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Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)

Erinaceus europaeus

One of the best ways to increase the amount of wildlife visiting your garden and at the same time rid yourself of slugs, snails and other pests is to provide a home for one of most common species - the hedgehog.

Hedgehogs are endemic in the United Kingdom and are found in most suburban and country gardens By providing a home and food - your garden provides the food, you the home, you can increase their chances of staying and their antics can be a source of much interest and amusement as they scuttle around the garden.

Hedgehogs are extremely shy creatures with an excellent sense of hearing. They will freeze when they hear noise - this is the reason there are many casualties on the roads. The best way to observe them however is to leave on a back yard light which they will become accustomed to. This will also enable you to view other nocturnal creatures like foxes, woodmice, frogs, toads, bats etc.

Hedgehogs will regularly visit places where there is a readily available source of food. Both urban foxes and hedgehogs love dogfood and this can be obtained very cheaply from local supermarkets. Place it in the middle of the lawn where you can secretly view them from the house without disturbance and you will be rewarded with some evening entertainment. We once had a hedgehog that ran round and round the dogbowl for several minutes after eating - no we didn't put anything in the food! Place out a bowl of water too - but never give hedgehogs milk, their digestive systems cannot cope with the fat content.

Having enticed one into the garden the best way to coax it to stay is to make a purpose built hedgehog house. The one below is placed in a quiet corner of the garden behind the shed.

The best time to build such a house is during the summer; a home suitably 'decked out' will provide an ideal place for the hedgehog to hibernate and in spring when they mate, a house will provide an ideal place to give birth and bring up young ensuring they stay in your garden. Click here to find out how to make a hedge hog house.

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