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Enough with caches in poison ivy patches


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Here in the upper Midwest (MN) there seems to be a rash (no pun intended) of morons who hide their geocaches in poison ivy patches.

Anyone else run into this problem? These should be reconsidered.

 

I'm not allergic to poison ivy, so that doesn't bother me. Many people like to find their cache hidey holes in the early spring both because it's easier and to make sure it's not completely exposed in the winter, so the poison ivy might not be there when they place the hide. Plus, you know, things grow in the years after a cache is placed. Get yourself one of those grabby reaching poles, I guess.

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Here in the upper Midwest (MN) there seems to be a rash (no pun intended) of morons who hide their geocaches in poison ivy patches.

Anyone else run into this problem? These should be reconsidered.

 

As long as the attribute for poison plants are present is used there should not be a problem. Cache at your own risk.

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We have poison oak rather than poison ivy to deal with in my area. I'm not sure about it's close cousin, but poison oak tends to wax and wain with the seasons, so a cache can be placed in the winter months when the plant has no leaves and is relatively dormant, and all seems fine. Come spring, depending on the rain situation, there can be an explosion of growth, making a cache almost entirely inaccessible.

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I haven't encountered many people who deliberately hide their caches in patch of poison oak. But I've encountered plenty of people who don't know what it looks like, and just see a pretty plant. And I've encountered areas that have become infested with the stuff, after having been relatively free of it the year before.

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Here in the upper Midwest (MN) there seems to be a rash (no pun intended) of morons who hide their geocaches in poison ivy patches.

Anyone else run into this problem? These should be reconsidered.

Morons, huh?

This is an outdoor hobby. Grass, trees, and even sometimes PI grows...

A lot of caches we've seen placed in cleared areas when new, get PI growing around them after a few years.

We've yet to see even a newbie intentionally place a hide in PI.

Along with the PI attribute, we often include thorns, ticks and dangerous animals.

- I suppose there might be some person who might assume the cache was intentionally placed near those too...

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Poison Ivy don't bother me much. But some are more sensitive that others.

As for Morons hiding in poison ivy. When a cache gets hidden the poison ivy may not be there.

I was just informed of a new hide that I made. right in the middle of poison ivy.

I did not see any when I hid it and now it is there. Bummer!

Just take precautions when you go to grab the container.

Also I have found a very good product that can help.

Tecnu Extreme: A poison ivy scrub, I think Walmart has it.

 

A very good TOTT when in poison ivy country. Long sleeve shirt and long pants,

maybe some gloves while grabbing container.

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Here in the upper Midwest (MN) there seems to be a rash (no pun intended) of morons who hide their geocaches in poison ivy patches.

Anyone else run into this problem? These should be reconsidered.

Avoid the rash. There are many caches nowhere near poison ivy. Before taking the trip, check the cache description, the attributes and the logs. Wear shoes and long pants in these places (denim or something like that). Poison ivy and many other vines may take over an area that was previously clear of them, and next year will be different. Nature is ever-changing. Not only that, but there may be a bug! :yikes:

 

Hunt in winter, after the frost hits, or after the thaw. Around here (Georgia), that's the perfect time to venture into the forest. Don't play with the "dead" hairy vines, and it's clear sailing.

 

For a bunch of my caches, I keep my route somewhat clear, so I can do maintenance. As with many caches, if you're bushwhacking through the tangled jungle to get to my cache, the problem is your poor route selection. Look around before diving in.

 

If the container is buried in poison, be sure that information is in your DNF log. Make that DNF log. :anicute:

Edited by kunarion
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I recall in England having to wade through chest high nettles and getting stung a few times. The tingly sensation lasts for hours (luckily I'm not allergic). We have similar nettles near where we live but I've never seen them grow much higher than knee high. It's a seasonal thing, the caches were most likely hidden in the nettle off season.

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Here in the upper Midwest (MN) there seems to be a rash (no pun intended) of morons who hide their geocaches in poison ivy patches.

Anyone else run into this problem? These should be reconsidered.

 

Don't be afraid to give the cache a miss, even if you can see it. It's not as though there's a shortage of them out there.

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Even though poison ivy doesn't bother me any, i wouldn't purposely hide a cache in it. At the same time, i wouldn't worry about it either if my cache was already in place and the stuff moved in. I'd be sure to mention it in the description and use the attribute.

 

As someone else already stated, Cache At Your Own Risk. Also, skip any cache that you don't feel comfortable doing. There are plenty more out there...

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Here in the upper Midwest (MN) there seems to be a rash (no pun intended) of morons who hide their geocaches in poison ivy patches.

Anyone else run into this problem? These should be reconsidered.

For us poor folks here in Al. If you walk off the pavement there is almost always poison Ivy. Then if by some chance you found the one chunk of woods with out it, there is always a good chance that the rattle snake I placed next to the cache might still be there. If not him the always trusty Copperhead might be there as his night shift. But if you missed him you may find his nice neighbor Mr Cotton Mouth if you happen to be near any water. Then there is always the Trusty Mrs Black Widow and Mr Brown Recluse hiding out in those dark places.

 

just a few of the things we run into here. So if your biggest problem is PI, your lucky :)

Edited by Clarkbowman
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I have not yet encountered a geocache that was intentionally hidden in poison ivy, oak, sumac, nettles, etc. Those things do tend to grow on their own and spread where they like. As others have pointed out, they also go dormant for a decent chunk of the year, so while they may not be around when the cache was hidden, they might later make an appearance.

 

I have yet to encounter any poison ivy in the desert southwest, or even any ticks. Just thorns and rattlesnakes. Perhaps you should consider a move out of poison ivy country.

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I must be one of the morons here in Minnesota that hid a cache what's now considered placed in poison ivy. I swear, the poison ivy wasn't there when I hid it last February. You cache at your own risk, at least the last time I checked. And I keep saying, if you don't like the cache, there are a few million more right around the corner.

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I'm a little amused that no one has yet offered the most obvious solution here. If you're really intent on finding those caches--you live in the upper Midwest--poison ivy doesn't survive for more than 5-6 months of the year. Here in Texas, those of us who aren't fans of poison ivy/snakes/ticks/etc have about 2-3 months to find caches in the woods.

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I have not yet encountered a geocache that was intentionally hidden in poison ivy, oak, sumac, nettles, etc.

 

I am not aware of anyone in my area "intentionally" placing a cache directly in poison oak - although I suppose it depends on whether its a specific or general intent type of thing. I do know of people who have knowingly placed caches in areas infested with poison oak so that it is likely to spread over the cache. And there have been people who placed caches in poison oak without knowing what the plant is - sort of like a friend of the family who once made a bouquet of the plant with lovely red leaves. The unknowing placements have generally gotten moved after the cacher has been educated.

 

I always think it's the responsibility of a cacher to know the area well enough to avoid unintentional hazards (like poison oak) or unintentional harm (like helping to spread sudden oak death). And it also is the responsibility of finders to know these things. And for both to use their best judgment in any given situation.

Edited by geodarts
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I'm a little amused that no one has yet offered the most obvious solution here. If you're really intent on finding those caches--you live in the upper Midwest--poison ivy doesn't survive for more than 5-6 months of the year. Here in Texas, those of us who aren't fans of poison ivy/snakes/ticks/etc have about 2-3 months to find caches in the woods.

 

The vines still contain the urushiol oil that the leaves have as well. Just because the leaves are gone does not mean you can't still get poison ivy. I make sure NOT to hide any caches of mine near poison ivy, but like any other plant, it attempts to propagate and one or two end up very close to it.

Edited by coachstahly
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That darn stuff pops up every where.

I just rototilled my garden. I found poison ivy growing at the edge. It was not there before. So I poured gasoline on it and poof it is gone. With help from a lighter??

The oils in poison ivy that cause the rash can be volatilized by burning, getting the smoke on you is enough to break out and even more dangerous conditions can arise if the smoke is unintentionally inhaled, probably not a worry for one or two plants but burning large patches of poison ivy is not a good idea

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That darn stuff pops up every where.

I just rototilled my garden. I found poison ivy growing at the edge. It was not there before. So I poured gasoline on it and poof it is gone. With help from a lighter??

The oils in poison ivy that cause the rash can be volatilized by burning, getting the smoke on you is enough to break out and even more dangerous conditions can arise if the smoke is unintentionally inhaled, probably not a worry for one or two plants but burning large patches of poison ivy is not a good idea

Yea I am aware of that possibility. Air flow was good and patch was small, flames hot and high.

Not worried about smoke, none. Hot flame no smoke.

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That darn stuff pops up every where.

I just rototilled my garden. I found poison ivy growing at the edge. It was not there before. So I poured gasoline on it and poof it is gone. With help from a lighter??

The oils in poison ivy that cause the rash can be volatilized by burning, getting the smoke on you is enough to break out and even more dangerous conditions can arise if the smoke is unintentionally inhaled, probably not a worry for one or two plants but burning large patches of poison ivy is not a good idea

Yea I am aware of that possibility. Air flow was good and patch was small, flames hot and high.

Not worried about smoke, none. Hot flame no smoke.

 

:D :D

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I haven't found one in poison ivy yet, but one local cache-placer loves to put microcaches in the middle of thorn tree thickets, where there's absolutely no way to access it without getting all scratched up (unless you're wearing protective gear). He doesn't do all of them like that so there's no way to know ahead of time whether you'll need it.

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I haven't found one in poison ivy yet, but one local cache-placer loves to put microcaches in the middle of thorn tree thickets, where there's absolutely no way to access it without getting all scratched up (unless you're wearing protective gear). He doesn't do all of them like that so there's no way to know ahead of time whether you'll need it.

 

I'll bet he has fewer problems with muggles that way. ;)

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The problem with poison ivy is that the stems are as bad as the leaves. In winter, when the leaves fall off, it's almost impossible to correctly identify the stems and avoid them. They just look like any other twigs out there.

 

Large mature PI vines are hairy. Grape, Honeysuckle, etc are not.

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Large mature PI vines are hairy. Grape, Honeysuckle, etc are not.
Out here in California, the rule of thumb is the other way around. Poison oak vines are smooth. Wild berry vines are hairy/thorny.

 

In Minnesota, PI does not have a long enough growing season to vine hairy up the side of a tree like I see in the rest of the US. Almost all large vines here are either grape or the non-poisonous kind of ivy.

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The tallest poison ivy that I have found is

In the Sand Dunes State Forest. About 2.5 feet tall free standing. I carry a walking stick as I walk through it. That keeps my

Hands up out of it. Poison ivy does not bother dogs. But they can get it on thier

Fur. Then on to you.

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I'm glad I live in Australia, we don't have Poison Ivy. We have simple things like Brown Snakes, Tiger Snakes, Death Adders, Taipans, Fierce Snakes, Red-backed Spiders, Funnel Webs, Box Jelly-fish, Blue-ringed Octopus, Dingos that eat babies, Crocodiles, Paralysis Ticks and a heap of other things that cause us grief. And those are only usually experienced on a Monday.

Tuesday includes Kangaroos which jump into our car windows, wombats that break car engines and emus that kick down our outside toilets, usually when somebody has just started reading the weekend sports results because we have been to busy evading the Monday beasts and problems.

Wednesdays are usually quiet with a few people having problems with the jumping jack ants requiring treatment for anaphylactic shock or bulldog ants when the tractor rolls over onto a nest.

Thursdays are paydays, so most of us are safe having a drink at the Pub.

The rest of the week is prone to all sorts of disasters which include leeches, bush ticks, echidnas and savage kookaburras. Then we have the introduced beasts such as camels, foxes, rabbits, horses, rampant Samba Deer and we breed the most savage rats in the world because they have to compete with the feral cats!

Then we have the weekend free for geocaching! Life is fun in Australia!

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Tuesday includes Kangaroos which jump into our car windows, wombats that break car engines and emus that kick down our outside toilets, usually when somebody has just started reading the weekend sports results because we have been to busy evading the Monday beasts and problems.

 

We once found a cache (Ten Wells 04 near Exmouth, WA) where I was nearly cut off getting back to the car by a bunch of Emus. I already had picked up a few rocks just in case trying to make my way around them. In the end, no animals or humans were hurt in finding the cache.

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Tuesday includes Kangaroos which jump into our car windows, wombats that break car engines and emus that kick down our outside toilets, usually when somebody has just started reading the weekend sports results because we have been to busy evading the Monday beasts and problems.

 

We once found a cache (Ten Wells 04 near Exmouth, WA) where I was nearly cut off getting back to the car by a bunch of Emus. I already had picked up a few rocks just in case trying to make my way around them. In the end, no animals or humans were hurt in finding the cache.

 

It was on the same road, doing the Ten Wells series, that a 'roo decided to jump into the side of my rental ute. Big dent just behind the drivers' side door. Dazed 'roo. Unhappy traveller. Though I guess that's no different to the deer where I live now...

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Tuesday includes Kangaroos which jump into our car windows, wombats that break car engines and emus that kick down our outside toilets, usually when somebody has just started reading the weekend sports results because we have been to busy evading the Monday beasts and problems.

 

We once found a cache (Ten Wells 04 near Exmouth, WA) where I was nearly cut off getting back to the car by a bunch of Emus. I already had picked up a few rocks just in case trying to make my way around them. In the end, no animals or humans were hurt in finding the cache.

 

You know we fought a war against the emus once right? And lost!

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Tuesday includes Kangaroos which jump into our car windows, wombats that break car engines and emus that kick down our outside toilets, usually when somebody has just started reading the weekend sports results because we have been to busy evading the Monday beasts and problems.

 

We once found a cache (Ten Wells 04 near Exmouth, WA) where I was nearly cut off getting back to the car by a bunch of Emus. I already had picked up a few rocks just in case trying to make my way around them. In the end, no animals or humans were hurt in finding the cache.

What? No mention of Queensland cassowaries that can disembowel you with their big toe.

Its been a bad week due to Great White sharks in WA, 2 dead.

 

You know we fought a war against the emus once right? And lost!

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My 2 Cents worth - we are a group of people who care about the others that play this game and out of respect for them we really don't want anyone to have a negative experience. A lot of things about this game involve risk and judgement, there ARE no garantees. I do not want anyone to turn away from one of my caches because of my neglecting the cache, so if anyone complains of PI - I will remove it completely from the site ASAP. I want folks to come - enjoy themselves and that is important to me. For the same reason I would never use a peanut container for a cache - I would never find PI acceptable just because 'You have been warned". PI can be really stuff for some of us and wanting to find a cache with great location and great logs is a wonderful thing! I feel PI at cache is a show stopper and a trip for nothing. I don't feel it is the same as rattlesnakes and spiders!

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My 2 Cents worth - we are a group of people who care about the others that play this game and out of respect for them we really don't want anyone to have a negative experience. A lot of things about this game involve risk and judgement, there ARE no garantees. I do not want anyone to turn away from one of my caches because of my neglecting the cache, so if anyone complains of PI - I will remove it completely from the site ASAP....

Curious, is "it" the cache, or PI?

If it's the cache, and a really good spot, guess you gotta pray you can move over a bit.

Archive it , and someone will simply be happy you opened that area to them. ;)

 

If PI, what if it's not your property?

You'd contact the landowner first, right?

If the hide was dependant on foliage for a hide, a (now) brown patch in green woods isn't quite as effective. :)

 

Here, deer and rabbits will eat PI leaves.

As much as most dislike it, not sure I could con the game commission to let me kill it.

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<snip>

 

emus that kick down our outside toilets, usually when somebody has just started reading the weekend sports results because we have been to busy evading the Monday beasts and problems.

 

</snip>

 

The one time that I used an outdoor toilet in Australia, it was so full of LARGE spiders that I couldn't count them all. They covered the ceiling, walls, and floor. I still don't know why I used the toilet anyway. Young and dumb, I suppose. ;)

 

On topic: I always thought that we had poison ivy here, but recently found out that it is poison oak. There may be poison ivy, but I haven't found it for sure, yet. We have very healthy poison oak here. There's a nice giant bush of it on the road down from our house. Healthy, bushy, bright green. Quite pretty. I've tried to point it out to family members as we woosh by, but they don't believe me.

 

A lot of caches here that are in rocky areas by the Wenatchee River have poison oak. I think a lot of CO's just don't know what it is or placed the cache in off season.

 

Once, my brother and I were caching by the Columbia River, and we were walking through this nice green meadow. My brother suddenly shouted to me to stop walking. I remember freezing, then looking behind me at him, realizing that we were in a solid wall of poison oak that extended out in every direction for yards. I should have realized what it was, we don't have that much green on the ground in nature here! My heart stopped. We very carefully backed out (didn't find that cache!), and hoped for the best. We were fortunate. We were wearing Army BDU pants. I still don't know if I'm allergic to the stuff because I've never touched it with my skin so far.

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My 2 Cents worth - we are a group of people who care about the others that play this game and out of respect for them we really don't want anyone to have a negative experience. A lot of things about this game involve risk and judgement, there ARE no garantees. I do not want anyone to turn away from one of my caches because of my neglecting the cache, so if anyone complains of PI - I will remove it completely from the site ASAP. I want folks to come - enjoy themselves and that is important to me. For the same reason I would never use a peanut container for a cache - I would never find PI acceptable just because 'You have been warned". PI can be really stuff for some of us and wanting to find a cache with great location and great logs is a wonderful thing! I feel PI at cache is a show stopper and a trip for nothing. I don't feel it is the same as rattlesnakes and spiders!

The thing is, people that have problems with poison ivy or peanuts know what to look out for. Even if a container is wrapped up in camo, it's usually easily identifiable. On top of that, if this person does happen to make a mistake, he most likely has treatment with him in case of an allergic reaction.

 

Your last comment has me scratching my head a bit. Poison ivy is very easy to spot and then avoid. Rattlesnakes and spiders are usually harder to spot, may surprise a person, and can be the ultimate showstopper. :o

 

Again, i would not intentionally hide a cache in poison ivy. But, depending on the circumstances, i probably wouldn't worry too much if some of it worked its way into an area of one of my hides.

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I hid a brand new cache yesterday.. I found the largest stand of poison ivy I could and placed it right in the center of it all. I set the ratings to 1.5/1.5.

 

You should have added that there is a $100 bill for FTF in the cache description.

 

BTW, have you started itching yet?

$100? Where is this cache?

 

Itching? Nah.. I've been lucky that poison ivy didn't used to bother me at all. I could wallow in it without incident. But i'd guess that since about 5 years ago, it's gotten to where it sometimes gives me an itch if i get into it. Still nothing serious but i don't go out of my way to grab hold of it when i encounter it these days. :P

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I hid a brand new cache yesterday.. I found the largest stand of poison ivy I could and placed it right in the center of it all. I set the ratings to 1.5/1.5.

 

You should have added that there is a $100 bill for FTF in the cache description.

 

BTW, have you started itching yet?

$100? Where is this cache?

 

in a large stand of poison ivy.

 

 

Itching? Nah.. I've been lucky that poison ivy didn't used to bother me at all. I could wallow in it without incident. But i'd guess that since about 5 years ago, it's gotten to where it sometimes gives me an itch if i get into it. Still nothing serious but i don't go out of my way to grab hold of it when i encounter it these days. :P

 

Coincidentally, just after this thread started I found a cache, then when posting my log I read a previous log from someone that said they didn't find it because they couldn't avoid going through poison ivy to reach GZ. I didn't get it though. When I was really young I got into some poison oak and got it really bad to the point that one of my eyes was almost completely closed. That was the last time I every had any symptoms from poison oak though so I have to wonder if I built up some sort of immunity to it.

 

 

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I'm glad I live in Australia, we don't have Poison Ivy. We have simple things like Brown Snakes, Tiger Snakes, Death Adders, Taipans, Fierce Snakes, Red-backed Spiders, Funnel Webs, Box Jelly-fish, Blue-ringed Octopus, Dingos that eat babies, Crocodiles, Paralysis Ticks and a heap of other things that cause us grief. And those are only usually experienced on a Monday.

Tuesday includes Kangaroos which jump into our car windows, wombats that break car engines and emus that kick down our outside toilets, usually when somebody has just started reading the weekend sports results because we have been to busy evading the Monday beasts and problems.

Wednesdays are usually quiet with a few people having problems with the jumping jack ants requiring treatment for anaphylactic shock or bulldog ants when the tractor rolls over onto a nest.

Thursdays are paydays, so most of us are safe having a drink at the Pub.

The rest of the week is prone to all sorts of disasters which include leeches, bush ticks, echidnas and savage kookaburras. Then we have the introduced beasts such as camels, foxes, rabbits, horses, rampant Samba Deer and we breed the most savage rats in the world because they have to compete with the feral cats!

Then we have the weekend free for geocaching! Life is fun in Australia!

 

I think you forgot Irukandji jellyfish but none of that compares with PA poison ivy and ticks :laughing:

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