New house, new state, now what?

I would tackle the front yard first, especially from a front door or porch straight to the mailbox.
Years ago, you could buy stamps and even envelopes from your mail man (or woman)
So what people used to do is leave a little note with the amount of change in the mailbox
To buy those items from the carrier.
Cover the front yard good, from driveway to front door, side door.
People always lose pocket change getting into or out of their cars.(or horse buggy if old enough house)
Any large trees are like magnets for kids to play on, climb, swing from etc...
Back yards are very good for lost change too.

That is only a few ideas off the top of my head but should give you some good ideas.
Hunt the entire yard and im willing to bet you will be suprised what's right under your feet!
Good luck
Happy Hunting!
From. Indiana Bones. :-)

I'd say, Pick a spot, start there and work your way around the entire property.
We all know you find great stuff in the strangest places, NO reason it should be where you found it, but it's there.
Good luck. Enjoy the new house.

Mr. Bill T said:

I'd say, Pick a spot, start there and work your way around the entire property.
We all know you find great stuff in the strangest places, NO reason it should be where you found it, but it's there.
Good luck. Enjoy the new house.

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Have to agree, it's your property so you can hit it any time you like if even only for 10-15 minutes. If there is something there, it's not going anywhere wihtout you knowing it. Take your time and just hit it a piece at a time as you can. I've been over my entire yard at least 30 times with different machines. Not finding much anymore but still always digging something.

Want to get rid of the spiders? Mix a healthy amount of peppermint oil with water and put it in a spray bottle. Spray the areas with the spiders and they will leave mighty quick and not come back while the peppermint oil persists.

BottleCapKing said:

Want to get rid of the spiders? Mix a healthy amount of peppermint oil with water and put it in a spray bottle. Spray the areas with the spiders and they will leave mighty quick and not come back while the peppermint oil persists.

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By mighty quick, do you mean immediately or within a day or so? There aren't many spiders in the house itself but they abound in the garage & under the porch.

There's talk about ripping up the bushes around the front of the house so that would hopefully open new honey holes. I might be able to get under the porch but I'm not a small guy and spiders aren't the only concern here. I can't detect the walkway itself because it's concrete but I'll definitely get every inch around it as well as the walkway between the porch and garage, it's only about 2'x3' but it will hopefully produce something besides nails and cable fittings (they look like acorn nuts ((the mechanical kind not the squirrel kind)) with a 1/4" of wire sticking out of 1 side and a small nipple). There's also a side walkway that goes from the back patio to the driveway but it has concrete pavers, again I'll detect around them but it sucks that the main walk is a no go.

At some point I also have to deal with woodchucks without shooting them. I personally have no problem using a suppressed .22 to dispatch the little bastards but my wife is a bit more animal friendly and doesn't want me to kill them

Woodchucks, use a live trap (happy wife=happy life). Be sure you comply with all of your state wildlife laws and local ordinances, though. If you are in a city, you may be able to get Animal Control to handle them for you. GL

mikeybonez28 said:

By mighty quick, do you mean immediately or within a day or so? There aren't many spiders in the house itself but they abound in the garage & under the porch.

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From what I understand, immediately. It would be much like tear gassing an outdoor picnic and watching the people scatter. The difference is the peppermint oil is more persistent and tear gas.

I have some spiders in my basement, and I am going to spray near the bulkhead doors and create a "red line" they can't cross.

BottleCapKing said:

From what I understand, immediately. It would be much like tear gassing an outdoor picnic and watching the people scatter. The difference is the peppermint oil is more persistent and tear gas.

I have some spiders in my basement, and I am going to spray near the bulkhead doors and create a "red line" they can't cross.

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Hopefully i can get some tomorrow and mix up a batch. I just had a crazy idea that might just work. I have a hose fed soap gun for washing the car but instead of filling it with soap, dump in the peppermint oil & just hose the whole area down. This wouldn't work inside but for under the porch it should be fine

I was contemplating a live trap but i need to see who carries them & what kind of bait to use. Woodies are also a small game species so I might have to follow those laws as well. I'll look into relocating/trapping when i get home

Indiana Bones said:

I would tackle the front yard first, especially from a front door or porch straight to the mailbox.
Years ago, you could buy stamps and even envelopes from your mail man (or woman)
So what people used to do is leave a little note with the amount of change in the mailbox
To buy those items from the carrier.
Cover the front yard good, from driveway to front door, side door.
People always lose pocket change getting into or out of their cars.(or horse buggy if old enough house)
Any large trees are like magnets for kids to play on, climb, swing from etc...
Back yards are very good for lost change too.

That is only a few ideas off the top of my head but should give you some good ideas.
Hunt the entire yard and im willing to bet you will be suprised what's right under your feet!
Good luck
Happy Hunting!
From. Indiana Bones. :-)

Click to expand...

Never knew that. You learn something new everyday!

Didnt find anything worth while yesterday but i did find a live 38 special round with a badly corroded bullet & part of a tin can with the old style pull tab (the type that looks like a typical fishing sinker) & 2 lincolns that were way beyond legible. If the rain holds off i might hit it again tonight. I don't think the yard was detected before so my hopes are still high

Hey Mikey...that gravellish looking insulation in an old house? DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!

Its no doubt Vermiculite!....Google it on up to see what you are dealing with there....Good Lord I am suffering from pouring bags of that stuff in with no mask and breathing the dust...I didnt know any better...Back in the 80's I had a Family to support and a job to do and I did it...getting paid $4.50/hr even...My boss man bought loads of that stuff and we used the hell out of it for insulation in attics and inside chimneys between the flue and blocks...dust just roaring up the hell out of there right in a guys face all day long...so now its 2017...and heres old wheezy Mud telling you....'Glass Lung' ..

I wouldnt screw around with that stuff even with a respirator...You are a young guy...aint no penny worth your lungs...thats some bad stuff there Brother...leave it alone and do not disturb it...its no problem then I suppose...That whole mine it came out of in Montana is a Superfund site...yet this stuff was sold by the tons for household insulation!

I aint gonna ever see a nickel of recompense for what I ignorantly did back then...You stay outside and hunt for metal..DO NOT dick around in that stuff!...Good Lord! Not in an attic! I hope you see this...

In my Bosses defense, he didnt know any better either...How could he have known this stuff was toxic? Bags of this stuff was sold over the counter at the Lumberyard! I'm the only one left out of that whole crew, and I sound like a damn New Orleans steamboat caliope just walking down the driveway to go get the mail...!

Oh well...its like a guy is playing their own bagpipe Funeral dirge without paying a set of Pipers,, so theres that...If that 'gravelly' stuff is vermiculite, you got bigger dangers to worry about than finding pennies, floor drains and spiders...

Yea, that stuff is staying where it is & if i have to mess with it then im using a respirator (N100 i think), a spray bottle & ventilation fans but its staying where it is for now unless it becomes necessary to deal with

I should mention that none of us mess around in the attic much. But it looks like the previous owner let his kids play up there so I hope their lungs are stil in one piece. Im already kind of screwed since I'm a mechanic & explorer but so far so good