How you and your kids can create a hedgehog haven in your garden for free
HEDGEHOG numbers are in decline, so if you are lucky enough to have a garden, do your bit to help turn it into a safe space for them.
Creating a happy place for hogs can be a fun free activity to do with kids.
Here’s how to make a hedgehog haven.
TAKE THE HIGHWAY: The animals are nocturnal but you can watch them at twilight during the lighter spring and summer months.
First, make sure you have an entrance and exit for them in your garden. “Hedgehog highways” are gaps of 13cm by 13cm in the bottom of boundary walls and fences.
Once it’s created, you can log it at bighedgehog map.org. You could also start a neighbourhood-wide initiative to make an even larger area for the animals to roam.
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LET’S PLAY HOUSE: Get kids involved in making a home for hedgehogs.
Pick a quiet spot that’s sheltered and dry. Then look for old logs or other timber to build a box-style structure around 40cm wide. It’s important to make sure the wood has not been treated with any non-water-based preservatives because the fumes can be harmful.
Create an entrance to the box that is around 13cm wide. You can build a short tunnel (again 13cm high) in and out of the box to make it extra attractive to hopeful residents. Finally, fill the base with straw or dry leaves.
If you’ve had fun building a home, why stop at one? You can have two or three in an average-sized garden.
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FED AND WATERED: Put a shallow bowl of water next to your hedgehog house, especially in dry weather.
You can buy special hedgehog grub but they also like cat and dog food. However, hedgehogs love to feast on slugs, snails and bugs.
Encourage these critters into your garden and you could find the prickly beasts soon follow.
Making a “bug hotel” is another great activity to do with little ones.
The structure can be made of any spare bricks and wood, twigs, pinecones and leaves.
Then simply let the kids’ creativity run free.
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