Siona Law continues her series of articles looking at wildlife in her Bramley garden.
Help out nature, don’t hurt it!
Hedgehogs love all things bugs, insects, slugs, snails, even small mice or frogs. Making things accessible for hedgehogs means you might have the perfect pest control!
Create shelters for them, check there are none about before using tools like strimmers and leave a gap in fences for them to get th,rough.
If a hedgehog is unwell, in discomfort, disturbed, or a mother you might catch sight of a hedgehog in the day time.
They might need support but the best thing to do is put out some fresh water and anything like a shoe box they can rest in. Report it to a hedgehog rescue centre for advice.
Hibernation is between November and March. They are likely to only wake up for snacks or if they need to move nests.
The main killer of hedgehogs is cars, other predators include badgers, which have sharp, long claws which can penetrate the spikes.
Foxes, dogs, owls and snakes can harm them, however due to their spikes they are more likely suffer a sore nose and paws.
Hedgehogs have a high tolerance to snake bites, but luckily in the UK the Adder is Britain’s only venomous snake but it wouldn’t be able to bite through their spines.
Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant so they can not have any dairy products such as milk as this could make them very unwell. Hedgehogs can swim but make sure your pond has a ramp to help them get out.
Sponsored content
