It's hedgehog awareness week!
Here's some things you can do to help the little spiny critters
May 5th-11th is Hedgehog Awareness Week, which is run by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. The theme this year is to make space for hedgehogs in your garden, and here’s some tips for you to do just that!
Hedgehog Highways
One of the best things you can do for hedgehogs is to make sure they can move freely through your garden. They need a hole about the size of a CD case (or two smartphones, in new money!), and you can get some excellent signs to make the hole a feature in your garden.
Check first
Before you dig your compost heap, or burn that pile of rubbish, or mow/strim that bit of garden that’s been on the to-do list for weeks, just check it first. Hedgehogs love to hide in overgrown corners of the garden, or under piles of leaves or logs. So spend a few moments checking it by hand before you get stuck in. Bonfires should be moved to a new location before burning them.
Make a hedgehog home
There’s a great free plan on the BHPS website for building a hedgehog house, but you don’t have to build them a formal abode. A pile of logs, some brushwood, long grass clippings etc are all things hedgehogs use to construct their own nests. If you create a pile in a quiet, shady corner of your garden, then you might just find a hedgehog moves in.
Of course, you can also provide them with a fancy permanent dwelling, there’s lots on the market.
How about a meal?
Hedgehogs eat slugs, beetles, worms and caterpillars, but you can supplement their diet! A shallow dish of water is always appreciated, and you can even buy commercial hedgehog food now. Wet meat-based cat or dog food goes down well, but you should avoid bread and milk. Meal worms, though tasty, don’t really do much for them nutritionally.
Where can I find out more?
There’s lots of brilliant information on the Hedgehog Street website, where you can even become a hedgehog champion.
The British Hedgehog Preservation Society also has lots of good information and leaflets to download. They’re a great source of information if you have a sick, injured or orphaned hedgehog, because they keep a list of UK rehabilitators who can care for your hedgehog.