As above, I have had problems with rats attracted to both hedgehog and bird food. Luckily I, and my cat, have virtually eradicated them but I have had to remain vigilant. Access to the birds’ feeding station is now much more difficult from the ground and I rely on ground feeders to clear up the fallen scraps. In theory I should see no hogs as my garden is surrounded by 6′ high stone walls with just one small gap for them to enter. However in the last 30 years I cannot remember not having a resident and frequently nesting mothers producing litters. Much to my cats’ entertainment as they watched the hoglets scurry around the patio.
I used to have a slugs and snails problem, hundreds would come out at night to be crunched as I walked on the lawn. Now my Hostas are unmolested, all without the use of pesticides in a chemical free garden.
My current hog has taken to emerging later at night, and still tends to eat less on nights after a hot day, and eschews the hog houses other than to feed from the bowl I place in one to keep it away from rain and the birds’ It seems to prefer the underside of the garden shed, where it hibernates in the winter. They tend to find my garden an Ideal habitat with areas of dense shrubs, through which I rarely venture, and log piles to provide grubs and insects. There is a large water bowl, which has to be shared with the birds which like to bathe in it.
