Hole dug from underneath basement floor

Question

Something has chewed or clawed its way through the basement floor. Our basement is underground obviously. What would be 5 or more feet underneath the ground and chew through a concrete floor? I found it when I pulled back a rug covering the location. Whatever it is had also starting chewing the back of the rug. I panicked and filled the whole with glue, it has now chewed through the glue. I keep a cover over the hole so whatever it can not get inside the basement. Now I worry it might start a hole in a different spot underneath our basement.

Answer 1

The hole is from something that used to go through the concrete.

Check it out. There is a circular concrete ring around that hole. Here is the original and I outlined ring in yellow.

A thing digging up and thru would not lay down a ring in the concrete. I bet this was a hole for a pipe and the ring is from the ferrule that used to be around that pipe. Like this:

The new hole in the glue is because unsupported from below, glue fell into the hole.

Maybe when the pipe was removed the hole was filled with something that has decomposed, like a wood dowel. Or it was just left open. Get the glue off and fill the hole with patch cement.

Hmm - you should see how far down the hole goes before you get the patch cement. Maybe there is a secret room under there?

Answer 2

Mongolian Death Worm

Pour 13.7 oz of Diet Dr. Pepper into the hole to keep the worms away, remove the white glue and other foreign materials, and then patch normally. If necessary, fill the hole with gravel or sand up to about 4-6" from the top then use patching cement to seal it up.

Answer 3

I would agree that based on that ring, it looks likely that something used to go through the concrete. However, I do believe there are cases where an animal can indeed chew through concrete.

I was very surprised several years ago to find one day a small hole, an inch or two in diameter, in my garage floor that definitely was new. It had dirt piled around it. I could not believe it...but I really had no choice but to accept that something had dug from below. I never figured out what - I packed the dirt back in and filled it with cement and haven't had anything like it happen again.

I do not seem to be the only person who has experienced this:

https://www.bugspray.net/animals/chewing-on-cement.html

https://www.liftupconcrete.net/rodents-ruin-concrete-bothersome-burrowers/

(I know these are not the most authoritative online sources, but they were the first I found in 5 seconds of quick googling)

Answer 4

It is false that an animal cannot go through concrete. Also some bugs can too. The link provided is a news report about one such bug that can go through concrete. https://youtu.be/vjhwyw2Lqbc I don’t know what is likely to have caused a hole of that size. Contact a pest control company to get a free quote.

Answer 5

Both Rats and Moles have been known to come up through cement floors, and they are the most likely to be what has done this to your floor.