to the travel bug forum. I am being sure to record where I dropped the traveling thread.

[+AtlantaGal]

Out of 28 TBs and two USA Geocoins, 3 are MIA. Two were in stolen caches. And one was just flat out kept.

 

I turned one of the stolen cache TBs into a virtual TB. The other I am debating on re-releasing with the copy tag. The missing coin, is just plan gone. Nothing I can do about it except mark it missing.

Edited September 28, 2005 by AtlantaGal

[+Big JohnP]

One thing I've noticed, if you put out a TB with a regular item attached to it, like keychain animals or ordinary low costs things, it seems to run longer than a hot little item. Out of the last 8-9 TBs I put out, I had two die-cast model cars, an old T-Bird and a 64 Mustang conv. Some nice folks out in NY State found the Mustang, it was later put out in a second cache in Vermont, and two days later, it disapeared without a log.

 

I now have in my possession 4 die-cast Custom Motorcycles that I had intended to put out in other caches as TBs, but seeing what happened to the car, I changed my mind about sending them off. It's too bad, they were super nice.

 

Big JohnP

[+ZoomZoom]

Not much can be done. I lost my only tb Lil Zoomer awhile back, never to be heard from again.

[+wornout]

Cachers,

 

Out of my original 4 travel bugs, only one is still alive and kickin'. The other 3 are MIA. What do you suggest I do?

Sending them to the 'Travel Bug Graveyard', GC72A8 is about all you can do. They will be in good company.

[+BlueDeuce]

It's best not to leave them in a cache if they have been reported as missing.

 

On the bug page under the recalculate distance 'pull-down' menu is the option to mark as missing. This will place them in an unknown location. They can be retrieved from there should the bug resurface.

[+The Leprechauns]

The "mark bug as missing" described by BlueDeuce is, IMHO, a superior alternative to the Travel Bug Graveyard (which is NOT "about all you can do"). I've been personally involved with at least three bugs that were marked as missing, but later resurfaced. When a bug is moved to "an unknown location" it does not accrue mileage. A bug coming back from Travel Bug graveyard will have 10,000 extra miles on it. I also don't like cache pages that aren't really caches, but I suppose that is a "purist" view of things. It was a good interim solution prior to the development of the "mark bug as missing" option that was added in late 2003.

[C&CHunting]

Lots of good advice. I went and marked them as missing. I didn't know I could do that.

 

I will wait and see if they resurface. I will be surprised if they do. If not, maybe in year, I will release the TB Copy...who knows.

 

I plan to keep the TB attachment simple and just hope my new flock of TBs have longer lives than their older brothers.

 

Hey Leprechauns, aren't yinz in my neck of the woods? ...Go Steelers!

[+Eartha]

Cachers,

 

Out of my original 4 travel bugs, only one is still alive and kickin'.  The other 3 are MIA.  What do you suggest I do? 

Sending them to the 'Travel Bug Graveyard', GC72A8 is about all you can do. They will be in good company.

No, that is not all you can do. Graveyards were set up before the "mark as missing" option was added. If it is marked as missing it can be brought back to life once found. The mark as missing is the way to go.

[C&CHunting]

Thanks guys. Lots of good advice.

 

I currently have 3 little bugs waiting to be released into the wild. They are attached to rubber 'Dollar Store' insects. I am still debating to change them or not. I am concerned with all the little legs and antenna sticking off of them. I want them to be durable...and cool. I suppose that anyone could de-face any travel bug so plucking the legs off of mine is hit or miss.

 

Should I be concerned with these attachments. I want them to see the world.

 

For example: C&C Bug 5

Edited October 1, 2005 by C&CHunting

[Onerka]

I have a TB that I initially marked as missing and then moved to the TB graveyard. The TB still shows in my list of TB's. Is there any way to remove it from my list of TB's? Thanks.

[+BlueDeuce]

You own it, it shows in your inventory. Personally I'd move it to an unknown location, not the graveyard.

 

I suppose gc.com could permanently remove it, but perhaps you should just re-issue the bug with a new tag.

[+the hermit crabs]

Thanks guys.  Lots of good advice.

 

I currently have 3 little bugs waiting to be released into the wild.  They are attached to rubber 'Dollar Store' insects.  I am still debating to change them or not.  I am concerned with all the little legs and antenna sticking off of them.  I want them to be durable...and cool.  I suppose that anyone could de-face any travel bug so plucking the legs off of mine is hit or miss.

 

Should I be concerned with these attachments.  I want them to see the world.

 

For example: C&C Bug 5

 

At first I thought you meant the type of legs and antennae that are meant to be detachable, like on the "Cooties" bugs. Those would be likely to suffer the occasional unintended amputation.

 

But the kind of critter in your picture looks fine -- go ahead and send it out