Just checking....

[mlrs1996]

My hubby is hiding caches this week ( had some snags today on reviewing, LOL .) and we're new to hiding.

I had an idea for a exchange and wanted to pitch the ideabefore hiding it and runnign into problems....

I have a family day care in my home and would like to do a children's book exchange.The cache would be in the bush by the road in between my yard and the neighbors.

Is there any special tips or snything I should be aware of before placing this and trying to get it published?

thanks!
Leslie

[Monkeybrad]

As a hypothetical, since I am not sure of the exact location I see two possible issues. The first is that it is near a day care, which causes some concern and we usually won't publish anything near a day care or a school knowingly without the explicit permission of the administration. Since you are the owner the permission issue is dealt with. The other thing is that it is in a neighborhood. There is no guideline against placing a cache in a neighborhood, but I usually ask people to think about how the placement will impact the neighborhood. Here is the info I usually post to the page:

In looking over your submission I see an issue that you may want to consider. It appears that your cache is very close to homes. While there is no guideline that prohibits this, caches like yours have caused problems when homeowners become suspicious of strangers in their neighborhood. Often these kinds of caches have a short lifespan because they are removed by irate homeowners. Also are they likely to call the local law enforcement when they see strangers at all hours of the day or night? Because of these potential issues it is important to make sure that the nearby homeowners are aware of the cache and that people will be seeking it.

The following is taken from the guidelines.
http://www.geocaching.com/about/guidelines.aspx#guide

For all physical caches and waypoints, think carefully about how your container and the actions of geocachers will be perceived by the public. For example, a cache hidden in full view of office, apartment building or home window exposes a geocacher to being seen by someone who may think the cache search looks suspicious.

Of course, there are a bunch of other things that could be an issue with any particular location, but bear in mind that the reviewers will try to work with you to get your cache published. Our entire goal is to publish more caches, so we do our best, we just have to make sure that we croos all the t's and dot al the i's to keep us out of trouble with our bosses.

[jeffbouldin]

If you do put one in your yard I would suggest putting the info that it is your yard on the page. Because of incidents in the past like Monkeybrad brought up many cachers are nervous of neighborhood hides unless they know for a fact it is known by the homeowner. Also to speed up the process go ahead and put enough info in the notes to reviewer box so they can see you have already addressed these issues.

I personally like caches at the owners homes (Shameless Plug) if I know it is their property.

[Sduck]

I personally get extremely nervous about hunting caches in peoples yards. My fear is that one person who doesn't know about the cache, someone in the neighborhood, who gets a little suspicious and calls the cops. Not that I have a problem with cops, but I'd rather not have to deal with them anyway.

It seems to me there are plenty of great places for caches, so why do ones that are borderline bad locationwise?

[robertlipe]

I'm pretty closely aligned with sduck on this one. Near a day care, in particular, seems awkward. It's not that I won't hunt one in a yard, but before I leave that sidewalk, I"m going to read and re-read that cache page to be absolutely sure I'm in the right yard before I start stomping around. Face it, a seeker's arrow rarely takes them on a beeline. A few degrees off or a bit of an overshoot and now you're in the wrong yard.

I also don't mind explaining geocaching to the police, but I'd rather not.

There's also a bit of a jading effect. "Hey, who are those people carting computers out of Herb's house? Should we call the police?" "Nyaaah. Probably just more of those crazy cachers..."

I once found a cache in someones yard that was under a paving stone. The hint was something like "the red one". The problem was that "the red one" was something like 100 feet from the coords and on the other side of a fence and every "found it" said so.

Honestly, I probably drive away from 1/3 of these that I drive to without leaving the car.

[mlrs1996]

I have honestly thought about all these issues while thinking about the cache.

There are several other caches hidden in the neighborhood by another cacher and we've talked to our neighbors already about it having one in our front yard.

If anyone thinks of any other issues before I get this one ready, please let me know. It's for the children here at the day care so I REALLY want to do it. I like the idea of using this as a learning experience for them.

I will be sure to include as much info as possible to let the cacher know it's safe and to feel comfortable.

[JoGPS]

Hello mlrs1996

can someone find it at three in the morning, with out going to jail

Joe

[mlrs1996]

Hello, It was nice to meet you at Bell Buckle.

Yes. We have a great neighborhood that houses several other caches.

[JoGPS]

Toooooooooo COOL