would it be wrong to "booby trap" a cache?

[+Chig-gar-roo-gar-rem]

i thought it would be funny to rig a cache with a window alarm or a light sensitive toy thing (my kid had a big bird toy that says peek-a-boo when exposed to light. i would find it amusing, but i dont know how other people would feel about it. would also be awesome to have a webcam there to capture the reaction of the cacher.

[+StarBrand]

While I might it rather amusing - I am fairly certain my wife would toss the offending mechanism over the nearest cliff into the nearest body of water.

 

....just sayin'

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Hi, again!

 

Halloween caches oftentimes are set up that way. Usually with some sort of hint that something just "may" happen when found.

Personally, I think you could very well scare the life out of someone if it truly alarms them badly.

[+leejas72]

I would laugh my booty off. I would also make my post so interesting that others would just have to go there. And tell all my caching friends what a great cache it is. I'd love to see the webcam online somewhere to see others reactions. How funny.

And to Starbrand, my husband would throw it off a cliff too...lol

[jholly]

I found a cache called Surprise!. Seemed like an ordinary cache until I opened the log book. It Sang out Surprise! and went into a short song. I thought it was cute and had a good laugh.

[+Chig-gar-roo-gar-rem]

yep, the thing would be hysterical, too bad i dont have the toy anymore, but when i did, it would often find its way into cabinets and the like to scare people.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XlirgjKDlg

Edited February 1, 2010 by Chig-gar-roo-gar-rem

[+The VanDucks]

If a non-geocacher found it by accident and was scared by the noise or lights, they might contact the local police, and we don't need any more stories of bomb squads defusing geocaches!

 

Even it it is found by a cacher, the light/alarm would certainly attract the attention of any near-by muggles.

 

When you go to all the trouble of planning and setting up a cache, you don't want to have it go missing or be archived if you can avoid it!

If you want to have the cache follow a certain theme, maybe plan instead to have a special container, or special swag, or even an unusual log book inside.

Edited February 1, 2010 by The VanDucks

[+Mudfrog]

We have one placed like this but i chose not to scare the life out of someone with a real loud sound. It'll still get a cacher's attention and according to most logs, most everyone seems to have enjoyed it.

[+wimseyguy]

I have one cache with a creepy host glued to the container. It gets good reviews and amusing logs. I know of another that is the old snake in the can trick. It is also an entertaining one to have on a watchlist. YMMV

[+DarkZen]

Not sure if you would consider this cache of mine - Sneaky Snake - booby trapped, but it has a realistic rubber snake under the cache cover (flat piece of wood). No negative comments yet.

 

I recently went out to do some cache maintenance and fell for it myself. D'oh!

[+Team Cotati]

For me, it would all depend upon who's 'booby' it was that you were going to 'trap'.

[+Jeep_Dog]

I find a "booby trap" much more appealing than, say, a "hamster trap."

 

..... just sayin'.

 

 

However, unless there's some indicator in the cache description that there's something different about this cache, like starbrand, I'd be amused, but someone in the family may cause irrepairable damage to the ... cough ... "trap."

 

.... just sayin'.

[+GeoTrailGuy]

Not sure if you would consider this cache of mine - Sneaky Snake - booby trapped, but it has a realistic rubber snake under the cache cover (flat piece of wood). No negative comments yet.

 

I recently went out to do some cache maintenance and fell for it myself. D'oh!

 

I haven't come across this idea before but love it. I'm going to get my kids involved planning one like it.

[+Prime Suspect]

Actually pretty easy to do. Just get one of those Hallmark cards that let you record a greeting, take out the electronics and switch, and assemble it inside an ammo box.

Edited February 1, 2010 by Prime Suspect

[+DarkZen]

Not sure if you would consider this cache of mine - Sneaky Snake - booby trapped, but it has a realistic rubber snake under the cache cover (flat piece of wood). No negative comments yet.

 

I recently went out to do some cache maintenance and fell for it myself. D'oh!

 

I haven't come across this idea before but love it. I'm going to get my kids involved planning one like it.

Thanks. It's not reflected in the cache logs as much - I'm guessing to avoid posting spoiler info - but I've gotten a few appreciative emails regarding this cache. People's response is the best part about having a cache like this.

[+smstext]

you could hide near the cache and get one of the reviewers to publish it at a certain time (at night) and wait for the FTF to come and find it in the dark and jump out on them ..... oh what a childish idea

[+t4e]

i like the idea but i don't think anything with battery will last too long in the canadian winter lol

 

someone set up a short multi recently with a wireless doorbell, at first stage you retrieve the button and for the cache you need to walk around and keep pushing the button until you hear the bell, pretty neat

[+Touchstone]

I found one in Southern CA some time ago that had a springy snake thing that jumps out when the lid is unscrewed. I thought it was pretty cute, but the cache location was so windy that I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get the snake thing back in.

 

You do have to consider if people are going to reset things like this correctly. Some folks find it funny, but sooner or later some grumpy guss will come along and not put it back together correctly.

[+popokiiti]

you could hide near the cache and get one of the reviewers to publish it at a certain time (at night) and wait for the FTF to come and find it in the dark and jump out on them ..... oh what a childish idea

 

Ooooh - I like this idea! Not a childish idea at all IMO, a bit warped, but isn't that what we Brits (even us ex-pats) are famous for???

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I found one in Southern CA some time ago that had a springy snake thing that jumps out when the lid is unscrewed. I thought it was pretty cute, but the cache location was so windy that I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get the snake thing back in.

 

You do have to consider if people are going to reset things like this correctly. Some folks find it funny, but sooner or later some grumpy guss will come along and not put it back together correctly.

 

I found like with a snake in a can that had been hidden for a couple of years when I found it and the surprise was still intact. In this case, the small round can, located inside an ammo can, had a label on it which read "Special swag. Please take only 1"

 

As far as trapping boobies goes, if that guy would put on a shirt he wouldn't have anything to worry about.

[+bittsen]

I found one cache that had a booby trap but the previous finder had not reset it. I reset it before I left though.

 

I do plan on setting one, someday. Until then, I have a cock mechanism that is constantly clicking. I thought of putting it in an ammo can so as you get closer you hear the clicking. I don't know whether or not that would be a good idea to place it in an ammo can in the moddle of nowhere because someone would hear the clicking and surely call the bomb squad.

[+NanCycle]

someone set up a short multi recently with a wireless doorbell, at first stage you retrieve the button and for the cache you need to walk around and keep pushing the button until you hear the bell, pretty neat

Cool. Until someone doesn't bother to put the button back in the first stage.

[+42at42]

Thanks you gave me a great idea. Now I have to build it get ready for spring.

[+Printess Caroline]

I found one cache that had a booby trap but the previous finder had not reset it. I reset it before I left though.

 

I do plan on setting one, someday. Until then, I have a cock mechanism that is constantly clicking. I thought of putting it in an ammo can so as you get closer you hear the clicking. I don't know whether or not that would be a good idea to place it in an ammo can in the moddle of nowhere because someone would hear the clicking and surely call the bomb squad.

 

Oh dear. I think all the booby talk is messing with your mechanism. I think you missed a click.

[knowschad]

I don't think you'll find anything but happy remarks on this now archived cache of mine. I took the works out of a toy from the pet store and wired it to a momentary contact switch to trigger it when the lid of the jar was unscrewed. It played "I Think I Love You!" once the lid was removed, and didn't stop until the timer ran out.

Shhhhhh!!!

[+cw1710]

If a non-geocacher found it by accident and was scared by the noise or lights, they might contact the local police, and we don't need any more stories of bomb squads defusing geocaches!

 

Even it it is found by a cacher, the light/alarm would certainly attract the attention of any near-by muggles.

 

When you go to all the trouble of planning and setting up a cache, you don't want to have it go missing or be archived if you can avoid it!

If you want to have the cache follow a certain theme, maybe plan instead to have a special container, or special swag, or even an unusual log book inside.

You can't let paranoia take over and take possibly fun caches out of the picture because of one overzealous police department. I have found one with a fake owl hidden next to it that would "hoot hoot" at you when you leaned down to grab the container. It was great. I also found one with about 6 bottles stuck together and you had to unscrew the tops to find the log. 1 of them contained a spring "snake" that would pop out when it was opened. It was cool too, although a booger to put back in it. Anyways, the guy got the charges dropped quickly, and now has the chance to make a lot of money that he can buy new caching stuff with so don't worry too much about the Texas incident. Also, if hiding these types of caches, just be smart with it and take into consideration where you are putting it. Here in Alabama, it would never be a problem.

[+allenjpl]

I found one cache that had a booby trap but the previous finder had not reset it. I reset it before I left though.

 

I do plan on setting one, someday. Until then, I have a cock mechanism that is constantly clicking. I thought of putting it in an ammo can so as you get closer you hear the clicking. I don't know whether or not that would be a good idea to place it in an ammo can in the moddle of nowhere because someone would hear the clicking and surely call the bomb squad.

 

Is it clicking or is it clucking? Either way would get my attention if I heard it out in the middle of nowhere. But a full-blast crow when I open an ammo box would be hilarious.

[+Harry Dolphin]

As stated previously, when this sick concept last arose: If I survive the heart attack, I would beat the carp out of the cache. then smash it with rocks. then toss it off the nearest cliff.

Sadism has no place in a family friendly sport.

Edited February 2, 2010 by Harry Dolphin

[+bittsen]

As stated previously, when this sick concept last arose: If I survive the heart attack, I would beat the carp out of the cache. then smash it with rocks. then toss it off the nearest cliff.

Sadism has no place in a family friendly sport.

 

I see you fixed it to say Sadism.

 

Sadism is taking pleasure in the pain of others.

Masochism is taking pleasure in the pain you experience.

 

As long as the cache page prepares you, I see no problem.

 

I just posted a cache called "Is it dead?"

I fully expect a few to freak out a bit though it's not actually "scary".

[+Opalblade]

As stated previously, when this sick concept last arose: If I survive the heart attack, I would beat the carp out of the cache. then smash it with rocks. then toss it off the nearest cliff.

Sadism has no place in a family friendly sport.

 

Oh man I was busy reading the heart attack sentence and imagining what a terrible shock like that would be like when hubby snuck up on me and grabbed my shoulders. Revenge for my scaring him twice last week. Which was revenge for him jumping around corners before that...you get the picture.

 

I startle easily and piercingly so I would probably scream loud enough to bring every man within 3 miles running to see if I was being killed

[+Opalblade]

As stated previously, when this sick concept last arose: If I survive the heart attack, I would beat the carp out of the cache. then smash it with rocks. then toss it off the nearest cliff.

Sadism has no place in a family friendly sport.

 

I see you fixed it to say Sadism.

 

Sadism is taking pleasure in the pain of others.

Masochism is taking pleasure in the pain you experience.

 

As long as the cache page prepares you, I see no problem.

 

I just posted a cache called "Is it dead?"

I fully expect a few to freak out a bit though it's not actually "scary".

 

I'm so curious now!!!! I'll never be in your area so if you're feeling generous I'd love to know (via msg) what dead looking thing you've hidden

[+Chig-gar-roo-gar-rem]

As stated previously, when this sick concept last arose: If I survive the heart attack, I would beat the carp out of the cache. then smash it with rocks. then toss it off the nearest cliff.

Sadism has no place in a family friendly sport.

but its funny

[+kunarion]

i would find it amusing, but i dont know how other people would feel about it.

I once had a light-sensitive music box. It was a circuit board a little larger than a quarter, and with its own magnet (it came attached inside the lid of a cookie tin). I've never seen one since, but thought it would be fun in some themed cache.

 

I also thought of those inexpensive digital recorders (like the ones now found in greeting cards), although those may be tricky to rig up to activate correctly. Maybe have that in the cache log as previously mentioned. I'd invite people to record the speech or sound that they'd like the next cacher to hear.

Edited February 2, 2010 by kunarion

[+Manville Possum]

I found a cache that had a dog theme, there was a toy dog house inside of a HUGE ammo can that vibrated and made a barking noise. It was in a big pile of rocks under an over hang. Another cacher found it later and thought it was a rattlesnake making the noise. I have a cache that is in an old out house, I started to put a motion activated halloween skeleton inside sitting over the port hole, but I was afraid someone may have a heart attack. I don't think that booby-trapping a cache is a good idea. I did set up a wildgame trail camera near a cache once because it was getting muggled. I caught the person that was doing it too. So if you are reading this post ,and you know who you are, I know who you are also. Did'nt know that you got caught did ya'?

[+Manville Possum]

I found a cache that had a dog theme, there was a toy dog house inside of a HUGE ammo can that vibrated and made a barking noise. It was in a big pile of rocks under an over hang. Another cacher found it later and thought it was a rattlesnake making the noise. I have a cache that is in an old out house, I started to put a motion activated halloween skeleton inside sitting over the port hole, but I was afraid someone may have a heart attack. I don't think that booby-trapping a cache is a good idea. I did set up a wildgame trail camera near a cache once because it was getting muggled. I caught the person that was doing it too. So if you are reading this post ,and you know who you are, I know who you are also. Did'nt know that you got caught did ya'?

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I don't think you'll find anything but happy remarks on this now archived cache of mine. I took the works out of a toy from the pet store and wired it to a momentary contact switch to trigger it when the lid of the jar was unscrewed. It played "I Think I Love You!" once the lid was removed, and didn't stop until the timer ran out.

Shhhhhh!!!

 

Oh great. I just know that there will be a cache out there where the finders get Rick Rolled.

[Mushtang]

I find it odd that a few cachers in here either admit that they'd destroy such a cache or they claim that their wives would do it and they'd be okay with it.

 

Hopefully we're not to the point where it's okay to destroy caches that we don't like for some reason.

[Mr.Yuck]

I don't think you'll find anything but happy remarks on this now archived cache of mine. I took the works out of a toy from the pet store and wired it to a momentary contact switch to trigger it when the lid of the jar was unscrewed. It played "I Think I Love You!" once the lid was removed, and didn't stop until the timer ran out.

Shhhhhh!!!

 

Oh great. I just know that there will be a cache out there where the finders get Rick Rolled.

 

He-He. Thanks for the idea.

 

Yeah, I found an ammo box with one of those personal door alarms on the inside. It was called "The Intuder", so I kind of expected it. It was in the woods. No one was around. It was funny. Not a big deal.

[+Stargazer22]

We found one like this a couple of years ago during a weekend long event we attended. The cache had one of those ear-piercing alarms mounted on it and would continously go off as long as the lid to the ammo can was raised. It was hilarious, especially since we did it on a night caching run at about 2 in the morning.

 

We found another one that was rigged with a realistic looking rubber snake. The cache was in a stump and the snake was tied to the cache with a short piece of monofilament line. When you lifted the cache out, the snake would come shooting out right behind it. It was a good way to find out just how quickly we can drop a cache!

[knowschad]

Yeah, I found an ammo box with one of those personal door alarms on the inside. It was called "The Intuder", so I kind of expected it. It was in the woods. No one was around. It was funny. Not a big deal.

Let's hope the bomb squad never hits one of those with their water cannon!

[+Jeep_Dog]

I find it odd that a few cachers in here either admit that they'd destroy such a cache or they claim that their wives would do it and they'd be okay with it.

 

Hopefully we're not to the point where it's okay to destroy caches that we don't like for some reason.

 

Well, one of the few were just kidding - sort of in the spirit of being scared and human instinctual response.

 

Perhaps more of a cacheslaughter charge as opposed to a murder?

 

However, don't let any of this fact and/or jest get in the way of your fretting....

Edited February 2, 2010 by Jeep_Dog

[+Castle Mischief]

As stated previously, when this sick concept last arose: If I survive the heart attack, I would beat the carp out of the cache. then smash it with rocks. then toss it off the nearest cliff.

Sadism has no place in a family friendly sport.

 

Good to see you're still keeping things in perspective.

[Mushtang]

I find it odd that a few cachers in here either admit that they'd destroy such a cache or they claim that their wives would do it and they'd be okay with it.

 

Hopefully we're not to the point where it's okay to destroy caches that we don't like for some reason.

Well, one of the few were just kidding - sort of in the spirit of being scared and human instinctual response.

 

Perhaps more of a cacheslaughter charge as opposed to a murder?

 

However, don't let any of this fact and/or jest get in the way of your fretting....

I counted 4 posts that said they (or someone in their family) would destroy such a cache just because they didn't like it.

 

And I saw nothing in any of the posts, including yours, that would indicate it was just a joke.

 

Nice backpeddling though. The "I was only kidding and you should have known that" excuse is a little too transparent.

[runner_one]

I have found two caches that were "Booby Trapped" in this way. The first one Cave Rats Nest was in a small cave about 30 feet from the entrance. To reach the cache you are required to crawl a short distance to the room with the cache. When you reach the room there is enough space for you to stand up. The cache is, or was when I found it, on a small ledge over the entrance tunnel behind your head hidden from sight. When I

found the cache it had, on top of the cache a battery powered Halloween prank that consisted of a laughing skull with a motion sensor that triggered it to laugh as soon as I stood up. You must get this picture I am in a dark damp hole with only a pen-light to see by when suddenly behind me a skull screams and laughs menacingly, I jumped around and saw this thing with glowing eyes screaming at me from the darkness. I nearly soiled myself!!!! Best cache ever.

The second one was this cache. A whole lot creepy This cache consisted of a standard mailbox mounted where no mail box should be. When I found the cache and opened it there was a switch that triggered a disembodied hand that reached out at you. Once again I nearly fell over backwards when I opened this one. This was a great cache.

Edited February 2, 2010 by runner_one

[+Chig-gar-roo-gar-rem]

the cave one would prolly kill me, but once i recovered i would think it was hysterical

[+Harry Dolphin]

As stated previously, when this sick concept last arose: If I survive the heart attack, I would beat the carp out of the cache. then smash it with rocks. then toss it off the nearest cliff.

Sadism has no place in a family friendly sport.

 

Good to see you're still keeping things in perspective.

 

Of course, it would be a purely reflex action.

[+42at42]

 

Sadism has no place in a family friendly sport.

 

Have you ever played Go Fish with a 4 year-old?

[+Team_FussyPants]

We have a cache here locally that has an ingenious mechanism inside an ammo can, and when you open the lid it presses on the button of one of those hand held airhorns like people use at sporting events. The name of the cache and description does give a hint that you'll get a surprise, but you totally dont expect that sound! Its out in the middle of no-where on the side of a hill in a canyon and doesn't attract attention when activated. It has received VERY good reviews from finders, and to my knowledge no complaints (none in the logs anyways).

 

I thought it was great, and so did my wife. She's a casual cacher who only comes along when I drag her out. We found the can and I opened it up, then immediately shut it as fast as I could. It took us about 10 minutes to stop laughing at ourselves, then we finally figured out how to disarm the cache and sign the log. I personally think its one of the best caches in our area, and I'm not alone with that thought.

 

I say go for it, just do like others have said: Hide it where it wont draw attention, and at least hint that the cache contains a surprise. I have a feeling you'll get an overwhelming positive response from your area cachers.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

More than one finder, including myself, has squealed like a little girl and jumped back when finding a cache that Joefrog set up in my honor. Since I am one-legged and hobble around on crutches he of course hid it on top of the second-highest mountain peak in Alabama. You finally get up there, descend a ways down the other side so that you have to climb BACK up going out (he's evil!), look around and you eventually see the sole of a boot under a flat rock. You pull the boot out and... it's attached to a leg! A very realistic fake leg... when you first see it you are convinced that you've grabbed a dismembered corpse! It gets great logs, going on 5 years in place.

 

Booby trapping can be fun IF you know your audience. I wouldn't do anything really scary unless I knew who might find it, say a temporary cache at an event.

 

A few years ago on Halloween the Youth Minister of a local church told me that he was taking a bus full of his teens to a certain cache at an abandoned cemetery way out in the woods at midnight. They would have to walk through the cemetery then down a path through the woods to the cache. I had found that cache and knew that it was inside a 'bloody' rubber Freddy Kruger Halloween head in a tree. Cool! As soon as we hung up I called another buddy, swore him to secrecy, told him what they had planned, and it was game on!

 

We met and went shopping... 200 bottle rockets, 500 firecrackers, Radio Shack AAA battery holders and micro-switches, model rocket engine igniters, black cord, camo tape and we're good to go. We got to the site at dusk so we could see all possible trails leading to and from the site. Rigged the head and every trail but the one they would likely come in on with tripwire cords set to trip the battery-powered micro-switches, which would fire the rocket igniters, which would light the fireworks, and found a hidey-hole to await our cachers.

 

About 10pm we hear a car arrive. Hmm, it's way too early, what if a geocacher wanders into our trap? Not only would it blow, literally, our plan but we might have one seriously pissed-off cacher to deal with! It turned out to be one of the church kid's Mom, come with a boat air-horn to hide and await her child! Not only her but three other Mom's showed up over the next hour with various noise-makers, including one seriously cool 'moaner' made of a garden hose. Great minds think alike!

 

We got all the cars moved up the road a ways so the busload of kids wouldn't see them and everyone hid.

 

It went perfectly, the 20+ kids stayed in a fairly tight group busting noisily along the trail, saw the gruesome head and as soon as one touched it the Mom blew her air horn. As we predicted kids took off in all directions, hitting the tripwires... hundreds of fireworks went off all around them, bottle rockets lit the sky, the air-horn was earsplitting, the moaning and rustling in the bushes... yeah, we got 'em!

 

Unfortunately one rather emotional young girl was so scared that she fell completely to pieces and totally panicked, she had to be calmed by the parents who had come to scare their own kids and had to be helped back to the bus, she was so upset she couldn't walk.

 

The rest, however, thought it was totally awesome (once they got their wits back!) and still tell the story today as a great adventure.

 

The poor girl who was truly terrified and the after-thought that one of the kids might have gotten hurt tripping or running into a tree branch in that initial moment of 'get me outa here!' rushing about taught me not to do this again with kids. I have done things similar with adults since then and may do again as long as I know who the 'victims' will be and have an idea how they will react.

[+W7WT]

A few years ago I found a cache in Yakima, WA that was down in a swamp and when you got close, A loud low voice said: WHAT DO YOU WANT? Scared the pants off me but I thought it was a fun cache. Now that I have a bad heart, I don't think it's so funny.