Tell me about GroundHogs
 

Saw one it the yard a few weeks back and then the past weekend notice this hole under the basement slab. He even chewed through a section of drain pipe.

I have a trap by the opening for the past two days and still have not caught him?

Did he leave?
Did he already go to hibernation?

How do I fix the damage under the basement floor?

Where is all the dirt that he burrowed through? Did he just eat it??

Drive around the house at 120 and HE will find YOU

A friend of mine had one under the shed in his back yard. One day it purportedly killed a young cat of theirs. So my friend sat on the deck one evening, sipping a glass of wine, while he waited for it to come out from under the shed. When it did.......he shot it.

They like morning and just before sunset most......only other times they come out are when your not looking or when the gun is not within reach so they stretch put aND tempt you.

Dogs at the farm take care of them every so often...otherwise gotta wait em out, you can buy smoke grenades to wait for em but not sure I'd do that below a house

They like to have two entry/exit holes. See if you can find another hole and try the trap there.

If that drainpipe was anything important then you may be doing some big time excavation work to repair it.

if you don't need to excavate, at least dump some concrete into the holes to make it harder for the next tenant to move in.

It could be worse. (Skunk)

I understand they make passable chili.

(i.e., it passes through you at 100 mph)

see my avatar. 12 ga =

Guy that used to work with me in his "off time" used a AK 47, hunting groundhogs where ever he could get permission from farmers.
Dirk

They are wily and destructive little bastiges. There is definitely a second opening to that hole, and filling it up without closing the other end is a waste of time. Groundhogs do hibernate, but won't do so for a month or two. They have very good senses and can be hard to get a sight on, but do come out in the morning and evening to browse for greens to eat. A 12ga or AK would be satisfying but overkill - pistol-caliber shots hell's and CB long .22 both work very well. The CBs are pretty quiet from a rifle-length barrel, too.

I have tried filling the hole with the body of the recently-deceased occupant. It was satisfying but ineffective: next year I found a groundhog skull in the dirt pushed out by the new owner of the hole...

I think the drainpipe is to collect water near the foundation and route it to the sump pump in the basement. Its the light corrugated stuff. Probably ok to concret it back in.