Encouraging hedgehogs into garden

Sigma Force

Our garden is fenced off but there are areas wild rabbits can get in and out (they seem to be able to squish through the tiniest spaces) so I figure a hedgehog should be able to.
Our back boundary is all hedge so there's about 70 feet long of natural hedgerow. In 10 odd years I haven't seen one hedgehog here and no evidence of any.
Is there any way to encourage them in, or is it just that seeing as a lot of our garden is pretty wild they are just well hidden?
I would of thought by now we would of spotted one pottering about by now.

Any tips?

gzoladz

Some yellow lines?

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/residents-get-all-prickly-after-council-paints-over-hedgehog-2295505.html

Seriuosly, this guy should be fired, it is incredible how far laziness can go!

Apologies for the off topic.

Half-cocked

Smelly dog food works well, hedgehogs hunt mainly by smell. Almost completely nocturnal, so you won't see them unless you go out after dark. Ours appear around 11pm this time of the year.

Half-cocked

Just noticed some tracks around the mouth of my hedgehog box this evening and plugged in the little €10 UV camera mounted inside to discover a huge bundle of twigs and leaves that moves occasionaly! Looks like something has finally taken up residence, long after I'd given up monitoring the box. Now I have to sit watching the monitor until the occupant emerges, I really hope it is a hedgehog and not a rat:eek:. I'm pretty sure its a hog, we have 4 seperate individuals coming into the garden at night now.

Half-cocked

Yep, its a hedgehog, woke up, scratched a bit and then came charging up the garden for his dinner.

TristanPeter

I have had hedgehogs coming into my garden for the last year. However, about a month ago I saw a dead one on the road near to where I live. I was pretty sure it was my guy and I was kicking myself for not moving him to some forest or elsewhere when I had the chance to. The reason I didn't was because I didn't know if it had babies or not. As it turned out, it wasn't the hedgehog that comes into my garden (but then again, there could be more than one). It's still coming almost every night to eat the cat food. A few nights ago I found another one on the green at the front of my house but this one looked like a baby one. It was much smaller but not a new-born. Anyway, I'm very worried that they will get ran over. Even though it's a housing estate with speed ramps and lots of children, dogs, etc, some residents still speed through. Any suggestions as to what I should do? I was so annoyed when I saw the dead one. They are beautiful animals and they are such fun to watch. They don't seem to be afraid of the neighbourhood cats at all...or my small dog for that matter. It's strange actually because my dog hates cats but it doesn't even bother with the hedgehog. Sniffs it and leaves it be, as do the cats.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

A couple of things generally on this thread.

Quite often gardens that are Hedgehog friendly will be visited by many individual hogs. Most Hedgehogs in our gardens will also visit many other gardens. Attracting Hedgehogs is NOT done by putting out dog food. They will eat it if they are about but it will not make a Hedgehog unfriendly area suddenly more attractive. Provide wild areas in the garden. Leave piles of leaves and prunings that they can shelter in. Don't use slug pellets.

Many gardens are visited by Hedgehogs without the owners of the property ever being aware of them. (I got a call to a garden recently because of a hog caught in netting. Released and tagged him and did the same thing on 2 subsequent days in the same garden. The owners had never seen a Hedgehog, or any evidence of one, let alone at least 3 adult animals).

Don't try to just attract Hedgehogs, strive instead to have a Nature friendly garden. And just because you haven't seen any doesn't mean they are not there.

As for the safety/road issue: honestly there is little you can do about it. Moving a hog to a "forest" somewhere is completely wrong. It is where it is because the area can support it. Moving one somewhere else does not ensure any survival, as the area may not suit Hedgehogs, or be already at it's sustainable limit for Hedgehogs. I'd just leave well enough alone.

Half-cocked

Riley Prickly Wrinkle wrote: »

Many gardens are visited by Hedgehogs without the owners of the property ever being aware of them. (I got a call to a garden recently because of a hog caught in netting. Released and tagged him and did the same thing on 2 subsequent days in the same garden. The owners had never seen a Hedgehog, or any evidence of one, let alone at least 3 adult animals).

How do you tag a hedgehog? I assume you can't put a ring on its leg;) Is tagging turning up any interesting data?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

3 coloured sleeves on some of the rear spines. Hedgehog 1 = Red/Yellow/Blue. Hedgehog 2 = Red/Blue/Red etc.

This is nothing new and helps with plotting movement, age, etc. Just like tagging or ringing of many animals and birds.

Black Heart

Our hedgehog family returned this year, babies in tow. They set up home underneath the willow tree beside the vegetable patch, so that was very convenient

Half-cocked

Here's a link to a vid of our fellow waking up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvzxLhCJBCk

Black Heart

Really nice