How do you handle a cache that lists a bug but doesn't have it....

[+TheSapaFamily]

How do you handle a cachet that lists a bug that doesn't have one in it?

 

I have been reading the forum and I know the general consensus is that sometimes it takes a while for players to log a bug they have picked up. But can I go ahead and make a note in the travel bug log that I just visited the cache and did not see the travel bug? The last goecacher visitor was in April. I just visited the other night.

 

I have visited 3 caches so far that said they had travel bugs but they did not. I found one travel bug in a cache that didn't have it listed. I'm starting to get the impression that travel bugs disappear in St. Louis.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

If you do not own the TB or the cache, there is little you can do.

 

If you come across a cache that does have a traveler in the inventory (box), but not in the cache itself -- you can post a note to the traveler page stating that it is not in the cache. Not much else you can do about it, but the note is a good thing.

 

EDIT: Is best to place the note in your log AND one on the traveler page.

Edited June 15, 2010 by Gitchee-Gummee

[+Sagefox]

I have visited 3 caches so far that said they had travel bugs but they did not

 

I found one travel bug in a cache that didn't have it listed.

 

 

This is very common. Some cache owners don't maintain the tb inventory. Whether they aren't paying attention to the tb traffic or just don't care I don't know. I often will write to the cache owner or post a Note on their cache page something to the effect: "...The cache owner has the ability to remove missing tbs from the cache page inventory. It is very easy to do. Just click the travel bug link on your cache page and choose the 'mark as missing' option."

 

And some cachers move tbs without logging them. At least these tbs is still in the game and a little mystery makes it interesting.

 

I'm starting to get the impression that travel bugs disappear in St. Louis.

 

They probably disappear at about the same rate everywhere. Eventually most seem to end up missing. Some are kept by newbies that leave the game, some get lost, for some the cache they are in gets muggled, and some folks just decide to keep them. I suspect that almost all tbs eventually go missing but many last several years before that happens and some even reach a destination and get retired.

 

Happy to see that you are concerned about them. It will be fun having you guys in this game.

[+TheSapaFamily]

Thank you everyone for your responses. I will just start putting notes in the travel bug log if I don't see it in the cache.

 

Thank you for the nice comment Team Sagefox. My husband and I are having a blast. I mentioned it to my nieces over the weekend and showed them my swag so far and they couldn't contain themselves. BIL now has a new GPS device and St louis has 6 new geocachers ready to hunt!!!

[+Walts Hunting]

In this situation I seem to lean towards two margaritas as a solution.

[Dr. John Rae]

I'm starting to get the impression that travel bugs disappear in St. Louis.

 

They probably disappear at about the same rate everywhere. Eventually most seem to end up missing. Some are kept by newbies that leave the game, some get lost, for some the cache they are in gets muggled, and some folks just decide to keep them. I suspect that almost all tbs eventually go missing but many last several years before that happens and some even reach a destination and get retired.

 

Happy to see that you are concerned about them. It will be fun having you guys in this game.

 

I thought it was only Edmonton... good to know.

[+Semper Questio]

I normally don't know when a cache is supposed to have TB's in it, but if I do notice and there aren't any, I'll note in my log entry that I didn't see anything and move on.

[+BullGOD33]

First things first...Hello Everyone!!!

New to the game as well. Only in it for about a week now, and the wife and I love it. I took a liking to the TravelBugs right off, and noticed the same thing. Thanx for the great answer...now we no what to do.

[+Harry Dolphin]

How do you handle it? Cache owners are not required to maintain the integrity of trackables in their cahes. Many trackable owners are missing as well. Of the fifty-five caches I visited on vacation last week, fifteen had trackables listed that wre not there. Some has as many as ten missing trackables.

You can post a note to the cache page, and post a note to the trackable page. (I, for one, do pay attention to those notes...) If that does not work (and it probably will not), and if you really care, you could bring it to the attention of Eartha. If the trackable has been missing for quite a while s/he can move it to 'missing' status.

(Hey, Eartha, check out Highway 17 Travel Bug Hotel)