Remove Chinaberry pods from grass?

[Jack Rabbit]

A yard has grass and a chinaberry tree. Lots of seeds are in deep in the bermuda grass. The mower doesn't pick them up. The blower doesn't move many of them. Raking them works but takes many strokes over each area. They are about the size of small marbles. At various stages they are smooth or later shriveled like raisins. Any ideas about an efficient way to remove them? Any devices for picking up small nuts maybe?

[CHEESE2009]

Lawn care business tips

Try using a shop vac. attach it to the back of a riding lawn mower? LOL Get two & attach them to your lawn mower & reverse the settings so the shop vac(s) blow instead of suck, make yourself a hover mower. Too cool, can you imagine?

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[Steve]

Could some sort of yard vac do it?

[Jack Rabbit]

Vacs. That could be the answer. Thanks!

Can't afford a yard vac and not a big enough job to rent one but I do have a shop vac.

I'll try it. Probably water a little first so it won't pick up so much dirt.

[Steve]

Let us know how it works. Take some pictures too.

[Jack Rabbit]

A shop vac worked pretty well. It was a little faster than raking, much less effort, and doesn't damage the grass. It picks up some dead grass but little dirt.

Just use the end of the tube with no attachments.

I'm going to look for a big used one with a thicker hose. That should work efficiently for picking up the Chinaberry seed pods.

[Steve]

Were you walking as you did this or was it attached to your mower?

[Jack Rabbit]

Neither. I just put the vac on the ground and then used the hose tip (the hard plastic tube) on a small area at a time. You have to put it right on them. About a half inch or an inch from the ground and move it around. It gets almost all of them that way.

It is faster than raking, which required many passes, strokes, whatever over each area to get most of the pods. It is still pretty slow though. Hopefully a big vac will be faster. I'll have to find a really cheap one though. I think it might help get things out of rocks too.

I intend to vacuum a part of the yard each time I mow. That should get the accumulation of them. I'll see what needs to be done to keep up with the perpetual supply from the tree.