caches in peoples yards

[+maugin]

i don't know, maybe it's me but I feel really uncomfortable lurking around in someones yard looking for a cahce? I have turned around from several caches once I found out they were in someones yard, front or back or otherwise.

can I get others opinions on these..

[+Team Tigger International]

For me it mostly depends on if I personally know the cache placer or not , and just how many other homes are near the same yard ( cuz I don't wanna be in the wrong place if ya know what I mean) .

 

Most times I will not do a cache in someones yard .

 

I have only ever done maybe 3 that were placed in other cachers homes but those cachers I had met and I was certain we had the right place.

 

Star

[+Tyedyeskycrew]

We have several people in our area that have done this. I know a couple of these people, and also don't know a few. I still have done all but one of these caches, and that one, I just have not got to yet. I think you can probably trust anyone that places a cache in thier own yard because if they were to do anything "funny", you know right where they live.

 

I think most people in this sport are pretty much straight up kind of folks and can be trusted. The best part of these caches... Meeting the cache owners!

 

BTW Did I mention I have 4 caches in the park in my back yard? I love watching people doing my caches.

[+Juicepig]

I found one in someones front yard in a new subdivision. It turns out the cache was actually under the rolled grass that was placed on his lawn.

 

I didn't like the cache, or being watched. I recommended it to night cachers, with very large flashlights. One cacher even pulled up to it on a motorcycle. I think that detered him from keeping this cache active for long.

 

His caches since then have been much better

[+Confucius' Cat]

As for me, I don't like doing suspicious looking things (mostly). Therefore, I abort these hunts as soon as I realise it is private property.

[+Colorado Cacher]

Very possibly a good way to get shot at also.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

Very possibly a good way to get shot at also.

 

Dang, y'all hide caches in your yard and then shoot at cachers who come looking?

 

Rough state! That oughta raise the difficulty level a bit

[+Hula Bum]

Not a fan of these either.

[+jasond]

We tried to be FTF on a neighborhood cache a few months ago. The coordinates led us to a house. Luckily, a family member of the cacher was outside and told us that we had the wrong coordinates! The cacher had inadvertently entered his home coordinates instead of the cache coordinates...

[+IV_Warrior]

I've done a few. Not my favorites, but as long as the cache page makes it clear up front, and it's hidden in a way that it's obvious you're in the right property, I don't mind as much. If you're gonna do it, don't stick it on the line between your property and your neighbor's though......

 

And now that's he's posted, I remember Doc's as one of the better ones. Quite obvious that you're in the right yard.

Edited September 13, 2006 by IV_Warrior

[+DocDiTTo]

I've met a lot of nice folks at the cache in my yard. No one seems to have any problem stopping by to get it. Of course, it's not hidden at all, it's a mailbox right beside the road plainly marked as a geocache. It's locked though, and finding the combination to that lock is the trick.

 

I've had no problems scoring finds in other people's yards either. For one thing, you know you're allowed to be there. Unlike hunting for most urban micros, you know for certain that you have permission to be at a cache in someone's yard. You don't have to worry about security running after you or calling the cops. If someone puts a cache in their yard, they're inviting you to find it. If you choose to decline, that's fine too.

 

It's odd that the same people who fear looking for something in a stranger's yard have no qualms about lifting lightpost covers, or searching around the backs of stores, or getting intimate with pine trees in public parks. Given a choice, I'll hunt an urban cache I KNOW was hidden with permission, rather than one that probably wasn't.

[+LadeBear68]

I was caching in Erie, PA when I did two of these. On one, the description was very clear about where it was and the other cache was in plain view. However, I was a little nervous with people watching me and the dog that wanted out of the house.

[+Aquacache]

I won't do this type either. There's one in the town where I grew up that nobody has been to in over a year. He now has a WJTB and a new GJTB in it to try to get people to look for it. Another local cacher placed one in his yard last year and when I posted that I wasn't going after it, he moved it to a much better location (bike trail). We're friends now, but I didn't know him at the time and he said after moving it, "A cache that discourages cachers isn't much of a cache, is it?" I agree!

[+mermaldad]

When I see a cache in someone's yard and suspended above the cache is a cage hanging from a rope, I usually abort. Call me funny that way.

[+Juicepig]

When I see a cache in someone's yard and suspended above the cache is a cage hanging from a rope, I usually abort. Call me funny that way.

IIIIIIDEAAAA!!!!

[Mr Walker]

Would that be the Wiley Coyote/Roadrunner cache, with the cache hidden under a pile of birdseed?

[nonaeroterraqueous]

Do I really want to put myself on a stage for a complete stranger to stare at me while I hunt for a cache? No thanks.

[+horsegeeks]

We love them, you meet the nicest people at these caches.

[+Semper Questio]

These go straight to my ignore list. Every time.

[Lost Brews]

may people i have met have put up a cache so they can watch and laugh at all the cachers who are out there trying to find the this. I have one out side my house and get a kick out of it when people walk by it over and over again and just before they quit they spot it. It also has given me the oppertunity to meet some of my fellow cachers. I think that if it is there it is there for a reason so enjoy the caching.

[+sbell111]

I'm not a big fan of these caches. If I can't spot the cache from the street, I'll skip it.

[+THarvey3]

Do I really want to put myself on a stage for a complete stranger to stare at me while I hunt for a cache? No thanks.

 

Perfectly said.

[+crystalndave]

I like some caches on private property/private homes. I have one, cachers seem to find it amusing. At mine there are clear indicators that you are in the right spot. I have met a handful of cachers. I enjoy seeing people visit but many have visited while we were not home. My property line runs adjacent to public land so people use it often anyway. I have about 2 acres of land, and at one time the previous owner thought of turning it into a park. I think each person and cache is different. I believe that any one who would go out of their way to lure me to their home for whatever reason probably wouldn't have the patience to wait for me and would just go directly to my home page look up my last name in the area of most of my caches and come to my house. Anyone who wanted to watch you do one of their caches could just as easily hide on in the park across the street and NOT TELL YOU that they lived near by. Honestly the caches that say "be stealthy the neighbors are watching" scare me more! Then you have no idea what they mean, are they just trying to be nice, or do they live there?? In my opinion home caches are a nice place for TBS because there is less likelyhood of them getting stolen. The container we have hidden is a 5 gallon pail with a lid which can hold a lot of stuff I haven't seen many public places that it could blend in but I don't do many 4/5 terrains either. My cache is a multi cache with two stops along the way, it basically leads the cacher along the line that I would like them to follow so that they aren't in anyone elses yard. It would be really hard for them to get off track. Some people have written that they feel weird but I feel weird doing some caches that I am sure others would love. Its probaly just like anything else, if they are done nicely then people will do them without complaint and if they are poopy people will do them anyway and complain or auto ignore them.

[+Kit Fox]

I'm surprised that nobody remember the last discussion about this topic. House Caches, Love them or hate them or don't like em

[+ke6n]

I passed on looking for a cache today that was placed in front of a geocacher's business. I just didn't want to be watched looking for the cache and providing real-time entertainment for the hider. I also don't want to search the premises of the business after hours so I'll just cross it off my list. -Ken

[Blazzik]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels weird about these! There is one pretty close to my house that is loaded with all kinds of TBs and geocoins but I just don't feel right about it. Its just a little weird for me...

[rogheff]

I have one of these caches. In fact one that Tyedyeskyguy was talking about. It's a clearly labeled, drive up to cache (you can literally snag it while sitting in your car). I announced on the cache page that it is a home cache.

 

Why did I place it?

A) I have an actual reason for people to have an interest in my yard.

B} I like meeting people while geocaching - although I've met very few people at this cache - and it gets alot of traffic.

C) It's easy to maintain and drop TB's into

 

For the record - I've had nobody complain. Interestingly,a third of the people who have found this have come at night!

Edited September 14, 2006 by rogheff

[+The Putteneers]

Hi,

 

I'm in England.

 

One of the nicer, quieter parts of England.

 

There's not as much chance of getting shot, mugged, or anything else nasty round here.. compared to some of the places other posters on this thread live in..

 

But I know that it can happen anywhere, anytime. Still, it is not likely here though, for just going into the vicinity or even entering a private 'yard'.

 

I would still be wary of seeking caches in people's backyards (or gardens as we call them, here in the uk)..

 

because I prefer to stay anonymous and not be seen seeking.

 

Just my personal opinion,

 

Mrs Putteneer

[+Confucius' Cat]

Just a perspective from the other side (the hider's)

 

I actually have considered hiding a cache in my yard. I have a couple of rare trees that I could highlight (as if anyone would care).

 

It didn't take me too much time to consider that I wouldn't want to open my yard (and consequently the entire neighborhood) to just anyone and everyone at all hours of the day and night.

 

If that "floats your boat" then OK.

 

But the fact that the cache pages can be viewed by absolutely anyone on the internet, and the fact there are many cachers that WILL go out in the middle of the night even if the cache page specifically says not to, and that there is a risk of cachers being in the wrong yard by mistake, I just don't see the worth of placing such a cache.

[ElementalJay]

MY CACHE.

 

I placed this cache near my house. I live a block from the city park on the primary residential street in the historic district (such as it is). My intent was to make an easily accessible urban cache that would not seem lame. My kids will occassionally run into the other room - "There's someone looking for the cache!" They are not 'being entertained' per se, they just like the fact that we put something there that others enjoy.

 

I made sure to let the neighbors know what was going on. I don't know if the guy next door will ever buy a GPS, but he watches the listing now, and likes seeing others find the cache too. To wind up in anyone else's yard, your GPSr would have to be more than 30 feet off. And with the number of people who walk within 5 feet of the cache everyday, it doesn't make much difference to me whether they have a GPSr in their hand or not. Ours is not exactly a private location.

 

I know that this is not everyone's cup of tea. I didn't put it here for 'everyone'. I'm just glad that a few people have enjoyed finding the cache and reading the page.

 

Of course, I'm just a bald old Soldier with a mild case of PTSD and occassional Alzheimer's, so take everything I just said with a grain of salt. I won't remember it tomorrow, anyway.

Edited September 15, 2006 by ElementalJay

[+nikki9093]

I went to find a hide and found out that it led to a front yard. I actually went to the front door and knocked...what else was I gonna do...I still dont feel comfortable about poking around in other peoples yards...but the guy was cool and said that its in the flower pot out front. Yeah...interesting hide, and a real good way to keep an eye on your stuff...lol

[Clan Riffster]

Oddly enough, I've never met a geocacher I didn't like. That being said, I still feel kinda creepy about hunting caches in someone's yard. If it's a big chunk of property, away from any structures, I might go for it, but if I can see a house, I'll pass. Maybe I got georesidentiophobia? Obviously there's nothing wrong with the scenario since the cache owner allows folks to hunt for the cache on their property, but it still feels wierd to me.

[+Vinny & Sue Team]

So long as the cache listing description has made clear that the cache is located on someone's private property, and hopefully most likely property owned by the cacher herself/himself, and so long as the page also clearly and explicitly states that the property owner welcomes people hunting for the cache on their property, then I would likely feel comfortable seeking the cache.

 

Reminds me of a funny story: I have a sister who lives with her family in northern NJ, whom we visit several times per year. She is not a geocacher herself, but she is a bit fascinated by our geo adventures when we are visiting, particularly when we tell her stories about seeking extreme caches. A private family joke that has sprung up is that I regularly tease her that we are gonna place a multi-stage cache in her home, with the first stage in the kitchen (a magnetic keyholder on the stove vent hood) and the final stage in her attic (ammo can), and that we will announce on the cache listing page that it is perfectly fine to enter her home at any time, 24 hours per day, to hunt the cache, and also giving folks permission on the listing page to raid her fridge for a snack while they are there! Fun!

[rogheff]

 

I know that this is not everyone's cup of tea. I didn't put it here for 'everyone'. I'm just glad that a few people have enjoyed finding the cache and reading the page.

 

 

Couldn't have said it better myself. If you like this type of cache, go find it, if not, ignore it. That's the beauty of geocaching - something for everyone.

[4wheelin_fool]

I have heard that in some neighborhoods it is quite the "in" thing to have a geocache in your front yard.

Whats not to envy about that decorative ammo box with the fancy camo paint?

[+edscott]

If it's in your kid's backyard sandbox I'll skip it.. if it is somewhere in your 200 acre backyard woodlot, I'll be there...

[+horses11]

I've done one a business,most of my caching is done on weekends.This was found on sunday and it was closed.

The owners of this cache do have one now at there home,I havn't taken the drive to it yet,but I think I will when I get down there again.

[+Trucker Lee]

When I see a cache in someone's yard and suspended above the cache is a cage hanging from a rope, I usually abort. Call me funny that way.

 

Man!!! What some folks will do to get a date!!!

 

I have thought about a cache near the house, about 200 ft from my driveway along the right of way, but neighbors have been leary lately about strange cars coming up and down the road. Will hold off for this reason.

[rogheff]

One of the freakiest caches I did was also one of my very first. It was inside a mailbox at the Police Station in Raton, NM. That was more intimidating than any home cache.

[+PeoriaBill]

I have done three or four of these and feel uneasy in a strange neighborhood poking around someone's yard. So far, nothing bad has happened.

 

Peoria Bill :>)

[+GreyingJay]

We tried to be FTF on a neighborhood cache a few months ago. The coordinates led us to a house. Luckily, a family member of the cacher was outside and told us that we had the wrong coordinates! The cacher had inadvertently entered his home coordinates instead of the cache coordinates...

 

Something like this happened to one of our prominent local cachers -- unfortunately, it was for a cache specifically put out for an event -- a 24 hour caching blitz from Friday evening till Saturday!

 

Apparently right on time at 6:00pm on Friday she started noticing lots of people starting to show up at her house looking for the cache... eventually she figured it out and left a pumpkin (this was in mid-October) as a redirect to the proper coordinates!

[danoshimano]

I found one in someones front yard in a new subdivision. It turns out the cache was actually under the rolled grass that was placed on his lawn.

 

I didn't like the cache, or being watched. I recommended it to night cachers, with very large flashlights. One cacher even pulled up to it on a motorcycle. I think that detered him from keeping this cache active for long.

 

His caches since then have been much better

 

I did that one, but the cache description made it clear it was the person's own yard. Otherwise, I would have walked away. He claimed the cache got muggled, which is likely since lots of neibourhood kids would have obverved the activity. The cache is now reborn in a better area (but will be muggled before too long due to poor placement).

 

Then there was the short-lived cacher in our area who hid a cache in the uncut grass beside a green transformer box directly in somebody else's front yard. If I didn't have the kids for that one, I would have left it. (Sending a kid out to investigate always seems okay.) As soon as the home owners got their new weed whipper to do their trimming, the cache was exposed.

 

Speaking of using a kid, I wouldn't look for Juicepig's cache at the Barrie Gaol without my son along with me!

[+Harry Dolphin]

Two thoughts here:

There was a cache placed by a lonely cacher on the stop sign in front of his house. He'd watch to see who was looking for the cache, and e-mail a special invitation to any females he espied. (One of whom is a grandmother!)

Then there is a multi, nearby, by a different cache hider. We were trying for the FTF. Go to the sign, add this and subtract that. So, we were wandering about a residential area, and met another team of cachers (whom we knew). Okay. The coords lead fifty feet into this yard. We all abandoned the search. Turns out that the cacher meant multiply by three instead of four, and subtract, rather than add. (The correction showed up a week later.) True. No mention was made of the second stage being on private property. But, if it had been, we would have been searching the wrong yard.

Thanks, but I'll pass on caches on private property.

[+Super_Nate]

Very possibly a good way to get shot at also.

 

Dang, y'all hide caches in your yard and then shoot at cachers who come looking?

 

Rough state! That oughta raise the difficulty level a bit

 

I am personally against caches in people's yard. It is this shot at junk quote that made me remember a not-so-fun cache hunt that I went on that I thought it was in someones yard and then found out the hard way that it wasn't. Nate's bad experience

 

I have done 2 caches that were in someone's yard, and both times it made me nervious that someone was watching me. I would not go after a FTF on a cache in someone's yard...I would wait until several people found it and had okay experiences before I would try it.

[+El Diablo]

Do I really want to put myself on a stage for a complete stranger to stare at me while I hunt for a cache? No thanks.

 

Perfectly said.

 

If you hunt urban caches you do this everytime.

 

I'm actually thinking of putting one in my front shade graden. I live in a rual area where lots are a minimum of 1 acre. I would also place a prominent sign welcoming cachers. I would also let both neighbors know what was going on.

 

El Diablo

[ElementalJay]

One of the freakiest caches I did was also one of my very first. It was inside a mailbox at the Police Station in Raton, NM. That was more intimidating than any home cache.

Well, if you're picture hadn't been on a poster on the bulletin board inside the door, you might have been able to relax a bit!

[+Pablo Mac]

I'm a fairly active cacher who lives in a subdivision. I wouldn't want people looking for a cache in my yard, and I'm sure my neighbors wouldn't like it, either.

 

When I realize that a cache is in plain view and close to one or more residences, I respect their privacy and:

 

 

There are a lot other caches out there that won't make people uncomfortable in their own homes.

[+Aquacache]

Just had one pop up about 1-1/2 hours ago. I drove past it and didn't stop. I doubt I would have been out there poking around in the dark for more than a few minutes before I would have had to explain geocaching to someone in uniform.

 

Do I really want to put myself on a stage for a complete stranger to stare at me while I hunt for a cache? No thanks.

 

Perfectly said.

 

If you hunt urban caches you do this everytime.

Guess that's why I don't often hunt urban caches.

[+Aquacache]

Just had one pop up about 1-1/2 hours ago. I drove past it and didn't stop. I doubt I would have been out there poking around in the dark for more than a few minutes before I would have had to explain geocaching to someone in uniform.

Ok, after meeting up with the cache owner of this cache to go after an FTF on another cache today, she convinced me to go back and get the cache in her yard. I'm still not crazy about these hides, but this one was an easy grab without going deep into the yard and I knew the owner, so it wasn't bad.

[+Confucius' Cat]

Just had one pop up about 1-1/2 hours ago. I drove past it and didn't stop. I doubt I would have been out there poking around in the dark for more than a few minutes before I would have had to explain geocaching to someone in uniform.

Ok, after meeting up with the cache owner of this cache to go after an FTF on another cache today, she convinced me to go back and get the cache in her yard. I'm still not crazy about these hides, but this one was an easy grab without going deep into the yard and I knew the owner, so it wasn't bad.

 

OK. So now describe your reasons for being apprehensive the first time.

 

How much of it was because of darkness? Unfamiliar area? Uncertainty about the coordinate accuracy?

 

Can you articulate your specific "fears" about the cache? Perhaps that would help others determine things to do to make this type of cache more viable.