Where to start?
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Hello I have recently moved onto a new housing development. My house is on the end, next to a field, and plenty of hedgerow. Since moving in 6months ago I have encouraged and now feed many birds and I would like to feed & help hedgehogs. Would it be best to start off by placing a house/shelter & food to see if any are in the area? Thank you for any advice
Hi ARH
The most important thing to do is to make sure there are access holes under fences to as many gardens as possible and to make your garden hedgehog friendly and encourage others to do likewise. It’s good to hear there are plenty of hedgerows nearby.
There is a little film, you might be interested in watching
https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/happy-new-year-from-hedgehog-street-2/There are also loads of tips on Hedgehog Street it is really worth having a look:
https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/
and follow the different headings.I would try putting a bit of food out first – cat food or hedghog food and of course water. Then if any hogs find you, you can introduce hog houses, etc. But they are more likely to explore if your garden is wildlife friendly. Try to make sure there isn’t too much bird food spilt. The hedgehogs will eat it, but most of it isn’t good for them. Watch out for cats eating the food you put out for the hedgehogs – if this becomes a problem you might need to try to make a cat proof feeding station. There are lots of tips on that sort of thing on the forum.
I feed the hogs near to my house with an outdoor light left on so that I can watch the hogs out of the window and they don’t mind that at all, although I think aren’t so keen on security lights which go on and off.
Of course the other thing to mention is that most hogs are hibernating at the moment, but some start to emerge in March and by some time in May most will be back – so you have a bit of time to prepare.
Good luck. I hope some hedgehogs find you soon.
Access into the garden is crucial, it doesn’t have to be a large hole, even a dip dug into the soil under a fence will do, my resident ‘hog comes and goes under the fence between my house and one neighbour and out into the housing estate my house backs onto under the fence at the bottom of the garden. The fence on the other side is a bit dilapidated, and the ‘hogs can get through easily.
That’s brilliant that you have the start of a hedgehog highway there. If you can, try to encourage others on the estate to link all their gardens together. That way the hedgehogs have more habitat so that they can catch natural food for themselves and have less need to cross roads, which are a big hazard for them. Improving habitat for wildlife in your garden (as well as encouraging others to do likewise) is another important thing to do.
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