Geocaching Trade Items: Things you should NEVER put in a cache and a few that you should

IMG_4801BAs a Geocacher, you know that one of the things that can make finding a cache fun is the treasure, the goodies, the swag, the trade items that you might discover (especially for younger hunters). If you've been geocaching for a while, you probably also know that the quality and appropriateness of swag can vary widely from cache to cache. If you're ready to hide a geocache, or if you're bringing items to trade, here are a few things you should know.

Geocaching is a family-friendly activity and cache contents should be suitable for all ages. Keep in mind this scenario: Young kids could go geocaching without an adult, ride a bike or hike to a cache and find it all on their own. It's for this reason that you'll want to make sure that you follow these guidelines (from Geocaching.com) for trade items.

Explosives, fireworks, ammunition, lighters, knives (including pocket knives and multi-tools), drugs, alcohol and any illicit material should not be placed in a cache.

If someone other than you places an inappropriate item in a cache that you own and this is reported, the cache may be temporarily disabled. As the cache owner, you may be asked to remove the questionable item before the cache listing is re-enabled.

In addition to those items, there are things that we've learned never to put in a cache. Bubbles! A bottle of bubbles may seem like a good, kid friendly idea, but we've run into too many geocaches that had the bubbles leak and made a mess of the inside of the container. Those freebie bubbles they sometimes give out at weddings are especially susceptible to mess making. I know you're thinking that you'll put in a brand new sealed bottle of bubbles that won't leak. It will. It will expand and contract from the heat or some cacher will find it, open the seal, blow a few bubbles, put it back and now we're back to the mess making again. Soap: A bad idea for a couple reasons. For one, see the bubbles mess making. All it takes is a little bit of water and the soap quickly becomes mush. Messy mush. Soap also tends to have a scent which can attract animals. These animals don't know it's soap, they sometimes think it's food and will chew through a container to get at it. In fact avoid leaving anything that might have a scent like lip balm and perfume. Then there's actual food. This include candies, gum, nuts and all other things that animals might want to get at. Besides, would you want your kid eating food they found in a geocache? Alrighty then.

What are suggestions of things that you should place in cache? Here are a few ideas:

Trading cards, foreign coins, unopened glow sticks, new plastic farm animals, army soldiers, toy bugs, new plastic rings or any costume jewelry, small compasses, keychains, small LED flashlights, carabiners, matchbox cars, playing cards, small cache containers, small tools, balls, puzzles or games, emergency rain ponchos, small first aid kit, unique cookie cutters, ornaments.

Where can you find good swag? Try your local dollar store. Buy items in bulk (i.e. a pack of Hot Wheels). We've used orientaltrading.com several times.

We cover some of these things in more detail on Show 411: Swag, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Would you like more ideas for good swag / trade items and where to find them? Go here: Geocaching SWAG Ideas for some great suggestions.

40 Responses to Geocaching Trade Items: Things you should NEVER put in a cache and a few that you should

  1. Chloe July 10, 2015 at 2:38 pm #

    Thank you I am new at this and had question some got answers more should be added for new comers

    • Catrin March 18, 2019 at 9:04 am #

      This was so interesting and very helpful.

      • YoBananaMan April 3, 2020 at 10:14 pm #

        Would coupons for free food (small fry) with a purchase from a restaurant near by be a good prize??

        • PodCacher April 7, 2020 at 10:17 am #

          Possibly. Some people might enjoy that. You might want to laminate the coupon or put it in a baggie as paper can easily get wet in a geocache.

  2. David Hernandez October 11, 2016 at 2:39 pm #

    Thank you for this. I am knew and I was also wondering if i could put small pokemon toys inside.

    • PodCacher October 16, 2016 at 10:08 pm #

      You are welcome! Small Pokemon toys would be great for swag. I know that our son would love to find them!

  3. Clarissa June 3, 2017 at 11:43 am #

    Some things that I’ve left in the past include:

    Key chains
    Colorful rocks and crystals
    A small set of beads and string for making jewelry
    Fishing lures
    Magnets (ones with stuff on them)
    Yo-yos
    Dreidels
    And some other stuff

  4. Lesley July 23, 2017 at 5:00 pm #

    Don’t forget swag that represents your country/province/ state such as Canada pins, flag pins, momentos that tourists buy when they visit, lanyards, fancy pencils, erasers.

  5. Anonymous August 3, 2017 at 9:20 pm #

    I’ve found odd things in caches, like fortune cookie fortunes, peices of grass that people use when they don’t have anything to trade. (Extra logbooks are cool) I’ve also found pieces of paper with the word ‘Geocaching’ on it written in sloppy writing, or an awful attempt at the Geocaching logo. Think about your swag before it’s placed in a cache, please.

  6. Keoni August 29, 2017 at 10:43 am #

    I’m looking into starting geocaching but want to find out some info before hunting them down. Are erasers a good item to leave in a geocache?

    • PodCacher August 29, 2017 at 1:20 pm #

      I think erasers would be a fine item, especially in a smaller geocache. Just try to imagine what a young child might be excited to find!

  7. Maria Ellmore August 30, 2017 at 2:01 pm #

    My daughter and I have just started Geocaching. She loves crafts but she’s only 3 so can’t do much. Would something like a laminated handprint or painting be good? I know if I saw that from a child I’d treasure it but do others feel the same way?

    • Blitzkreig May 1, 2020 at 7:51 am #

      YoBannanaMan yes I myself would definitely love to find a coupon for free food, or even just a discount on pizza or something

  8. PodCacher August 30, 2017 at 7:45 pm #

    Hey welcome to geocaching! I think it’s great to be creative with swag items, especially if you get your child involved. There are lots of people who don’t really trade for swag and may not be interested in those things, but there will probably be some who think it’s special!

  9. Leemak September 11, 2017 at 10:07 pm #

    I’ve thought of something unique, at lest I never saw anybody do it before. But I’ve been leaving small quartz points and other gems stones. They are cheap and it feels like you’re finding REAL treasure!!

    • Travis Jones May 25, 2019 at 11:23 am #

      Thats an amazing idea and think I am going to have to steal it from ya! Thanks for sharing. Brand new to geocaching!

  10. Gary Douglas October 5, 2017 at 8:22 pm #

    The only people I know who do geochaching are women in their 70’s so I’m completely surprised that children are being mentioned as possible participants. Seems like it would be dangerous for kids to be traipsing from town to town (or from one part of town to another) in an attempt to find some little “treasure.”

    • PodCacher October 6, 2017 at 7:07 am #

      Hi Gary. We have been geocaching for over 14 years and I can assure you that MANY people enjoy geocaching – of every age and walk of life. Kids, couples, families, men and women of every age. Kids go geocaching with their parents and families, so there is no more danger involved than going on a hike together! If you attend a geocaching event in your home town you’ll see the diversity.

    • Lisa December 27, 2018 at 6:18 pm #

      My 8-yr old and 6-yr old LOVE geocaching as a family. It’s a great activity for winter break, and gives us time to explore together. We save up unopened happy meal toys that the boys don’t want and keep them in the car as swag for spontaneous caching escapades.

    • MaryInArk July 28, 2019 at 12:54 pm #

      We live out in a rural area where kids, dogs and other family members enjoy getting out for a hike in the fresh air.

  11. Goofy07 November 30, 2017 at 1:54 am #

    We go walking a lot and my 10 year old son enjoys it a lot more when there are caches to find. Great for teaching map reading and patience. I assumed it would be more families with kids than older people.

  12. Olawale Alabi January 26, 2019 at 4:29 am #

    I watch the simple documentary about Geocaching on Mistery at the museum. I fell in love with it at one. But the issue here is I’m in far away Africa, Nigeria to be precise. I don’t know if I will need a form of license or writing permission to start this interesting game in Nigeria. Pls respond ASAP

    • PodCacher January 28, 2019 at 8:35 pm #

      Glad you’re interested. You don’t need a license for geocaching. Just start by going to geocaching.com! There are very few geocaches in Nigeria, but maybe you can learn about the game and then hide one yourself eventually! Good luck.

  13. Karen May 11, 2019 at 12:05 pm #

    Aside from rocks & cards – any other ideas for environmentally friendly ideas? I really am trying to stay away from plastics so creative ideas are welcome 🙂

    • Blazinhoney May 28, 2019 at 7:34 pm #

      I’ve been putting wood slice magnets with wood burned designs that I made, you could also try thrift stores sometimes they have stuff still in packages or cool little antiques like coins and stuff so it would be less wasteful than buying brand new

  14. SiloWalker June 22, 2019 at 6:36 am #

    I’ve started using Mardi Gras doubloons/tokens. They are for the most part inexpensive ( you can purchase them by the lot on eBay for less than 20 USD and get up to 100 + pieces), they make a neat find for kids and adults alike, they are moisture resistant, and since they are made of aluminum, they are light enough to carry several in a pack without adding much weight or bulk. These have become my signature item.

  15. Deana Pearson August 1, 2019 at 9:16 am #

    Crystals.
    I’m a rock Hunter and I’m going to leave Crystals as swag

  16. Temie Fry November 7, 2019 at 5:17 am #

    I used to put in store-bought swag, but I’ve upgraded a bit to things more personalized. I’ve made up small baggies of bandaids, sealed wet wipes, golf pencils, personalized key rings, muggle cards, book marks, bottle caps (from a craft store) with geocaching logos on them. Now I’m in to painting pebbles into ladybugs … we’ll see how that works out.

  17. Isabella Leathers January 31, 2020 at 2:37 am #

    Hi I’m Izzy I love geocaching I’m 11 years old and I was very happy and surprised when I found my first one!
    What I’m stuck at is what should i of done ? when I was geocaching because I couldn’t find anything to put in apart from sweets we tried to avoid putting sweets in but it’s the only thing we had to put in lol ? but now I have a better idea of getting old toys from my room and putting it them in a big tub and keeping them in the car so when I find a other geocaching I can trade my little old toys in for other toys I used toy cars, army men, fidget spinner, badges, and lots more hope this helps others get ideas ? kind regards Izzy

    • Samatha March 14, 2020 at 6:11 am #

      I love geocaching! My school wants to do a geocaching project for our science class because we were learning about latitude and longitude and our science teacher brought up geocaching!

  18. YoBananaMan April 3, 2020 at 10:21 pm #

    Would a coupon for a free French fries with any purchase be a good prize for a cache by a restaurant? Thinking of creating one for my place of business during declining economy from Coronavirus..

    • Max April 23, 2023 at 9:04 am #

      What about foreign or interesting coins? I wouldn’t ever just put money, but I have canadian 1 qnd 2 dolalr coins that I thought about putting in. I live in the U.S.

  19. Zienna Sterpin May 9, 2020 at 9:54 pm #

    This is very helpful, me and my mum have just started geocaching today. Thanks!

  20. Shanle Donovan May 28, 2020 at 7:58 am #

    My family wants to start geocaching. I had no idea what to put in. I am so glad for these ideas!

  21. Hannah Tuttle July 8, 2020 at 4:23 pm #

    I put plastic alien toys in there with a ribbon tied around them. I see little kids playing with them all the time- feels great. I’m an astronomer, so aliens feel very personal

  22. Ann Hutchings July 14, 2021 at 7:10 am #

    but its great for grandparents do with granchildren children dont you think?

    • PodCacher July 14, 2021 at 9:45 am #

      Yes!! Geocaching is fun for ALL ages!

  23. UncompahgreGal October 3, 2021 at 6:29 am #

    My signature trade item is the mosquito repellent wrist bands.

  24. catnip May 30, 2022 at 6:25 am #

    is super glue going to leak

  25. Fortnite June 8, 2023 at 8:44 am #

    Probably gonna leak. Smurf cups are my signature item. May upgrade to resold toys.

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