CAUTION

During the summer months Delaware is home to mosquitoes, flies, ticks, hornets, wasps, bees, and other bothersome insects. Be prepared. These creatures either die or become dormant in the late fall and during the winter.

Delaware also has an abundant crop of brambles and other "sticker bushes". Some geocachers thinks these add to the challenge of the hunt. Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, and Poison Sumac all thrive here also. Below are some pictures of them. Note in the fall Poison ivy turns a beautiful shade of red. It's one of the first plants to change color. When mature Poison Ivy becomes a thick "hairy" vine that will encircle older trees. Get to know these plants.

Poison Ivy - Spring Colors

Poison Ivy Summer - Note the Vine

Poison Ivy Fall Colors

Poison Oak

Note: Both of these plants display clusters of three leaves. Poison Ivy is typically shiny while Poison Oak is not.

Poison Sumac displays 13 or 15 leaf clusters. Note also the stalk of berries.

Like Poison Ivy, Poison Sumac displays beautiful fall colors. But don't be fooled!

Plants are not the only things of which you need to be aware. While Delaware has only 1 poisonous snake (the copperhead) there are many kinds of non poisonous snakes throughout the state. Some of them grow to lengths of 6 or more feet.

Snakes hibernate during the winter but in the late fall and early spring they like to find sunny spots where they can stretch out and get warm. This spot might be in a field or in an open spot in a forrest or right on top of the hiding spot for a cache!

All wild animals will attack if they feel threatened so if you meet up with a snake near a cache, log it as a did not find and move on to another cache. Don't challenge the snake or harm it in any way.

Photo by Joe Wessels