All you need to know about hedgehogs in your garden Based on a talk by Simon Thompson Hedgehog Officer Warwickshire Wildlife Trust (17/2/16)
Simon started his talk by claiming to have the best job title in the country, and by the end I think many of us felt he also had one of the best jobs. Simon is part of an innovative project that has seen the launch of the first hedgehog conservation area in Solihull, http://www.warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/hedgehogs The Solihull Hedgehog Improvement Area (Solihull HIA) with funding and support from the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. Along with promoting making spaces more hedgehog-friendly, he is recruiting members of the public to be involved in very important research work - counting and recording hedgehog sightings.
You can help in this project by identifying where hedgehogs are still present, make your garden more hedgehog-friendly, and help create a super highway for hedgehogs by working with your neighbours. The Wildlife Trust has produced a 10 point plan to create a hedgehog haven as part of the Help for Hedgehogs project http://www.helpforhedgehogs.co.uk/#HIA
• Leave a mess – Hedgehogs need places to build nests.
• Make a log pile – Hedgehogs love log piles, a perfect place to hibernate or find grubs
• Make ponds safe – Make sure there is a way for hedgehogs to get out, they are good swimmers.
• Check before mowing – Do a quick walk around the lawn.
• Bonfire night – Always check under bonfires for hibernating hedgehogs.
• Don’t use slug pellets – Hedgehogs can eat poisoned slugs.
• Link your garden – Have a 5cm x 5cm (about the size of a CD case) size hole in your boundary – hedgehogs need to roam across several gardens every night to find food.
• Food – You can either use specialist food or dog food.
• Hibernate – Do not disturb between November-April. If you find a hedgehog you think is in need of help, take it inside, put in a highsided box with a hot water bottle under a towel. Then contact an approved rescue centre. http://warwickshirehedgehogrescue.org
Call for advice about injured hedgehogs 01584 890801
• Donate – Help support the preservation of hedgehogs.
Helping to record numbers is easy – you can log any sightings at www.warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/hedgehog-sighting for local sightings or as part of the national scheme http://www.hedgehogstreet.org Less pleasant but equally important is to report any roadkill, not just of hedgehogs but all wildlife. This is one site where you can do this: http://projectsplatter.co.uk/collecting-roadkill
The British Hedgehog Preservation Society has launched a petition on the government’s website to campaign for better legal protection. Once 100,000 signatures are collected then it has to be considered for debate in Parliament. You can sign the petition by clicking here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/121264
A few hedgehog facts:
Slugs and snails only form about 5-7% of their diet. Hedgehogs will eat beetles, earthworms, small mammals and birds – they are very greedy. Badgers will kill hedgehogs, but they also compete for the same food sources.
Hedgehog hibernation is related to temperature, if there is a mild winter like this year, they will wake up and look for food.
Between April and June is usually the time for hedgehogs to emerge from hibernation.
June to September is when they raise families.
Between September and November they may have a second litter.
November to April is hibernation time.
Baby hedgehogs are called hoglets, they are born without spikes, and a litter is usually about 4 or 5. Dad plays no part in raising the litter.
Hedgehogs come in a wide variety of browns, from the very pale “Blondes”, around 30% of the population, through to much darker ones. 1 in 10,000 are true albinos.
Hedgehogs do carry fleas, but these are specific to hedgehogs.
In the wild a hedgehog will live to 2 – 3 years, in captivity they can live up to 10 years.
Why not follow Simon's work on Twitter https://twitter.com/HedgehogOfficer or https://twitter.com/Help4Hedgehogs
You can also catch up with the Warwickshire WIldlife Trust on Twitter https://twitter.com/WKWT or the project funders at https://twitter.com/hedgehogsociety
Simon started his talk by claiming to have the best job title in the country, and by the end I think many of us felt he also had one of the best jobs. Simon is part of an innovative project that has seen the launch of the first hedgehog conservation area in Solihull, http://www.warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/hedgehogs The Solihull Hedgehog Improvement Area (Solihull HIA) with funding and support from the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. Along with promoting making spaces more hedgehog-friendly, he is recruiting members of the public to be involved in very important research work - counting and recording hedgehog sightings.
You can help in this project by identifying where hedgehogs are still present, make your garden more hedgehog-friendly, and help create a super highway for hedgehogs by working with your neighbours. The Wildlife Trust has produced a 10 point plan to create a hedgehog haven as part of the Help for Hedgehogs project http://www.helpforhedgehogs.co.uk/#HIA
• Leave a mess – Hedgehogs need places to build nests.
• Make a log pile – Hedgehogs love log piles, a perfect place to hibernate or find grubs
• Make ponds safe – Make sure there is a way for hedgehogs to get out, they are good swimmers.
• Check before mowing – Do a quick walk around the lawn.
• Bonfire night – Always check under bonfires for hibernating hedgehogs.
• Don’t use slug pellets – Hedgehogs can eat poisoned slugs.
• Link your garden – Have a 5cm x 5cm (about the size of a CD case) size hole in your boundary – hedgehogs need to roam across several gardens every night to find food.
• Food – You can either use specialist food or dog food.
• Hibernate – Do not disturb between November-April. If you find a hedgehog you think is in need of help, take it inside, put in a highsided box with a hot water bottle under a towel. Then contact an approved rescue centre. http://warwickshirehedgehogrescue.org
Call for advice about injured hedgehogs 01584 890801
• Donate – Help support the preservation of hedgehogs.
Helping to record numbers is easy – you can log any sightings at www.warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/hedgehog-sighting for local sightings or as part of the national scheme http://www.hedgehogstreet.org Less pleasant but equally important is to report any roadkill, not just of hedgehogs but all wildlife. This is one site where you can do this: http://projectsplatter.co.uk/collecting-roadkill
The British Hedgehog Preservation Society has launched a petition on the government’s website to campaign for better legal protection. Once 100,000 signatures are collected then it has to be considered for debate in Parliament. You can sign the petition by clicking here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/121264
A few hedgehog facts:
Slugs and snails only form about 5-7% of their diet. Hedgehogs will eat beetles, earthworms, small mammals and birds – they are very greedy. Badgers will kill hedgehogs, but they also compete for the same food sources.
Hedgehog hibernation is related to temperature, if there is a mild winter like this year, they will wake up and look for food.
Between April and June is usually the time for hedgehogs to emerge from hibernation.
June to September is when they raise families.
Between September and November they may have a second litter.
November to April is hibernation time.
Baby hedgehogs are called hoglets, they are born without spikes, and a litter is usually about 4 or 5. Dad plays no part in raising the litter.
Hedgehogs come in a wide variety of browns, from the very pale “Blondes”, around 30% of the population, through to much darker ones. 1 in 10,000 are true albinos.
Hedgehogs do carry fleas, but these are specific to hedgehogs.
In the wild a hedgehog will live to 2 – 3 years, in captivity they can live up to 10 years.
Why not follow Simon's work on Twitter https://twitter.com/HedgehogOfficer or https://twitter.com/Help4Hedgehogs
You can also catch up with the Warwickshire WIldlife Trust on Twitter https://twitter.com/WKWT or the project funders at https://twitter.com/hedgehogsociety