Question on digging in grassed areas in parks

[thebadger108]

I called the local police to check and make sure that there was no laws against Metal detecting in the parks in my city. There is not. However at the parks I have in my city there is alot of grassed areas that are watered and cut regularly. I haven't detecting in the grassy areas because i don't want to piss anyone off and be the cause of a new law in my town lol.. How do you guys dig without damaging the grass? Or do you just not cut into them?

 

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[dholland02]

I called the local police to check and make sure that there was no laws against Metal detecting in the parks in my city. There is not. However at the parks I have in my city there is alot of grassed areas that are watered and cut regularly. I haven't detecting in the grassy areas because i don't want to piss anyone off and be the cause of a new law in my town lol.. How do you guys dig without damaging the grass? Or do you just not cut into them?

If there is no laws and no signs about detecting just go hunt and don't worry about the lawn care people.

 

[thommo59]

Badger I have the same concerns, there's apparently no law where I am but I can teel you if I dig a hole and the local parks or council don't like it, I'll be charged with vandalism. If someone trips and gets hurt, I'm screwed.

 

[DigginDownUnder]

I called the local police to check and make sure that there was no laws against Metal detecting in the parks in my city. There is not. However at the parks I have in my city there is alot of grassed areas that are watered and cut regularly. I haven't detecting in the grassy areas because i don't want to piss anyone off and be the cause of a new law in my town lol.. How do you guys dig without damaging the grass? Or do you just not cut into them?

On really nice lawn, you can use a long screwdriver method. Pin point the target/coin and lever out with the screwdriver.

 

[DDancer]

Took a little digging but we had a couple of threads back in April on digging techniques and etiquette. Here is a link to the thread, please feel free to add questions to it

Plug Etiquette : http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/metal-detecting/409365-plug-etiquette.html


Buy and large the best people to ask about local detecting ordinances are the people at your local parks and recreation services. They maintain the greens. However understand the stock answer is probably going to be "No you can not dig" and possibly some other BS that is not true. There is often something to be found in researching the net for metal detecting laws in your area. I strongly suggest you take a look for the facts before contacting the local officials~ many of them often don't know the laws themselves.

By and large if restrictions on a park are posted, obey the sign. Otherwise keep it neat and keep swinging.

 

[Normsel]

I called the local police to check and make sure that there was no laws against Metal detecting in the parks in my city. There is not. However at the parks I have in my city there is alot of grassed areas that are watered and cut regularly. I haven't detecting in the grassy areas because i don't want to piss anyone off and be the cause of a new law in my town lol.. How do you guys dig without damaging the grass? Or do you just not cut into them?

1st of all if you have a lesche digger make sure you cut the plug very neatly and it's nice to have a towel there to lie the plug and any dirt on. Try to make it so when you put the plug back and stomp it in that it looks like nothing happened there. Meaning it should be so no one else can tell if you dug. The few that don't take care while digging plugs give the rest of us detectors a bad name.

 

[releventchair]

Being watered really helps repair cut sod so theres a plus in that park. When replacing plug as mentioned make it match where it was removed. Even fluffing up grass by whisking with gloved hand and adding any debris or clippings to blend.Practice helps. A hinge type plug works with some type turf and a round for others. A practice place you can cut and replace plugs would be great. Check them every other day or so. One park I hit has lots of vacuum on their mowing equipment so large (mule foot sized) plugs are used and packed secure at top and area beyond hole worked towards plug if need be, air is needed in sods but too much dries them out.. Been hunting it for years and have occasional contact with workers and no complaints. Each site is different in how plugs respond. Again practice shows results. A probe can be practiced on shallow targets as mentioned. A slit and lift with a trowel can be mended also. If plugs are cut its not a bad idea to check site a day or two to be sure no critters pulled them if you can.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

If you need to practice start in your yard first, and then ask to detect your neighbors yard, that way if there is a problem you will see it and can make adjustments to your retrieval methods.
I use a screwdriver most of the time, slit method is my second choice and plug cutting last.
The screwdriver method allowed me to detect in a park where the locals watched me like a hawk but no complaints!
Take pride in the fact that you can detect, remove the target, and not leave a trace!

 

[mitchellf]

what state u in? doubt other states are that much different, but in pennsylvania, my home, u may dig in state parks, but with nothing larger than an ice pick. actually, better- lemme give you the official words:

from the FEDERATION OF METAL DETECTOR AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL CLUBS website:


see the full site(it is LOADED with info should answer ur ?s PERFECTLY)>>>>>>>>>>>>Federation of Metal Detector & Archaeological Clubs Inc.

i'd get a probe (or long electricians screwdriver w/ end filed down a little bit as to avoid scratching your target). follow this diagram for how to use it:


good luck

happy hunting

 

[thebadger108]

Never thought about using a screwdriver. I will have to try that soon. But i think ill get a pin-pointer next payday in order to help my dig be more precise.
I have been limiting myself to the sandy playgrounds. Found a Car wash token and a clad penny in about a hour. But that isn't where i wanna be Lots of activities/concerts/fairs go on in the grassy areas.
Thanks a bunch for the info. I will also start doing my own front yard since i don't have a back yard!

 

[cudamark]

By all means, get a pin pointer. Check out some of the youtube videos on how to do a clean recovery. I agree with Msbeepbeep, practice in your own yard first and use plug cutting as a last resort. Probe first, slit second, and a three sided plug third. NO FULL CIRCLE PLUGS!

 

[thommo59]

Where are you based DigginDownUnder?

 

[Jeremy S]

Just an FYI, most parks usually have the rules and regulations listed online. Pretty much all of them will have a rule that forbids digging or altering the grass in any way. Swinging a detecting is one thing, but digging holes is what gets people booted and detecting banned.

I was just in a park today with a well manicured lawn with an irrigation system. For 90% of my targets my retrieval method was:

1. Pinpointed the target with my detector
2. Used my Garrett Pro Pointer to precisely pinpoint the target
3. Used a brass probe to quickly find the item, if not to retrieve it as well if shallow enough
4. Pushed in a screwdriver next to the target it to pop out the item

This method leaves no damage and does not attract attention. A few deeper items I had to cut a small slit in the sod and poke around to find them. Any loose dirt that I pull out is placed in a old piece of cloth. When I find the target I use the cloth to put the loose dirt back into the slit, then a light stomp with my foot to finish it off. You can never tell that i was ever there.


There is some real good advise in this thread! Just last weekend I saw some clown detecting in a park. He was carrying around a full sized shovel and digging plugs large enough that you could fit a basketball in them. No pin pointer, so he would spend 5 to 10 minutes pulling his giant plug apart and making a mess, often never finding the piece of metal that he detected in the first place. I went over some of his old holes that had been there a week or so and found trash laying next to them, and in some cases (pictured below) the coin still in the plug or laying next to it Hopefully when the cops eventually boot him out they don't start targeting others because of him.

 

[Dave Rishar]

If you do have to cut a plug, try to cut down far enough to go past the turf's roots - generally an inch or three, but it can vary. If the lawn is receiving water on a regular basis (whether by precipitation or a watering system), the grass will do fine if you don't mess with the roots. Cut directly downwards if you can so as not to sever roots.

I don't personally believe that "hinging" a plug promotes grass health but it almost certainly helps to keep the plug in the ground while the roots heal. It doesn't matter how neat you are with a plug if someone later runs past and kicks it out of the ground. (Another argument for deep plugs if you ask me.) I hinge my plugs religiously for this reason. It's probably not a bad habit to adopt.

Some of it is just common sense. The idea is to retrieve the target in such a way that a few minutes (or hours, or even a day or two) later, someone looking for evidence of a hole would not find it. One park that I occasionally hit has large areas of essentially bare dirt covered with pine needles. I sweep the needles off into a pile with my hand, cut the plug, stomp it back down, and fan the pine needles back over. Sometimes the technique has to be adapted to the site, but as long as you remember that prime directive - leave no trace - you'll be fine.

The advice to practice on your lawn is spot on. Get good on turf where mistakes won't close public spaces before you go to those public spaces.

 

[Hot zone]

Gosh, when you see someone who doesn't know what they are doing, say something like; "Hey you need to get a pin pointer! That is one ugly hole!"

 

[Fletch88]

Welcome aboard, I'm not sure what part of AZ you are in but I would be tempted to branch out beyond turfed parks looking for clad! Good luck and Happy Hunting!