Hedgehog House

[Grizelda]

I would love to have these dear little creatures come to visit my garden at night. But, if you buy the house for them, how can you be sure the hedgehogs are visiting and not the cat next door? BTW, the hedgehog design on the roof of the house could cause offense to hedgehogs. The creature looks like a baby dragon with a nose like a watering can. Do hedgehogs eat certain food that cats or other night prowlers would not touch?

 

[Loveinamist]

I’ve heard not to give them bread and milk as it swells in their tummy. Wet cat food is recommended and there are bags of prepared hedgehog/badger food available. Fruit and veg and unsalted nuts too.
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/actions/what-feed-hedgehogs-and-badgers

 

[Grizelda]

I’ve heard not to give them bread and milk as it swells in their tummy. Wet cat food is recommended and there are bags of prepared hedgehog/badger food available. Fruit and veg and unsalted nuts too.
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/actions/what-feed-hedgehogs-and-badgers

Thank you.

 

[LV73]

Thank you.

I have hedgehogs in my garden. They change where they live each year, one year they were under our decking, another year they were under the neighbours upturned wheelbarrow. They completely ignored the hedgehog house we made for them and lined with hay!

Yes they like cat biscuits and wet cat food. Definitely don't give them bread and milk. They have a routine where they patrol their patch at night so we would go out and sit still watching them eat and snuffle around. Don't give them mealworms either because this leads to bone deformations.

 

[donna255]

If your neighbours have garden walls, you won't get any, as they cannot climb. So you need a clear path for them to roam, hedges only.

 

[candycane]

I'd love hedgehogs in the garden but we have walls so they can't get in. I have seen a couple of toads, fieldmice, the dreaded rat and a few weeks ago I saw a stoat! Bry was going nuts and there it was running around the little patio at the end of the garden.

CC

 

[Grizelda]

I'd love hedgehogs in the garden but we have walls so they can't get in. I have seen a couple of toads, fieldmice, the dreaded rat and a few weeks ago I saw a stoat! Bry was going nuts and there it was running around the little patio at the end of the garden.

CC

I don't know what goes on in my garden at night. I know there is activity because I notice small disturbances. My cat and dog are inside at night, so it's not them. I'd love it to be a toad, fox or stoat but not a rat or mice. I can't be fussy, however. Whoever wants to come, will come, but Welcome Hedgehogs!!

 

[candycane]

We have a dry stone wall all around our garden and there are lots of families of field mice. I see them sneaking out of the wall to eat some of the bird food or some of the young plants. I don't mind them but when we had roland rat I was beside myself. Sadly for him he met his demise via next door's border terrier.

CC

 

[Grizelda]

We have a dry stone wall all around our garden and there are lots of families of field mice. I see them sneaking out of the wall to eat some of the bird food or some of the young plants. I don't mind them but when we had roland rat I was beside myself. Sadly for him he met his demise via next door's border terrier.

CC

I had a rat in the house about two years ago. I knew it was a rat because it was shredding and eating plastic. Mice don't do that. My dear cat eventually got him. What a good girl. She was so proud of herself.

 

[donna255]

In my old house, Olly Puss wiped out a whole family of rats. He brought them into the backyard to show the bodies.

 

[Grizelda]

In my old house, Olly Puss wiped out a whole family of rats. He brought them into the backyard to show the bodies.

Olly Puss - well done. Rats should stay away from humans, especially humans with cats.

 

[candycane]

They only come for the food. Take that away and they go elsewhere. I'm very very clean in my kitchen now (it's an add on to the back of the house and sits in the garden) as any creatures can get in via the back door or by burrowing in from the garden or next door. If there's nothing to see/eat then they don't waste time coming in. Rats give me the absolute heebie jeebies.

CC

 

[bullseyejohn]

I’ve heard not to give them bread and milk as it swells in their tummy. Wet cat food is recommended and there are bags of prepared hedgehog/badger food available. Fruit and veg and unsalted nuts too.
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/actions/what-feed-hedgehogs-and-badgers

Don't need to buy specific expensive hedgehogs food. Kitten biscuits , make sure water is available. Soft dog food , ideally the Loaf Style , Morrisons or Tesco. Not fish based or milk as they are lactose intolerant.

 

[historymystery]

We have quite a few hedgehogs visiting here in Essex. Think most of this has been covered. but definitely no bread or milk, make sure plenty of clean water is available and that they can access the bowl/saucer easily, wet cat food (meat varieties) and cat biscuits they like, also nuts and chopped up raw veg.

 

[Peppermint Patti]

We have a quite big hedgehog and leave water in various places. We don't put food out as it only encourages mice and rats (uggh).
We have also seen a fox on the wildlife camera, it seemed to be intrigued by it. There is a squirrel that we get in the garden as well
I woke up one night and our outdoor security lights came on and looking through the window Hedgie the hedgehog was snuffling about on the front garden.
We did get wood mice in the loft a few years ago the day before we were going away. The only way they could have got in was through the air vents,we have cavity wall insulation and it was supposed to be rodent proof.
Unfortunately we had to put traps in the loft as we had no idea how many and how much damage they would have caused in a fortnight.

 

[Grizelda]

We have a quite big hedgehog and leave water in various places. We don't put food out as it only encourages mice and rats (uggh).
We have also seen a fox on the wildlife camera, it seemed to be intrigued by it. There is a squirrel that we get in the garden as well
I woke up one night and our outdoor security lights came on and looking through the window Hedgie the hedgehog was snuffling about on the front garden.
We did get wood mice in the loft a few years ago the day before we were going away. The only way they could have got in was through the air vents,we have cavity wall insulation and it was supposed to be rodent proof.
Unfortunately we had to put traps in the loft as we had no idea how many and how much damage they would have caused in a fortnight.

I'm going to leave out water for the Hedgies, but I don't have a wildlife camera. I just hope they'll enjoy a nice drink if they come. Too bad about the mice, but you couldn't leave without worrying what damage they'd do to your walls. I hope they eventually went away.

 

[Peppermint Patti]

I'm going to leave out water for the Hedgies, but I don't have a wildlife camera. I just hope they'll enjoy a nice drink if they come. Too bad about the mice, but you couldn't leave without worrying what damage they'd do to your walls. I hope they eventually went away.

We've not seen any near the house since but we put wire mesh over the air vents as the gaps in them were quite large.

 

[donna255]

I have birds up in my eaves, the swallows come every year, sparrows and starlings all year round. They don't bother me, and the cat likes to watch from the kitchen window. Freya is the great spider hunter, I usually end up doing a mercy killing. She either leaves them with legs missing or so worn out they can hardly move.

 

[LV73]

I have birds up in my eaves, the swallows come every year, sparrows and starlings all year round. They don't bother me, and the cat likes to watch from the kitchen window. Freya is the great spider hunter, I usually end up doing a mercy killing. She either leaves them with legs missing or so worn out they can hardly move.

My cat Freya is a great killer, it must be the name! She's brought home dead and almost dead baby rats, full grown (headless) rats plus magpies 3 times (all live) hawk-moth caterpillars (live), a wood pigeon, whole eggs, and she catches and chomps spiders too. All the live stuff I've managed to rescue and release apart from the rats which I finished off with a brick!

 

[LV73]

I'd love hedgehogs in the garden but we have walls so they can't get in. I have seen a couple of toads, fieldmice, the dreaded rat and a few weeks ago I saw a stoat! Bry was going nuts and there it was running around the little patio at the end of the garden.

CC

Hedgehogs can climb small walls, ours climbs over our neighbour's. I made a hole in our wooden back gate as a Hedgehog Highway, so they go through and onto his garden, then over his little wall into the next.