Trashed Caches

[+ForsdykeFinders]

I seem to have had a run of my caches trashed recently. The most recent one was discovered yesterday (Cache from the Mint) where the lock lid container was destroyed. This has taken some doing.

This particular cache was well hidden and in a very quiet area of woodland so I am wondering if people are signing up, getting the co-ords and then going out to vandalise them. Maybe I am just being paranoid but it does put you off placing new ones if you are on a constant maintenance regime plus these boxes are not cheap.

[+ForsdykeFinders]

Ah, one other thing, this one had a number of TBs in it. How do I inform the owner/get them removed from the cache once it is replaced???

[+4 Badgers]

Ah, one other thing, this one had a number of TBs in it. How do I inform the owner/get them removed from the cache once it is replaced???

 

Click on the TB listings on your cache page and 'write note' for each of the TBs / coins listed - the owners should get the notification email (if notifications are working - they weren't just over a week ago)

 

Sorry to hear about your bad luck

[+Haggis Hunter]

Ah, one other thing, this one had a number of TBs in it. How do I inform the owner/get them removed from the cache once it is replaced???

Do as the Badgers have suggested and also as you are the cache owner you can list the TB as missing. Make sure you still post a note saying what you have done, as listing it as missing doesn't alert the owner.

[markandlynn]

Ive found a fair few caches uncovered or moved in the last few months.

 

Most are down to the number of furry critters turning everything over and looking in nooks and crannies for food.

 

The slightest smell of food in the container and a badger (the furry four legged kind ) will try to "open" them up.

 

reading the hint for this one a badger finding it is a possibilty and once its dragged in the open it obviously becomes much less muggle proof.

[+Mad H@ter]

sorry about your caches 1) how far is it away from the path do you have to go right in to the woods.if so are the woods private. 2) have you got permission.3) is the a game keeper that looks after the woods.if so does he/she no about the cache. again sorry about your cache's

[+Alibags]

A word to the wise... It is hard enough to accept that muggles who find caches may nick them, steal the contents or trash them. Why would somebody do this, what's the point?...

 

BUT if you go down the route of imagining that it's cachers who do this then this will lead to paranoia, distrust and dis-satisfaction. I am not saying that it would never ever happen, but if you get fixated on that idea, it will not make you feel good about geocaching. It's much nicer to blame it on the nasty non-geocaching muggles unless and until you get strong proof otherwise.

Edited July 13, 2007 by Alibags

[+keehotee]

If there are cachers who would steal coins from caches, I'm sure it's just as likely that there are people who would create a GC account just to get co-ords and trash caches....!

[+careygang]

If there are cachers who would steal coins from caches, I'm sure it's just as likely that there are people who would create a GC account just to get co-ords and trash caches....!

 

I have to agree with Alibags that it is a depressing thought that there might be subversive anti-cachers signing up just to go on a destructive rampage, but it has to be balanced against the thought that why would anyone actually go on a cache hunt just to trash it. Vandals do not put in undue effort to facilitate destruction.

 

On the other hand, the topic of coin collecting cachers who lift coins for personal collections, that is a positive act of collection by theft and an entirely different thing.

Unfortunately it is a fact of life that there are such people out there, some of whom are probably reading these forums... Now that is really depressing as it is truer than the prospect of vandals who sing up just to trash caches.

[The Red Kite]

I seem to have had a run of my caches trashed recently. The most recent one was discovered yesterday (Cache from the Mint) where the lock lid container was destroyed. This has taken some doing.

This particular cache was well hidden and in a very quiet area of woodland so I am wondering if people are signing up, getting the co-ords and then going out to vandalise them. Maybe I am just being paranoid but it does put you off placing new ones if you are on a constant maintenance regime plus these boxes are not cheap.

 

Sorry to hear about your caches FF.

 

As a true fence sitter I can see both sides of this argument and agree with both of them.

 

Unfortunately two of my caches were not just trashed recently, but completely removed, they were both in a series of rainbow caches, which has completely spoiled the hunt for anyone wishing to complete it. I am loathe to replace them straight away and am still undecided as to whether to replace them with tupperware or micros; it would be a shame to use micros because that would ruin the theme.

 

I also wondered whether anyone had found one by accident and then signed up to find others. There does seem to be a lot of caches disappearing in this area lately. Of course it could be coincidence, but it does make me wonder, when they all seem to have suddenly disappeared at the same time. We can't blame animals in this case because the two of mine were hidden under piles of rocks, and at least one of the others was in a hole in a wall with a stone in front of it, and the stone was replaced.

[+also_cute_and_fluffy]

Two of my caches disappeared completely within the space of a few days. They were completely removed with no trace at all. It seemed very odd to me at the time but just put it down to them being in "just the wrong place"

 

The thought did cross my mind that perhaps something underhand was going on, but I decided not to think about it and found somewhere else to stick one.

[fraggle69]

Might not be muggles, have you thought about the animals? I was checking up on a cache the other day as I was asked to rescue a TB from my cache because nobody seems to want to do the cache. lol Anyway I checked on a micro and I don't know what has tried to chew into it or why but it was all chewed up around the base. Luckily for me the critter decided to leave it in situ YAY!!!!

 

Aiiiiiii

[+FollowMeChaps]

At the risk of being very contentious doesn't this bring us back to the argument for making paid membership not an option? (Is that a double negative? )

Edited July 15, 2007 by FollowMeChaps

[+t.a.folk]

Scenario re paid membership as mentioned above ..

landowner finds a cache on their land that they didn't know about .

The cache owner hasn't left personal contact details in the cache .

 

Options for landowner ....ignore the caches presence ,remove cache ,leave note in the cache asking for it's removal ,or very good heartedly become a member to make contact via details on stash note .

If in order to make contact via stash note details they had first to become a paid member would many landowners take that option ?

[Edgemaster]

Forcing paid membership should not be done. It limits the game too much.

[+Matt_Harpenden]

Forcing paid membership should not be done. It limits the game too much.

 

Agreed. It sort of goes against the ethic of Geocaching too, a little.

 

As for trashed caches, it is a real shame but it can happen, be it muggles or animuggles (animals) Maybe someone stepped on the cache by accident, especially if it was under a rock the lid could have been broken. I don't think someone would set out with the intention to destroy a cache, but maybe I'd be surprised?

[+The Blorenges]

....I don't think someone would set out with the intention to destroy a cache, but maybe I'd be surprised?

One part of one of our puzzle caches was deliberately muggled recently. A 12" x 8" pebble broken into 4 pieces. In this case, there's no way it was accidental. I'm just pondering whether it's worth the effort to engrave a new one to replace it.

 

To be more accurate, I'm pondering whether it's worth MrB's effort...

 

MrsB

[+kewfriend]

Might not be muggles, have you thought about the animals?

If you are fairly certain that an accidental find is unlikely (and even NokNok was found & muggled) then animals particularly foxes are a good suspect. They can easily force open a click top container. Remember they can smell 'human' and so will surmise 'nosh', and not till gaining access will junk the endeavour.

 

As an aside - multis are a good way of dealing with malicious muggles as most simply wont be bothered to do the first clue. And when dealing with regular caches, dont give all away in the hint. Actually muggling is very much a minority sport - and sometimes its just the 'cleanliness obsessed' just doing the TO rather than a CITO.

[+Coppers Lot]

Caches being found a destroyed will always be a problem as not all people like others to have fun. I'm a community copper I meet these people every day, caught up in their own dis-satisfaction with life and are willing to go to whatever end. Yobletts for instance who find one in a park would, in my personal opinion, if part of a group spend as long as it takes trashing a cache and enjoy doing it too......

 

My view point when this happens is to look at what effort I put into the cache "how could it have been found, what were the weaknesses in the hide?"

 

I always then look to improve my camo skills and stay WELL away from daft stick piles, etc. for which alot of Geocachers are guilty of using. The better the hide the less chance of it being found. Of course if someone has become a member to do this then it doesn't matter how good you are.......that option is best left out of thought or Geocaching will suffer as Alibags stated above.

 

I remember a thread on here something about TB's being stolen and put on EBAY....... it's par the course for a covert sport like this. I see/find the caches in london and await the day the bomb squad blows up a concealed ammo box, etc. as has happened in the US (this is me reason for wishing we still had virtual caches for cities)

 

I put out a whole host of TB's and lost at least half very quickly from all over europe.....my thoughts on TB's took a knock but I soon rallied and I'm sending out TB's again. RESILIENCE is the key.