Wasn't as bad as you'd think, the soil there is just loam and clay, no rocks. And I only had one root to deal with, so it took about 40 minutes total. I'm still lookin' out for critters, but raccoons haven't been a problem due to our dog (she got into an altercation with a giant raccoon two weeks ago and literally ripped it's face off, it was scary to say the least). It's rained almost constantly since I installed it and there isn't a drop inside. I'm mostly worried about smaller animals/insects, but only time will tell.