Hedgehogs in garden

thebuzz

to aI've recently discovered at least two hedgehogs in my garden (one fell down a drain which I've now covered and I had to lift him out), no idea how they got in as there are gates as low as the ground and concrete walls all around (so not sure if they can get out again?). I've heard them munching on snails but wondered would they be better off if I caught them and moved them somewhere else where they're not confined to a garden (I read they roam up to a mile a night?) and may have a wider selection of food?

I also have a dog so kind of afraid he may cause them trouble or they may spread some disease to the dog? Any advice?

coathanger

thebuzz wrote: »

I've recently discovered at least two hedgehogs in my garden (one fell down a drain which I've now covered and I had to lift him out), no idea how they got in as there are gates as low as the ground and concrete walls all around (so not sure if they can get out again?). I've heard them munching on snails but wondered would they be better off if I caught them and moved them somewhere else where they're not confined to a garden (I read they roam up to a mile a night?) and may have a wider selection of food?

I also have a dog so kind of afraid he may cause them trouble or they may spread some disease to the dog? Any advice?

Hi there,U r so lucky to have them visit your garden,they have a territory,so they probably visit your garden & all others in the area.We have one & he travels all through the neighbours gardens,I have 2 dogs & I don't worry about them carrying disease,I havent heard of anything & to be honest nothing is proven even with regard to badgers and TB....
Avoid laying slug pellets, the hedgehogs will die a horrible death after eating them.If you need any further advice,contact Hedgehog Rescue Dublin, they are on FB,tel 0868810492 Email
yvonne.mccann@gmail.com




Hope this helps.:)

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Do not catch them and move them. They will be fine. They got in, so they can get out. Don't worry about the dog. My dog and hedgehogs don't bother each other and neither will yours. Hedgehogs don't carry disease.

pawrick

Yep leave them be. My gf has them in her garden for the past 3 years hibernating/breeding under the decking and we also thought they were trapped at first but you'd be surprised at how easily they can escape through small gaps they dig under fences.
she also had cats and a dog and if anything it seems to have been the ready supply of cat food which attracted them in the first place. The dog and cats learned to ignore them plus they tended not to overlap too much time wise in the garden which helped I guess.
The thing which surprised me the most is how fast they are when they are running down the street at night.

Del.Monte

From the garden several years ago.

Squidvicious

I'm lucky enough to have hedgehogs visiting my garden too - they're very much trouble free visitors as far as I can see. They generally come to where I feed the birds and try to pick up the remains of any bird food. I usually leave out a few sunflower hearts for them around sunset.

Does anyone know how hedgehogs are doing in Ireland? They're in catastrophic decline in the UK with numbers down to around one million from around 30 million estimated in the 1950's.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

While populations are down on a few decades ago, they are still plentiful with an estimated 1 to 3 per hectare.

Del.Monte

I had to go rooting deep, but I eventually found a copy of the watercolour that I commissioned - loosely based on the photograph. Not 100% accurate but fun.

GrumpyMe

http://www.dspca.ie/Hedgehogs

Day Lewin

Hedgehogs can drown in garden ponds, if they can't get a foothold on the sides: so if you have any such, put a plank or slab propped in it so that hedgehogs who fall in can climb out.

Eyepatch

I had a hedgehog visit years ago. She gave birth to four babies under my garden shed. They would come out on the lawn at the back to play, each evening. Really fun to watch.

Sadly they seemed to come down with some illness. They could be heard coughing and whezing under the shed. Eventually they died out.

I'd really love to have hedgehogs again, but I don't think they can get ino my garden as I've had a new side door put up that leaves no gaps for them to get in.

fancy pigeon

I haven't seen hedgehogs in my garden since I was a child. Recently, there are a few crossing the roads late at night, nice to see them making a comeback

gjc

Welcome visitor to my garden they will get rid of all your slugs but don't cause any nuisance themselves we had cats and they all seemed to co exist together. Kids are amazed by them especially how fast they are on their feet. As for disease well their not going to handled obviously and they are no different to any other wildlife really.

FortySeven

I once had a dog who was pretty defiant when it came to the hedgehogs defences. He consistently came off worse and the hedgehog never seemed too troubled.

I would love to have some hedgehogs around for pest control, tried to entice them into the garden at our last house to no avail. Will be trying again in our new house. Slugs be gone and the hedgehogs do no harm to anything.

Alun

We had a regular hedgehog in the garden in our old house where the back gardens were only separated by hedges, no fences or walls. He (she?) had a regular route, and you could even make out a track across the lawn. Our cat used to go and investigate sometimes, but piggy would just roll up into a ball, the cat would poke at it for a while and get bored and walk away. Seconds later piggy would unroll himself and wander off on his merry way. Where we live now all the gardens either have walls or fences with concrete bases, so no chance for the little critters there.

Ulmus

Yes, the walled-in gardens stop hedgehogs (and frogs) moving around.
Interesting website trying to reverse this:
http://www.hedgehogstreet.org/pages/link-your-garden.html

And in rural areas, hedgehog ramps are needed to escape from cattle grids.

Eyepatch

Thanks for sharing this. The information re bumblebee nests also is very interesting, though the product does seem a little expensive. I had a bumble bee nest in the ground last year. It was situated in a high traffic area and has disappeared this year.

BrianD3

I had a small one in the garden a few years ago, went through a huge amount of catfood for the size of him, would eat out of my hand too. I then started leaving out more and more catfood (Whiskas supermeat, not in jelly) and from observing found that there were at least four other hedgehogs visiting, gobbling 2 tins of catfood every night and no doubt would have taken more if I had left more out.

Eyepatch

I am tempted to cut a hole in the bottom of my side door in the hope that hedgehogs will visit me. I have bird-feeders and the birds flick a lot of the food down on the grass. I'm sure hedgehogs would sense this and, in the process, keep down slug numbers in my veggie garden.