Dont even think about pulling it out with a line you will kill your ferret. I ferret without a locator mainly because if I did have one I wouldnt be able to dig on my ground anyways. if you cant afford a locator, ferret the nice small burries and prepare to wait a while. If you take a few ferrets we usually just leave a box out and block up all the holes, then we will go off and ferret another burrie close by and go back later.