Food In Caches

[+K0BKL]

I have had to remove candy from a cache. Newbies need to be reminded that food of any kind in a cache is taboo! I have had trouble enough with animals bothering caches without the added attraction of the smell of food! Please! NO FOOD, EVER!

[Stony2008]

Amen

[+Torry]

And "Food" includes cough drops, gum, wax lips, bottled pop, and ANYHING that might be eaten or drank.

 

ALSO.. those scented erasers and pens can attract critters as well.

[Erfunden]

And toothpast!

 

and anything else that you'ld put in a bear bag when camping.

[+Milbank]

Bug spray is also not good to put in a cache.

 

I was at a cache yesterday and the small bottle of bug spay someone put in it had leaked.

 

Everything thing that was plastic or rubber that the bug spray got on was a mess.

The bug spray was eating away at it and the whole cache was one big mess.

[+JMBella]

Scented candles and soaps are bad too. And they don't taste too great either.

[+Torry]

Scented candles and soaps are bad too. And they don't taste too great either.

Wow! I haven't seen a Jembellishment in a long time!

 

Bug spray can be VERY well received just remember to put it in its own baggie... I agree about the shampoos and lotions, though... Although I was with a group that came upon a cache wih a small tube of handlotion inside that was very much appreciated by one of the hikers.

 

A good rule of thumb is to put ANYTHING that MIGHT leak into its own baggie ... and NEVER put anything that is sweet- or floral- scented in caches.

[+The Leprechauns]

After hiking a trail into the woods at a state park to find a cache, I read the following in the paper logbook:

 

"WARNING - we saw a bear and lots of bear tracks. Be very careful here! We left deoderant and some candy."

 

Duh! I traded that stuff out of the cache.

 

I'm afraid that many geocachers don't know what a "bear bag" is, much less what ought to be put into it. When I was backpacking in bear country, our guide went through our packs the first night and even removed stuff like camera film (it has a slight scent due to the gelatin base). Anything with a scent or taste (defined by bear standards, not ours) goes into the bear bag.

[+Cardinal Red]

What about Dog Biscuits?

 

I have read about them being removed because they were moisture soaked.

 

But do they have a scent that couldl attract unwanted attention?

[+Marcie/Eric]

What about.. say, a can of soup?

[Erfunden]

Yes, dog biscuits will attract critters. And if the cache is not waterproof they will make a mess.

 

As far a can of soup, I don't know cause canned foods are hevy enough that I never take them backpacking.

Just to be on the safe side, I would say don't leave soup.

After all, the only thing worse than having your cache blown up by the bomb squad is having it torn to shreds by a bear. It's also not so good for the animal.

 

And thanks for mentioning film! I had forgotten about it. Foxes and bears love to chew on photographic film.

[+fly46]

What about Dog Biscuits?

 

I have read about them being removed because they were moisture soaked.

 

But do they have a scent that couldl attract unwanted attention?

Dog Buiscuts are made of animal products (meat, for instance, from a horse is one example), so no.. Don't put them in a cache.

 

[i have a recipe to make them, it's all normal kitchen ingredients]

[+Marcie/Eric]

What about Dog Biscuits?

 

I have read about them being removed because they were moisture soaked.

 

But do they have a scent that couldl attract unwanted attention?

Dog Buiscuts are made of animal products (meat, for instance, from a horse is one example), so no.. Don't put them in a cache.

 

[i have a recipe to make them, it's all normal kitchen ingredients]

Off topic.. but you can actually buy (at Petco for example) premixes to make dog biscuits, cookies, cakes, muffins, and all kinds of stuff. Just like Betty Crocker.

Edited April 3, 2005 by Marcie/Eric

[cexshun]

What about coffee? I roast my own coffee, and have been thinking about making 1 pot sampler bags to toss into caches. Many people have never had real gourmet Kenyan or Sumatra, let alone something home roasted. Would a ziplock of coffee be a bad idea? Perhaps double bagged?

[Erfunden]

Ooo! I'm tempted to say yes to the coffee just because I like it...

But coffee would be just as likely to attract critters as toothpast and suscreen.

Maybe if it were vacum sealed?

 

On the other hand, you probably don't have to worry about this /too/ much in urban caches.

[+K0BKL]

Amen to all the comments. I maintain 14 caches and 3 of them were tampered with by animals without any food stuffs in them. Again, no to the food!

[+Mr.BadExample]

You could always leave a recipe or a coupon

I think even canned goods don't fool some critters, some will try to chew them open. Same with vacuum sealed bags. Scents get on the outside from their proximity to other foodstuffs. Sometimes you can smell coffee or tea through their sealed bags- you're probably smelling it ON the bag, and if you can smell it, animals can.

 

It would be cool to leave some business cards of good local restaurants ... especially if it's a long hike to the cache.

[+Markwell]

From the FAQ

What shouldn't be in a cache?

Use your common sense in most cases. Explosives, ammo, knives, drugs, and alcohol shouldn't be placed in a cache. Respect the local laws. All ages of people hide and seek caches, so use some thought before placing an item into a cache.

 

Food items are ALWAYS a BAD IDEA. Animals have better noses than humans, and in some cases caches have been chewed through and destroyed because of food items in a cache. Please do not put food in a cache.

 

And from the Listing Guidelines:

Cache Contents

Use your common sense in most cases. Explosives, fireworks, ammo, lighters, knives (including pocket knives and multi-tools), drugs, alcohol or other illicit material shouldn't be placed in a cache. As always respect the local laws. Geocaching is a family activity and cache contents should be suitable for all ages.

 

Food items are ALWAYS a BAD IDEA. Animals have better noses than humans, and in some cases caches have been chewed through and destroyed because food items (or items that smell like food) are in the cache. Even the presence of mint flavored dental floss has led to destruction of one cache.

 

If the original cache contents list any of the above items or other questionable items, or if a cache is reported to have the questionable items, the cache may be disabled, and the owner of the cache will be contacted and asked to remove the questionable items before the cache is enabled.

 

One thing that no one has mentioned: If there's a dog biscuit in a cache, I sure wouldn't give it to my dog. If there's some other food item for human consumption, I sure wouldn't eat it.

 

Anything I find like this in a cache (or any food scented items) I take out of the cache and discard them as trash on the way out.

 

If I sound bitter, it's because I've had to replace 3 caches because of people putting mint toothpicks, floss or toothpaste (yes, toothpaste) in caches, and the animals wanted better dental hygiene.

 

[+The red-haired witch]

In one of my first find, I found that someone had left a small bottle of Bailey's. Not knowing if sealed food containers were acceptable or not, I left it there. Then, a bit later I saw in someone's log that they had taken a sip of the bottle and left the rest for the next finders...

 

Not even considering the hygiene issue here, you then had an unsealed bottle of a liquid containing cream and sugar sitting in a cache all summer. Sounds like a good idea to anyone?

 

Someone eventually removed the bottle. Which was a risky thing to do, actually, since having alcohol on you happens to be illegal where the cache is hidden...

[+Tiffany's Slaves]

Speaking of Film, This photo shows what an animal will do to an EMPTY film canister - being used as a stage in THIS multi. All it held was a laminated pice of paper (coordinates to stage 3).

 

 

Bottom Line! Living in Bear Country, Tiffany will tell you to leave the food at HOME... never in a cache. And believe the posters who tell you that hand lotion, candles, toothpaste, etc will also draw unwanted animal attention.

[+Marcie/Eric]

Amen to all the comments. I maintain 14 caches and 3 of them were tampered with by animals without any food stuffs in them. Again, no to the food!

So perhaps the food actually could have nothing to do with it.

 

I can't see an animal being attracted to coffee. Partially because I hate the stuff.

 

I personally wouldn't use or leave any foodstuffs in any cache.

[billythekidrock]

Your right, the food could have nothing to do with it, but it wouldn't help either.

 

I once found a cache site that had quite a few piles of coyote scat around it, most likely they were just checking out the scent of all the people. Folks need to remember that it is not just the smells in the containter that will attract animals, but the smells on your shoes, clothes, etc.

[+K0BKL]

Hopefully the point will get across, but who knows?