I could use some DUer help with creative problem-solving

[DebJ]

A couple of years ago, a groundhog built a den with an entrance right next to the front corner of our house. I eventually was able to get the groundhog to abandon this den by repeatedly dumping used kitty litter down the hole, donated by a friend with three cats using one litter box. Groundhogs are very clean animals and doing this drives them away.

Because the den is right next to, and possibly for all I know UNDER the house, I'd like to fill in what he dug out. We began to have water leaks around the area of the basement on the wall near where the den entrance is.

Anyone have any ideas about what I could use to push soil into the den as far as possible, without having to excavate the entire front of the house? Something flexible enough to make some turns, but sturdy enough to push soil? I know we won't get all of it filled in by such methods, but I need a quick fast means of doing something to make it better.

From some reading I did on the interwebs, it seems probable that the den doesn't go too far down, as the earth in this area is extremely hard-packed clay. At least that is what the earth was like on the other side of the front of the house, where I actually dug down three feet in a 30 inch by 15 ft section, and removed the greatest portion of the soil and replaced it with soil that could actually grow something. Deeper dens are dug when animals need to get to the harder packed earth for protection from the cold...but around the house, that is what our 'top soil' appears to be.

Description of a groundhog den:
"The den pipe of a groundhog den may plunge straight down as much as two or three feet. It is very common for a groundhog pipe to have at least one or two right angles in it -- locations from which the groundhog can slash at foxes and dogs that might try to pursue them underground.

Den pipes may be anywhere from 15 to 50 feet long, and will typically contain one more underground chambers 2 to 6 feet underground. These den chambers are lined with dried grass for winter warmth, padding, and to form nests in which the young are whelped in early Spring."
http://www.terrierman.com/lifehabitatgh.htm

[NRaleighLiberal]

1. Maybe mix up a thick slurry of clay and water - flowable, so it will move about where needed -

the excess water should drain away leaving a solid tube of clay?

I did battle with one a few years ago, but its den was in a rotting hollowed out tree. It ate most of my garden!

good luck!

[DebJ]

3. What a cool idea! Thanks! n/t

[Callmecrazy]

15. I was thinking the same thing. nt

[Lars39]

2. I thought they usually have more than one entrance.

If they do, they might not have abandoned that den. Don't have a clue for a quick fix, but I sure hope you can find one!

[DebJ]

4. yes I read that also. But I haven't been able to spot any other entrances

and the one wasn't particularly small. I should probably do more checking there is a large holly
tree not too far away with branches down to the ground (I allow the branches on the ground to provide
shelter for bunnies and things).

[Lars39]

5. With their tunnels so extensive, the second entance might be

pretty far away and be smaller.
And here I thought moles were bad!

[DebJ]

6. We have had a little mole around also, but he only seems to work in a very small area

in the back of the house near the patio, and it doesn't bother us at all. That area is so full of large Norwegian pine cones
and tree roots and stuff it's not a safe place to walk without caution, anyway.

One day the mole surprised the heck out of me; I was sitting on the patio and it ran right across the pavement
and under my feet! I didn't think they'd come above ground like that!

[Lars39]

7. Wow, I didn't know that either!

You must have been very quiet sitting there for it to do that. Our cat brought one alive inside once. Yeah,"nice kitty". Argh lol

[DebJ]

8. The only 'hunter' cats I had picked up only two things:

as a teenager, I had a cat who only brought in locusts. Sometimes dead, sometimes have alive, frequently regurgitated.

As an adult, one of our cats was a mighty slug-hunter. No slug could escape from her lightning-quick skills, it seemed, LOL!
She brought in a cardinal just once, too; that was sad. She released it in the house; it fled about in a panic and bled everywhere
before I was able to capture and release it about 30 minutes later...it probably didn't survive...

[Lars39]

9. My little geriatric cat never brought me birds in her younger outdoor days.

She is in no way an air cat. Strictly a ground cat. She has tangled with squirrels, chipmunks, mice and snakes. Caught her stalking a great blue heron, though.
Twice finding small snakes in my hallway is not my idea of a fun start to a day!

[DebJ]

10. Yikes! I'll take the slugs! n/t

[Lars39]

11. lol, I would have, too. :-)

[davidpdx]

17. The cat was just trying to impress you

When I was growing up we had outside cats and they would drag in dead birds. Really gross...

[NV Whino]

12. You might try expanding foam insulation

They also make it in spray cans, but I think you need more than a couple of cans. Call a contractor or insulation cpany. They might help you out for very little money, or just for the fun of it.

[MicaelS]

13. Foam jacking.

http://www.concretejack.com/groundhog-under-porch/

http://www.concretejack.com/foam-jacking/

[NV Whino]

14. How about that! I knew what I as talking about.

I've used foam out of a can, combined with copper (doesn't rust) mesh to fill rodent holes. Works great.

[Duer 157099]

16. Sand?

[kristopher]

18. Seems like the focus should be on the water leaks

There is a good chance the water leaks may have to be dealt with from the outside. If that's the case then filling the void used as a den becomes part of the process of fixing the leak.

[DebJ]

19. Yep that's exactly why I need to fill it in. n/t

[kristopher]

20. So the burrow is channelling water to the area leaking...

...and you plan to fix the leak by directing water flow away from the house. Is that right?

What if the burrow isn't the source of the water?

I ask that because I bought an old house with several leaks and learned the hard way that water leaks can be extremely difficult to track back to their origin.

You might be able to confirm whether it's the burrow by sealing the entrance with dirt (make a slope all the way from the house to beyond the entrance) and putting a fair sized piece of scrap plywood over the spot. If that cures the leak you can then spend the money on polyurethane foam if you think that's the best answer.

http://www.saferwholesale.com/High-Yield-One-Component-Polyurethane-Foam-Kit-16L-p/ipl-4004518160.htm?vfsku=ipl+4004518160&Click=35179&gpla=pla&gclid=CO76hpPpir4CFbTm7AodagwAow

http://www.epa.gov/dfe/pubs/projects/spf/spray_polyurethane_foam.html

ETA: I just reread my earlier post. What I meant when I wrote "dealt with from the outside" was that you might have excavate in order to paint the exterior of the basement wall with a sealant.

[DebJ]

21. Thanks.

I saw your reply on the first but didn't respond because I can't face the possibility of a long
nightmare of trying to fix a basement leak, spending tons of money I don't have, and
having it still leak. I saw your reply and just went oh no my mind just can't even go there
right now. Too many other issues!

Fortunately the leaks are very small, and it was only during very hard pounding rains with
a lot of rain in a short time that we had a few leaks. The leaks were of the type like you'd
see if you were to puncture the side of a can, with the water squirting out of them. That happened
the first time a few years ago when two hurricanes hit within 4 days of each other, with furious
slashing rains that went on for hours and hours... in Central Pa, of all places. Everyone for
miles around was flooded; it was really bad for many people in the Susqeuhanna Valley area.

Since then, it has only been a time or two, and not so bad, not with so much pressure. But it
only happened at all after the groundhog burrow. But the house is 60 years old.

We also have termites, termite damage that will need structural repairs, and a leaking chimney
to deal with, oh, and yes, now we have a hideous infestation of carpenter ants, too, so is that
floor sagging from the carpenter ants, or the termites? And other things like older houses always
have. Between that and difficulties with aging parents and a son with bipolar disorder, my mind
saw your post and my brain went "Memory Full" (if you are old enough to remember when computers
flashed that nasty red warning).