Releasing Rescue Hedghogs

[colinaj]

Our allotment site wants to release rescued Hedgehogs but a minority of gardeners use Slug Pellets, Do you think that the Hedgehogs will be at risk?
Colinaj

[Wild-Woman]

Originally Posted by colinaj

Our allotment site wants to release rescued Hedgehogs but a minority of gardeners use Slug Pellets, Do you think that the Hedgehogs will be at risk?
Colinaj

I would have thought it would be better to release them back into the area that they came from,or is that not possible? Also, I should think any amount of poison from pellets would be harmful. Couldn't you ask them not to use them or at least to stop for a while until the hedgehogs have dispersed naturally? Just a thought.
Jules

[nicola]

I would be quite suprised if the rescuers you would get the hogs from would agree if there are slug pellets being used, I would say a big no to them being released there.

[colinaj]

Thanks. There are so many headstrong gardeners there that to get them to stop would not work. Perhaps we should not bother but attract those that must be there anyway.
ColAj

[eeyore]

you could make the point that a high concentration of hedgehogs will decimate the slug population much more than pellets could ever hope to.

mind you that said i'm with julie on this one - hogs really ought to be released back into the environments they came from - unless these environments are very unsafe for some reason.

several of our members run wildlife rescue centres - tragus comes to mind - and they could probably give you the definitive word on this.

[nicola]

Hogs ive had here in the garden and others I know rarely eat slugs, in fact ive seen the hogs eat from the same dish as slugs with out even bothering with them, which in many ways is good as the slugs are primary carriers for lungworm which can kill hogs, they will eat them but only if no other food source is available. Really they should be released where they are found, but then there is of course the uists study too, where they can be successfuly relocated and thank goodness too.

[Pete]

Originally Posted by nicola

in fact ive seen the hogs eat from the same dish as slugs with out even bothering with them,

it was most odd watching a hog and a slug eating from the same dish!!

[mart_d50]

is it a popular myth 'hedgehogs - the gardeners friend because they gobble up all your slugs' when slugs only account for a very small percentage of their diet

nearly 3/4 of their diet is mainly beetles, caterpillars, and worms according to the BHPS:

British Hedgehog Preservation Society

it also mentions about slug pellets on that page too

[nicola]

It is a myth indeed, Ive heard a few people say that they would like hogs to keep the numbers of slugs down, but they are not a major part of their diet, most of the young late hoglets this year have had a high parasitic burden, possibly due to only having the slugs about to eat.

I used to have a really bad slug problem, plants in my pots got eaten alive, now that I give them their own food, they will eat anything, they seem to be leaving my plants alone, plus ones I want to try and protect a bit more are planted by nice spikey plants with gravel on top of the soil. The ants take care of the greenfly, would like to try and attract more ladybirds this year...oops im rambling.

But yes it is much healthier for hogs to find other food apart from slugs to eat, which is where we can all help by placing a small dish of food out in the evenings and a bowl of water. Especially if the summer is long dry and hot again.

[smartie]

Originally Posted by nicola

I used to have a really bad slug problem, plants in my pots got eaten alive, now that I give them their own food, they will eat anything, they seem to be leaving my plants alone, plus ones I want to try and protect a bit more are planted by nice spikey plants with gravel on top of the soil.

I've never thought of feeding the slugs, Nicola, but I'm willing to give it a go if it will save my plants. What do you feed them?