In your front yard caches

[+mvigor]

One thing I have noticed - when the cache owner is there watching folks don't trade used Sharpies for geocoins!

 

Unactivated geocoins you mean? The traveling ones don't require a trade at all.

[+jbiciolis91]

I personally tend to enjoy front yard caches. Ya they are still akward to me but I have found 4 of them and in a big city like the one I live in(Phoenix, AZ) they tend to be the only ones that arent micros. You can also always count on that they will be muggle free and have good trading items as well as plenty of trackables. All the ones I have found have been really noticeable and you could tell the cache was in that person's yard easily by the description on the cache page. I personally think they are a good break from the typical city micro.

[+JacobBarlow]

We feel like "house caches" as we call them are great, they are safer for travel bugs, etc.. and just really fun to look for, we never feel awkward looking for them because putting a cache in your yard IS an invitation for us to come into it, we have a cache at our home and always will and we have them at our parents and relatives and friends homes too!

[+Sparticus06]

First time I ever found one in someones yard, I was as nervous as ever. Felt like I shouldnt be there, but was supposed to be there. I still feel that way once in awhile, but not alot anymore

[+ArtieD]

I think the key to a good front yard cache is to make it dead certain that the specific yard you want cachers in is marked in some way, such as using the Geocaching symbol or something like that. That would ease a lot of tension.

[+jtomason]

I placed a front-yard cache yesterday -- my first -- and thus far, no problems.

 

Without giving it away, the cache is in between the sidewalk and the road -- technically NOT private property. I included the following in the cache's description:

 

"This is an easy to find cache in a residential neighborhood. The cache is easily reached from a publicly accessible location with no permission required."

 

Further, it's a pretty easy cache to find, minimizing the "I've been here too long" factor. You can drive right up to it, and lots of visitors to the neighbors park their all the time, so the activity is mostly normal.

 

I wouldn't put one up next to the house/garage or anywhere further back that you couldn't get to it from the sidewalk or street for the reasons listed above. I had actually considered a different location for it that would have been a bit more challenging, but it would have required going 5' or so onto the lawn and I felt that people would be uncomfortable with that. I wanted this to be a nice, easy cache, especially for those who involve their kids.

 

I almost got to meet the FTF, but they drove off just as my daughter and I came back from a geo-run.

[+Castle Mischief]

I started this thread because I was considering placing my own front yard cache. The wife and I discussed it for some time and finally came to the conclusion that we didn't want to endanger our (mostly) free-roaming dogs and cats or (mostly) free-roaming kids by increasing traffic on our very low-traffic road.

 

Not that I think cachers drive like maniacs or are more likely to hit a dog or cat (or kid for that matter), we just didn't want to increase the chances.

 

I thought about making it very clear in the description to "drive slowly and be aware that small children, cats, and dogs like in the area and frequently wander the road" but I just didn't want to have to deal with the death or injury of one of our beloved animals (the kids we're fond of too).

 

...that and my next door relative is kind of the "Mrs. Kravitz" type and I didn't want to deal with the family drama.

[+ventura_kids]

I've found many (dozens) of these IN THE YARD type caches.

I like the 55 gallon drums on the front porch type.

I dislike the dig thru the bushes type.

If you can place the cache in an area where NO damage can occur (figure 20 or 30 foot error of coords), then the cache should be ok.

Also I agree that it should NOT be next door to a nosey neighbor.

We don't want the LEO to come questioning the geocachers.

 

The worst one I've seen so far was the "under a rock" one in Ojai. We must have turned over 100 small rocks before finding the cache. By the time we were done, one neighbor was standing and staring, and another neighbor driving by, turned around to question us.

 

thanks for the cache

[+ventura_kids]

oops... very very slow website caused a duplicate post with errors. Deleting

Edited June 6, 2008 by ventura_kids

[+Renegade Knight]

...For those of you that have searched for (and found or not) caches on the manicured turf of your fellow cachers: what sort of mishaps have you encountered? Nosey neighbor call the cops? Sprayed by sprinklers? Bitten by dogs?...

 

I felt like I was being watched. It gives me the heebie jeebies.

[+ventura_kids]

One time we were certain by the clue, that the cache was inside a handmade wooden birdhouse.

After we broke off part of the roof, we noticed the cache on the ground

[+gvsu4msu]

We have one - however it is a puzzle cache. You need to solve clues found in 5 previous caches to get the clues to the final. This cache is not for everyone (not everyone likes puzzles), but as we discover geo-friends, they make the effort to solve it and visit. the "traditional" to "puzzle" find ratio is about 3:1 or 4:1 depending.

[+Cal78]

The easiest Way To Stop the Problems is First Make it a Members only cache, and then when placing the cache, put it somewhere obvious, like a Big greem water valve box, or on a porch.

[+JeremyR]

I've done one yard cache. I did it with me on one end of the phone and the owner on the other. I wouldn't do another one in any other way 'cos I'm just not confident enough to go rummaging around in people's gardens.

 

It was a good job I did do it on the phone too, it was a puzzle and I had the co-ords miles out (like 300ft or so) which could've lead to a whole load of

[Team Misguided]

I placed a front-yard cache yesterday -- my first -- and thus far, no problems.

 

Without giving it away, the cache is in between the sidewalk and the road -- technically NOT private property.

 

 

Depending on the local laws where you live that would technically still be private property. In most areas the actual property of the home owner generally goes all the way to the street. The local governments that install and maintain the sidewalks typically only have a right-of-way, they don't own the property from there to the street.

 

Back on topic. I encourage anyone in my review area to make it abundantly clear on the cache page that the hide is in their front yard. I also suggest that they make efforts to do something to make it obvious to geocachers which house/yard is the right one. Informing your neighbors about the cache and the potential visitors is also a good idea.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

I like the make-it-obvious idea.

 

Mine is a double-size ammo can in plain view from the street.

 

A friend here in town has one that is a 4' diameter green plastic turtle, another friend in TN has one that is a huge (fortunately fake!) pile of elephant dung.

 

In all cases these are TB hotels, meant to be quickly found...If you have to hunt for those you probably have no business geocaching!