Even using a 24-inch rolling magnet, I’ll pick up a handful, then rake and suddenly find three more.
That’s the story of my life after every DIY project. I swear, St. Augustine is like the Bermuda Triangle for fasteners. I’ve tried the rolling magnet, the hand magnet, even crawling around with a flashlight at dusk—still manage to step on one a week later.
I’m not convinced wetting the grass helps, either. In my yard, all it does is turn the dirt to glue and make the nails harder to spot. I actually had better luck waiting until things dried out and then using a leaf blower to “ruffle” the grass before running the magnet. It’s not perfect, but at least it gets stuff up to the surface.
Honestly, I think the thick runners in St. Augustine just swallow anything small. If you’re on a budget like me, it’s tempting to skip the fancy tools, but I’d rather spend $30 on a decent magnet than risk a flat tire or a tetanus shot. The scavenger hunt never really ends... but at least there’s a little satisfaction when you hear that “clink” on the magnet.
Yeah, I hear you on the St. Augustine grass—it’s brutal for finding anything you drop. I’ve had nails disappear into those thick runners like they fell into a black hole. I actually tried a cheap magnet-on-a-stick once and it barely picked up anything unless I went super slow. The leaf blower idea is smart though, hadn’t thought of that. I usually just end up picking at the grass with a rake and cursing under my breath. It’s wild how one little nail can cause so much trouble if you miss it.
Man, I swear St. Augustine grass is like a magic trick for nails—one second you see it, next second it’s gone forever. I tried dragging a magnet through the yard once and just ended up collecting a bunch of random metal bits that weren’t even nails. My boss swears by the leaf blower too, but honestly, all it did was blow the nails deeper into the grass for me. I’ve started wearing thicker shoes after stepping on one... lesson learned the hard way.
My boss swears by the leaf blower too, but honestly, all it did was blow the nails deeper into the grass for me.
That’s been my experience as well—leaf blowers just bury sharp debris further down. Out of curiosity, has anyone tried using a lawn roller or some other weighted tool to press the grass down and expose hidden nails? I keep running into these issues during inspections, especially with thicker turf.
