How many TB's do You take?

[+The VanDucks]

We recently released a number of new geocoins and TB's in some of our own caches, because a lot of our earlier trackables had disappeared into the great unknown, as so often happens!

 

Since we enjoy finding and moving trackables, we wanted to give other cachers the same experience. We placed most of our new ones in two of our multicaches, which each take an hour or so to complete, so they might be less likely to be muggled. Both caches are popular with families, and we thought children would be happy to find these particular travellers. It really surprised us when the cachers who next found those caches took ALL the trackables at once. We thought geocaching "etiquette" would expect you to take one or two trackables but not clean out the entire supply from one cache! (Neither of them is a TB motel.)

 

We're disappointed that the entire inventory then is in one cacher's hands, rather than heading out in lots of different directions. None of the cachers who took our coins and travel bugs left any sort of trackable item in return.

 

What do YOU do when you find several travelling items in a cache? Doesn't it seem that leaving something behind for the next cacher to find would be courteous?

[Keystone]

I am moving this thread from the Geocaching Topics forum to the Travel Bug forum.

[Neos2]

I take as many as I can help along their way. I rarely find more than two or three that are going "my way"--but there really isn't any reason not to take several TBs. They are supposed to travel. Of course, your caches would be safe from my maurading ways, since I rarely do multis.

 

They are certainly safer in the hands of a cacher who will move them along than sitting in a cache--far too often caches with many TBs at once are targets for having all the TBs removed by folks who only want to hoard them. I had one of my TBs picked up by a couple of teens on what appears to have been their last day of caching--they went to over 20 caches and picked up almost 30 TBs--which have not left their hands since.

 

If you really want to see them go off in different hands, it might be best to feed them into the cache one or two at a time.

[+steve p]

TBs and coins are not trade items. You don't have to leave any sort of trackable item in return, and you should not expect that.

 

I don't believe there's any sort of etiquette that says you can't take every TB in a cache (not "take" as in take to keep, but take to move on). There is etiquette that you should be fairly prompt in moving bugs on and not to keep them; also to only pick up those with a stated goal that you can assist with.

 

There's no reason to think that your bugs still won't head out in lots of different directions. Just because one cacher has them all right now doesn't mean that they will continue to travel together after the holder releases them.

 

I would agree with Neos2 who suggests to place bugs in a cache a couple at a time. Whenever I happen to have a number of bugs that I have picked up I won't place them all into one cache.

 

Wait to see what happens to your TBs before getting too worried about how they were retrieved.

Good luck with them.

 

edit: minor wordsmithing

Edited July 27, 2008 by steve p

[+tooiake]

Okay, this thread answers one of my questions. Here is my situation. I'm new to caching and I've never seen a travel bug before. I've been browsing through some of the caches in my area (I live in NYC) and there seems to be a lot of TBs around. However, half of them are reported missing. I'm going to New Jersey this weekend to go hiking. Should I take whatever TBs are actually in the caches to save them from potentially being "lost" and drop them off in Jersey where I think they will be safer? Or should I only take the ones I can help along to their goals and leave the other bugs to the tender mercies of the big city?

 

If I remember correctly, I found a bug that wanted to go to Asia. I think that one will have to take its chances, since being in a city is more conducive to that goal than being in the middle of the woods.

[+BlueDeuce]

Take as many travel bugs as you want but only those you can assist towards the goal. If a cache is remote you might be doing the bug a favor by getting it into a more visited cache even though you didn't move it directly towards it's destination.

 

Make careful note of any bugs in the cache. If when logging the cache you note a bug listed that was not in the cache, say so in your log. This will help identify bugs that need to be removed from the cache listing.

[+wavector]

If when logging the cache you note a bug listed that was not in the cache, say so in your log.

 

Good point Blue

 

Tracking travel bugs is a tough job sometimes.

If you are looking at a cache and there are trackable items being shown in the listing and they are not in the cache then the cache owner or the TB owner can mark the bug as missing. A good log will offer commentary on every trackable item listed. I found a TB hotel on holidays that had 9 TB's listed and none in the cache. The cache owner was very clear about wanting to have the bugs show up on the listing to attract visitors. I had to write to the local reviewer after writing to each bug owner and the cache owner!

 

Travel Bugs want to travel, owners who release them want them to travel. I think the OP needs to examine the flip side. How would you feel if many visitors to your cache simply left the travel bugs in there?

It is very common for people to look at a travel bug as an incentive to visit a cache. A travel bug can be an incentive for some geocachers but it really is one of the basic gamepieces in geocaching and it requires help from other geocachers to move from cache to cache. When a geocacher takes TB's they are helping, they are geocaching properly. From sitting in a single cache where you dropped them they will now begin traveling by being helped along by someone who cares enough to help your TB's.

If you stay lucky they will have long interesting journeys.

 

If you want to learn more about trackable items (which include TB's and Geocoins) then go and take a look at this contest called "Nice spot here for a bit of butty munching". It sounds rather odd but that is just a UK expression. If you can figure out some information on the trackable items in the cache you can win a nice prize.

Edited January 8, 2009 by wavector

[+tooiake]

To sum up what I understand - Only pick up a bug if I can help it towards its goal. Leave it if I can't help it, even if a handful of other bugs have gone missing from that cache. If this is right, thanks for your help. If you guys have any other suggestions or if I'm still wrong, please correct me!

[+BlueDeuce]

To sum up what I understand - Only pick up a bug if I can help it towards its goal. Leave it if I can't help it, even if a handful of other bugs have gone missing from that cache. If this is right, thanks for your help. If you guys have any other suggestions or if I'm still wrong, please correct me!

 

Trust me, we are not talking about leaving a bug behind to rot or be stolen.

 

If you could provide a few examples we might be able to tell you if it is a cache Black Hole or one that simply needs some maintenance.

Edited January 8, 2009 by BlueDeuce

[+wavector]

To sum up what I understand - Only pick up a bug if I can help it towards its goal. Leave it if I can't help it, even if a handful of other bugs have gone missing from that cache. If this is right, thanks for your help. If you guys have any other suggestions or if I'm still wrong, please correct me!

 

Any time you report on a TB it is appreciated.

Almost anytime you move a bug it is appreciated. (very rare exceptions might be huge moves away from a goal which is clearly stated and attached to the travel bug)

If you see Travel Bugs move them along.

If you mention all the Travel Bugs you see in your logs someone will be happy.

Bugs that have no mission tag always like to be moved, if you pick up a bug and move it even a cache hop away and record that the owner gets an email telling them their TB is OK.

 

So there are actually very few cases where you wouldn't move a Travel Bug, not just one either but every one. Every Travel Bug wants to travel. If you can move it the owner knows it is OK. If you can help it closer to the goal the owner has chosen then that is even better.

 

If you know Travel Bugs are disappearing from a cache then take the ones you find there and move them to more secure locations. The best place for a Travel Bug is in the hands of an active geocacher. The bug is OK, the owner will get emails when the TB is picked up and when it is dropped off.

 

Take pictures, enjoy TB's while they are visiting with you.

If your kids were off at camp wouldn't you like lots of letters saying they were OK and having fun?

Missions are great and assisting with the misson is rewarding but just moving the bug and generating the emails is a great way to help Travel Bugs and the geocachers who own them.

Edited January 8, 2009 by wavector

[+BlueDeuce]

I'd still like to know what bugs tooiake has a concern about. Sometimes it ain't nothing but sweeping the streets. Happy to do it.

[+tooiake]

Thanks for spelling it out wavector! Sometimes I feel a little dense.

 

For BlueDeuce: Down the Rabbit Hole and Riftstone. These two caches have a listing of coins or bugs, some of which are now missing. By the way, what do you mean by "sweeping the streets?" I see that some of the bugs have logs from several months ago stating that the item is not in the cache. Do you mean that the owner should list the bug as missing to remove it from the cache?

 

Maybe I shouldn't worry about it so much. It just kind of ticks me off that people spend money on coins and bugs only for someone to pick up these items and either forget or collect them.

[+Crow-T-Robot]

To sum up what I understand - Only pick up a bug if I can help it towards its goal. Leave it if I can't help it, even if a handful of other bugs have gone missing from that cache. If this is right, thanks for your help. If you guys have any other suggestions or if I'm still wrong, please correct me!

 

If you don't take the bug with you, write the number down and log a Discovery. If the cache in question is prone to being plundered, that discovery log is an assurance to the owner that his/her bug is still in that cache. If the cache is one that you know has a history of TB's going lost/stolen, I would make the effort to grab any/all that are in the cache and research out a cache that gets good traffic but safe from pirates. That may not help the TB's goal outright, but there is 0% chance of the bug reaching its goal if it's stolen.

 

I see that some of the bugs have logs from several months ago stating that the item is not in the cache. Do you mean that the owner should list the bug as missing to remove it from the cache?

 

I think several months is right about the time for the TB/cache owner to start considering marking the bug as missing. Things happen and some people just log their finds/grabs slower than what is normal. A few months is lenient but after that, you have to consider the possibility that your bug is gone and might never return.

 

And for the record, I have a personal limit of three TB's/coins in my possession at any given time. It just helps me keep what bugs I do have moving along.

 

Bruce

[+BlueDeuce]

Do you mean that the owner should list the bug as missing to remove it from the cache?

 

ayep.

[+Eartha]

If you find a missing bug, and get no replies from the TB owner or the cache owner, and the TB is definitely not in the cache, and there is no sign of it being picked up by anyone, you can let me know and I'll mark it missing. Local reviewers can do it too, but I'm sure they have enough on their plates reviewing caches, so I am happy to do it.

[+tooiake]

Thank you everyone. All of this information has been very helpful. I'll have to put it to good use.