“I want a garden hedgehog!” If I had a pound for every time I’ve heard that, I would be a rich woman!
I’m on the lookout for suitable release sites for 30+ hedgehogs that have spent the Winter in care. I want the best of the best for these rehabilitated hedgehogs so please let me know if you can offer the perfect des-res. Below are the minimum requirements that all homes must meet. I am looking for homes within 5 miles of York but other hedgehog rescues will have similar criteria.
1.. You must already have hedgehogs regularly visiting your garden. This is the only way to know that the habitat is suitable and that the hedgehogs will find a mate. You can’t just release one or two hedgehogs and hope they will colonize an area. If hedgehogs aren’t in the area, sadly, there is a reason…..
You must already have hedgehogs regularly visiting your garden
2. You must be well away from busy main roads – hazardous to hedgehogs.
3. You and your neighbours must not use slug pellets, pesticides or herbicides – all of these can cause poisoning and death. You must also avoid use of garden netting, check carefully before strimming and forking (and ideally not strim your garden at all)
4. Your garden must be linked to at least 10 large gardens via hedgehog holes/hedges/open fencing. The ideal garden will offer plenty of ground cover for foraging and nest sites.
The perfect garden will offer wild areas for foraging and shelter
The best release sites will be packed with native plants to attract insects – beetles and caterpillars are the top two foods for hedgehogs
5. You must provide a suitable escape route from any ponds.
6. You must provide some form of shelter. This can be anything from a homemade house under a log pile, to a specially purchased hedgehog box. This will give your new resident a helping hand to set up home.
A hedgehog house made under our log store from bricks, twigs and leaves. It provides great shelter from the elements and also a home for insects.
7. You must leave food and water out daily for at least the first month and ideally forever. For advice about feeding hedgehogs, read my blog
8. Not near badger sites. Badgers will predate hedgehogs where they live in close proximity.
If you didn’t get past the first essential requirement, many people find that if they leave food and water out regularly, they discover they do have hedgehog visitors!
If you are interested in being a release site, drop me a line via my Facebook page
My work rehabilitating hedgehogs is entirely self funded. I raise funds for medicines, food and equipment by making silver jewellery inspired by nature – great ethical gifts! You can also support my work in other ways here.
