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Geocaching in Florida ?


Krux151

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Hi all,

Ok so in May i will be moving to florida to do an internship(WDWCP) and i was just curious about some things. I Have found some caches in florida but only say 20 and alot of light post and/or very easy caches and i was wondering if anyone ever ran into any animal problems while caching in florida, such as snakes, boars, gators, or anything else and if you have is it really or problem or do i not need to worry. Should i carry a snake bite kit or what should i do exactly?

 

Thanks for all the help!!!

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Paging Clan Riffster! Clan Riffster please pick up the white phone!

 

:laughing:

 

I'm awake!... I'm awake!... Sheesh... (stoopid pager):lol:

 

Hi Greek Seekers, here's an early welcome to the Sunshine State!

Yes, we do have critters here in Florida. Some of them would find you rather tasty.

Should you worry about them? That depends on your level of experience, as well as where you plan on caching.

If you hunt for caches out in the woods, you should expect to encounter venomous snakes, alligators, wild hogs, feral cattle, and all manner of unpleasant bugs.

If you hunt for caches in Wally World parking lots, you might encounter fire ants and/or wasps.

Coming from Akron, I'd be a lot more worried about the heat and humidity than I would the critters.

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Paging Clan Riffster! Clan Riffster please pick up the white phone!

 

:laughing:

 

I'm awake!... I'm awake!... Sheesh... (stoopid pager):lol:

 

Hi Greek Seekers, here's an early welcome to the Sunshine State!

Yes, we do have critters here in Florida. Some of them would find you rather tasty.

Should you worry about them? That depends on your level of experience, as well as where you plan on caching.

If you hunt for caches out in the woods, you should expect to encounter venomous snakes, alligators, wild hogs, feral cattle, and all manner of unpleasant bugs.

If you hunt for caches in Wally World parking lots, you might encounter fire ants and/or wasps.

Coming from Akron, I'd be a lot more worried about the heat and humidity than I would the critters.

 

Haha awesome thank you ya i usually go down twice a year and the last time i went i cached but there was really nothing bad except some ants and i was just curious but i appreciate all the help.

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Paging Clan Riffster! Clan Riffster please pick up the white phone!

 

:laughing:

 

I'm awake!... I'm awake!... Sheesh... (stoopid pager):lol:

 

Hi Greek Seekers, here's an early welcome to the Sunshine State!

Yes, we do have critters here in Florida. Some of them would find you rather tasty.

Should you worry about them? That depends on your level of experience, as well as where you plan on caching.

If you hunt for caches out in the woods, you should expect to encounter venomous snakes, alligators, wild hogs, feral cattle, and all manner of unpleasant bugs.

If you hunt for caches in Wally World parking lots, you might encounter fire ants and/or wasps.

Coming from Akron, I'd be a lot more worried about the heat and humidity than I would the critters.

 

Hey! Who you calling stoopid! :(

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We (from Michigan) have done some caching in FL.

Encountered brown recluse spyder and gaiters.

We fear the spyders more as you don't see them 'till

the last second.

Gaiters on the other hand have been spotted from a

safe enuf distance to keep that distance safe!

I hear they are very fast for a short distance!

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i was wondering if anyone ever ran into any animal problems while caching in florida, such as snakes, boars, gators, or anything else and if you have is it really or problem or do i not need to worry.

 

Whenever you encounter sub-tropical animals in the wild with large teeth, tusks, claws or venomous fangs, you certainly DO need to worry, and it can indeed become really really problematical. Insects and plants can always be dangerous as well. Fire ants can sting you to death. Mosquitoes can give you malaria or encephalitis. Big toads can exude poison. Cotton mouths, rattlers and coral snakes can bite you. Armadillos can give you leprosy. Black snakes an leap out of trees at you. Pythons can strangle you. Itch-weed can kill you. Oleanders can kill you. Boars and bulls can gore you. Sand spurs can stick into your feet. Bears and Gators and sharks can eat you. Sting rays and sea urchins can spear you. Portuguese men of war can sting you. Florida can be a dark and scary place. Ohio is much safer. :ph34r:

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I love your post Earthdog Angus. I wish we had advertised the state this way fifty years ago instead of calling it The Sunshine State. Maybe we'd have about ten million less people. To answer the original question: I think chiggers are the worst thing about caching in Florida. Make sure to put skeeter repellent on your legs and on your feet. Take off your shoes and socks to do this. If you just spray the bottoms of your legs it will keep them from going up so instead they go down, through your socks, and drive you crazy with the itching.

 

Ticks can be a problem. They ignore bug spray. Good thing is Lyme disease isn't very common here. I guess it's too hot. They do carry other diseases. Along with caching I do a lot of trail work on hiking trails. I've found at least 50 ticks on me this year. I've heard all the official ways to remove them but I just scrape them off with my fingernail and flush them.

 

As for snakes I wear snake gaiters to protect my lower legs when I'm alone or if I do any serious bushwhacking, which is about anytime I'm with Clan Riffster. Just keep your eyes open when you're hiking and watch those great cache hiding spots where you have to reach in and grab the container. Use a stick, if you can, to remove it. The worst snake is pygmy rattlers. They are everywhere. Great camouflage. They don't rattle and they hold their ground. Moccasins are bad too because they don't warn you with a convenient rattle like a diamond back will. Coral snakes are the most deadly but they are always trying to get away from you. They're fast and it's hard to get a picture of them.

 

Bears, pigs, and alligators, are usually trying to get away from you. They all know that humans are the most dangerous thing you will encounter in the woods.

 

I've been wondering around the Florida woods for over 50 years. It's still a treat to see any critter. Even the lowly armadillo. I always carry a camera. As far as I'm concerned the drive to the woods is the most dangerous part.

 

Now that I posted this I hope I don't get eaten tomorrow.

Edited by kleetus
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...The worst snake is pygmy rattlers. They are everywhere. Great camouflage. They don't rattle and they hold their ground... Coral snakes are the most deadly but they are always trying to get away from you.

 

As a youth wandering around the wilds of Clearwater in the 1960's I used to carry a home-made snake stick--it was a broomstick with a leather noose at the end--you pulled the rope to tighten it around the neck of garter snakes so you could catch them and incarcerate them and watch them swallow toads.

 

I stepped on a pygmy once. I wondered why she was so lethargic. I found out when I skinned her--she had 11 unborn babies in her--I had interrupted her delivery-- so I got a twelve-in-one rattler extermination that day...

 

Coral snakes aren't so much of a worry, as they don't have fangs--they have to actually chew on you to break the skin and get their saliva into you to get their poison into your bloodstream--so you should have time to get them off of you...

 

All in all, if I was in a really warm safe place like Ohio, I'd stay there, if I wanted to live for very long. :laughing:

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I have to admit, pretty much EVERY time I go caching here in St. Augustine, I see a snake. Having said that, 9.5 times out of ten its just a black racer. I have yet to see a rattlesnake here while caching, although I'm pretty sure I've heard one rattling a couple times.

 

I was bushwacking through some SERIOUS saw palmetto near a creek the other day and even I got a little unnerved because it was so thick and NO visibility below...

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i was wondering if anyone ever ran into any animal problems while caching in florida, such as snakes, boars, gators, or anything else and if you have is it really or problem or do i not need to worry.

 

Whenever you encounter sub-tropical animals in the wild with large teeth, tusks, claws or venomous fangs, you certainly DO need to worry, and it can indeed become really really problematical. Insects and plants can always be dangerous as well. Fire ants can sting you to death. Mosquitoes can give you malaria or encephalitis. Big toads can exude poison. Cotton mouths, rattlers and coral snakes can bite you. Armadillos can give you leprosy. Black snakes an leap out of trees at you. Pythons can strangle you. Itch-weed can kill you. Oleanders can kill you. Boars and bulls can gore you. Sand spurs can stick into your feet. Bears and Gators and sharks can eat you. Sting rays and sea urchins can spear you. Portuguese men of war can sting you. Florida can be a dark and scary place. Ohio is much safer. :ph34r:

Wow, I never realized how dangerous it is to go out geocaching here in Florida.

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I've been here for a year and a half. I've seen snakes, gators, and hogs, but only felt threatened once and that was a snake behind a wal-mart in a palm tree.

 

Other than that, just use come common sense, like don't lift that limb with your bare hands, or don't stick your arm in the hole in a tree. Take pleanty of water and bug spray with you when you go and you should be fine.

 

You can always do like TMCertified does and send the kids in when affraid. You can run faster carrying them - then they can run to get help for you....LOL.... :laughing:

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You guys have me cracking up laughing!!!! I am a Florida geocacher can't say I am too experienced but I can't say I haven't seen anything. All I know is my friend keeps screaming brown recluse. ButI NEVER see it.... I agree with the post above it is probably more dangerous to drive to the cache especially in Jacksonville, FL where it seems it is illegal to drive under 80MPH. Bug spray is a must...you might want to go to Sams stock up bugs are out of control....Ooops I lie yes I have had ticks on me and my friends did too we did something stupid and picked up a stick to poke around for a cache. I recommend you bring your own home made stick... I no longer pick up anything off the ground.

Edited by WHO DAT LDY
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BLaCK WIDOWS AND TARANTULAS abound in Florida as well as brown recluses. We forgot about them. Sometimes their hairy little feet are so delicate on your skin, you don't notice them until they bite you and then it's too late. We did tell you about the giant stink-bugs and the in-your-face flying cockroaches, right? And at night the vampire bats and no-see-ums?

 

Yankees best stay up north, rather than come to Florida and suffer an ignominous demise at the talons of rabid vultures....If you do come, make sure your last will and testament is up to date.

 

And don't worry about gators being able to outrun you--They are real fast, but only for very short distances.If you stay back thirty feet from the shoreline, you should be OK.

 

I wouldn't venture into those dark and scary swamps without an old time canvass sponge diving outfit!!!

 

And as mentioned, even a Wal-Mart parking lot can be very,very dangerous. especially from blind old geezers driving huge SUV's...

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