Helping Hedgehogs
When:
Hedgehogs tend to emerge from hibernation between mid-March to early-April, however, this can vary depending on local weather conditions (Hedgehog Preservation Society) and the hedgehog itself.
How to support your local hog coming out of hibernation:
Access in and out of your garden – providing a 13cmx13cm gap in fences, gates, walls. Hedgehogs need around 12-15 gardens to roam and forage each night. Talk to your neighbours to see if they will also help.
Providing access allows the hog to venture further to find food and potential mates. You can also provide supplementary food and water for your hogs. You can either put out food specifically made for hedgehogs or provide them with meaty cat/dog food or cat biscuits. Make sure you also leave a shallow dish of water.
Securing your food and water in a feeding station can also help prevent food from being eaten by other animals, wild or domestic.
Hedgehog Feeding Station
What you will need:
- A plastic storage box about 12” wide by 18” long (or bigger).
- A roll of duct tape
Instructions:
- Either use the box with the lid on or turn the box upside down.
- Cut a 5” hole (about a large fist size) in one of the short ends.
- Tape around the cut-out hole to cover any sharp edges.
- Put the food at the opposite end so a fox or cat cannot put their long arm in and pull out the food.
- Put a brick or heavy weight on top of the box, to stop it being knocked over or the lid pulled off.
- If cats or foxes still try to get in, then place the box about 6” away from a wall, with the entrance facing towards the wall.
- Hedgehogs can be messy eaters, so put newspaper on the floor of the box.
Keep it Wild
If you can leave a corner of your garden wild, this will provide shelter and feeding opportunities for your hog. If you do plan on cleaning up your garden, check for hedgehogs first. Leave your pile of leaves/sticks to one side of your garden to provide shelter hogs as well as food for the insects that makes up part of the hedgehog’s diet. Leaf piles can also act as nesting material, as can leaving areas of long grass (Hedgehog street).
Make some Wildlife Friendly Features:
If you have made a pond or water feature, make sure to make it hog safe by providing a ramp or shallow area which allows them to climb out (Hedgehog street). A shallow shelf should be 5-6 cm deep to allow Hedgehogs to drink or get out of the pond. Make sure there is an escape route made with stones, rough pieces of wood or plastic-coated wire netting. DON’T cover your pond with netting has this can trap hedgehogs.
Tidying up netting and litter from your garden will prevent hogs and other wildlife from getting trapped and injured. Keeping netting such as pea-netting a foot above the ground will allow hedgehogs to travel under it rather than getting tangle in it (Hedgehog Preservation Society).
What to do if you find a sick/injured hog:
If you find a sick or injured hog out and about contact a local Wildlife Rescue/Vet (see list of local Wildlife Centres below) immediately for advice. If you intervene, use a high-sided box with a towel inside for the hog to hide in and keep warm.
Make sure to use gardening gloves to transfer the hog into a box, keep it in a quiet place, and provide water in case of dehydration.
Using Christmas Trees (create wood piles)
Did you purchase a real Christmas tree this year? Wondering what you can do with it? Why not use it to support your local hedgehogs! You can recycle your tree to benefit the local wildlife by chopping it up and creating a woodpile in your garden. It could create a hibernation or nesting site, or act as a home for the hedgehog food!
- Best position for logs to provide hedgehog shelter: Find a shady, quiet spot with the entrance out of the wind. An ideal pace would be under thick vegetation, behind a shed (RSPB,) or along the side of a fence.
- Best position for logs to encourage insects (hedgehog food): place in a shady spot, so that it remains cool and damp.
GoFundMe:
We have Hedgehogs at Falmer Campus so to support our hogs, the University has bought a hedgehog house. If you would like to contribute to the provision of hedgehog houses, please donate whatever you can to our GoFundMe page link below.
List of Wildlife Rescue Centres and Wildlife Vets near Brighton and Hove:
East Sussex Wildlife Rescue (WRAS), 2 The Shaw Barn, Whitesmith, Lewes BN8 6JD.
0300 102 6999 (open 24-hours)
New Priory Vets, 10 The Deneway, Patcham, Brighton BN1 8QR.
01273 540430 (open 24-hours)
Coastway, Freshfields Business Park, Freshfield Way, Brighton BN2 ODF.
01273 6292267 (open 24-hours)
St Francis Vets, 40 Norfolk Square, Brighton BN1 2PE. 01273 770800
Grove Lodge Vets, 104 Preston Drove, Brighton BN1 6EW. 01273 558838
Grove Lodge Vets, 18 Upper Brighton Road, Worthing BN14 9DL
01903 234866 (24-hour hospital)
Contact RSPCA if any of the above rescues/vets are unable to help.
0300 1234 999