10 April 2025

Going deep in the hole

Well we have made it to the afternoon.  Work is still calm and I am so thankful for that.  I got to take a nice lunch break and worked in a nap but my phone woke me up, as per usual. 

We had a nice spring shower of rain.  It was just your average rainfall.  I don’t think the sump pump kicked on but I don’t know that for certain.  All sounds can blend into the background depending on what I am doing and where I am in the house. 

That said I decided to feel around on the carpet and it feels slightly moist to me.  I think that my issue is one or more of the holes that the ground hogs have made or made larger.  I’m really not a fan of trying to kill a groundhog, especially by trying to bury it alive.  Not only is it a horrible death but imagine the panic as well as the possible further destruction they might do in trying to claw their way out.  I need to know for sure if they are occupying the dens before I do anything.  I’ve read that you can turn on a garden hose and try to flood the hole, if it’s occupied the groundhog will leave so it doesn’t drown.  However, if I do that and these holes are the source of the water in the basement that will only cause me more problems. 

I did some shopping on Amazon and found an Endoscope Camera with light and dual lens.  I opted for the 32.8 foot length.  It wasn’t horribly expensive as you might think.  Amazon promised one day delivery.  While I am hoping that it arrives tomorrow it’s anyone’s guess if that will actually happen.  Provided it does that should allow me adequate time to charge the unit so that on Saturday I can go hole exploring.  A sick and funny thought I had was well I could do my own colonoscopy.  I’m not going to but I hope that made you laugh.  This unit is waterproof so short of a groundhog or some other occupant animal biting off the camera I think it should be pretty durable and get me the information I need.  I am interested to see just how deep these holes are.  I asked the internet and here’s the response I got … “The average depth of a groundhog's den can reach up to 6 feet, although the tunnels can vary in length and complexity. Groundhogs typically create extensive burrow systems with multiple chambers and entrances.”  Looks like I bought a long enough cable. 

While I am not a fan of the way the pluming is done on the sump pump the more I think about it, the issue would have probably surfaced a long time ago if it was the culprit.  I could also have a dual problem. 

I hope this is simple enough I can fix it myself.  At least I am going to try but it won’t surprise me in the least if I have to ask for help and pay someone.  I consider this a major problem and like all major problems, I just want to solve it and move on with life.  There surely will be another major problem to take the place of this one. 

Stay tuned as I am sure I will have plenty of updates. 

 

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