In addition, power augers are heavy, so moving them into position can be hard on the back.

If the thought of holding on to a twisting power auger sounds a little dangerous, one type of power auger is much easier to control, although it takes time to set up.

In less than nine months we have had to call in a contractor who used a power auger to clean out this sewer line three times.

Sometimes professional feeding is needed for large shrubs and trees where the commercial power augers can be used to go down deep into the soil and place the nutrients where they are most needed.

Not even bothering with the protection of a shack, they walk or drive right onto the ice of one of the state's 15,000 lakes, dig a hole with a power auger and begin.

These manual diggers are fine for digging one or two holes but if you have to dig a log of holes, you might want to consider renting a power auger to do the job.

Usually, blockages can be cleared with a "snake" or a power auger.

The power auger is essentially a giant corkscrew that twists dirt to the surface as it bores into the ground.

We had a little mush sled with all our gear in it - some buckets and a little heater, fishing rods, a compass and a power auger.

Or one can invest hundreds, even thousands, of dollars in such things as ice shanties, power augers, electronic depth finders and snowmobiles.