Attracting Hedgehogs

[Saddleworth Bred]

I see alot of hedgehogs around in my area but i don't think i've ever seen a live one. That may sound strange but the sad fact is that every one i've seen has been run over. I would like to see one up close so i was wondering;

A.Wether its ok to try and entice them into my garden and B. How to do it.

Also i have a cat, will that deter visitors to my garden??

[bobbarber]

Hello Saddleworth Bred, can I recommend the following site British Hedgehog Preservation Society BHPS It`s full of information which would be of use to you. Good luck in your endeavours...Bob

[James M]

How open is your garden? one problem I have is that there are fences all the way around so we don't get them in ours. There are plenty of Hedgehogs around though, when I went for a wander one evening I saw 5 in the space of 20 minutes! I think if you have plenty of cover in the garden for them to shelter and nest in and have plenty of invertebrates to feed on (especially slugs and snails) then you stand a pretty could chance of getting them in the your garden. You could also put dog or cat food out with some water (I heard that milk and bread is a bad idea as I think this can give them diarrhea which might lead to dehydration and even death), though you may risk other creatures being attracted then maybe even a local cat!

[Saddleworth Bred]

Looking at my garden it might be abit inaccessible to them which is a shame, plus there are alot of local cats coming in and out so the food probabley wouldn't last very long lol. i might give it a try and see who turns up to eat the food. I'll be suprised if its a hedgehog though.

Thanks for that link Bob, always good to have more information.

[Beekeeper]

I get hedgehogs in my garden almost every evening, i always knew when they were around as the dog would find them and his bark would go up to a very high pitch until i went out and called him in, sadly he died a couple of weeks ago so i guess i wont know when they are around any more.

I really miss that little dog.

BK

[Hedgehoggy]

Originally Posted by Saddleworth Bred

Looking at my garden it might be abit inaccessible to them which is a shame, plus there are alot of local cats coming in and out so the food probabley wouldn't last very long lol. i might give it a try and see who turns up to eat the food. I'll be suprised if its a hedgehog though.

All you need is a few little gaps here and there under your fence and hoggy will find his own way in and out If cats are a problem, try some chopped peanuts, sunflower seeds/hearts, small pieces of banana, dried meal worms, digestive bics, sponge cake (all in moderation!) - all foodstuffs cats dislike - and if it gets uneaten by hoggy during the night, the birds will hoover it all up in the morning

Originally Posted by Beekeeper

I get hedgehogs in my garden almost every evening, i always knew when they were around as the dog would find them and his bark would go up to a very high pitch until i went out and called him in, sadly he died a couple of weeks ago so i guess i wont know when they are around any more.

I really miss that little dog.

BK

Aaw, BK I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. He looks such a gorgeous little dog and was obviously a much loved old friend.

[pattie may]

I have had a hedgehog visiting my garden about 11.00 p.m. every night for the past few weeks. She eats the hedgehog food I put down and then waits for second helpings before escaping through a very small hole under my fence at the top of my garden. I leave more food out overnight. I put it under a large plastic cover held down with a brick. My husband cut out two holes so that the hedgehog can walk in one end and walk out the other. The food is always gone in the early hours of the morning and because of the cover is not eaten my the birds.

Last night Harriet, as I call her, arrived at 10.45 p.m. She ate her food and scurried off. I put more out straight away and back she came. She ate a little and then as she turned to walk away from the dish another hedgehog walked up to her. They both ran off.

Five minutues later next door's dog was barking and scratching at the fence at the bottom of our garden. The dog has barked at hedgehogs in the neightbours garden before. Husband to the rescue. He went under the bushes and found a rather large hedgehog curled up by a smallish hole in our fence. The dog was still barking and scratching so I relocated the hedgehog to the top end of the garden under the bushes. Harriet was drinking water and scurried away behind the hedgehog house as I put Harry down, he a boy - I checked as I moved him.

Harry stayed curled up for about 45 minutes. Harriet ate more food and went on her way. My husband secured the hole at the bottom of the fence. Can't see Harry today. Hope he followed Harriet out. A romance perhaps?

[James M]

Great post pattie may! . I find it interesting that you only have a small hole in the fence and they still manage to find their way, rather encouraging that! Now all I have to do is see if I can convince my neighbour if I can dig a hole under the fence.

[pattie may]

The gap under the fence is only about three inches high. You could scrap the earth away underneath the fence and no-one would know.

[Beekeeper]

Originally Posted by Hedgehoggy

Aaw, BK I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. He looks such a gorgeous little dog and was obviously a much loved old friend.

Yes, he was a great little dog Hedgehoggy, the house is so quiet without him now, i dont enjoy my forest walks nearly as much as i used to with him racing off into the distance and then coming back covered in mud or asking me to remove a bramble that had got wrapped around his tail.
Life is never dull when you have a dog around.

BK

BK