Activity
Build a Hedgehog house
Build a cosy Hedgehog home to encourage them to rest, hibernate and raise their hoglets in your garden.
In the 1950s, there were an estimated 30 million Hedgehogs in the UK. Recent estimates suggest there are fewer than a million left. By building a Hedgehog home, you'll provide somewhere safe to shelter, hibernate and raise hoglets. You can make your Hedgehog home at any time of year, but it will most likely be occupied in Autumn when they are looking for a hibernation spot.
Once your Hedgehog home is in place, it might take a little while to become occupied. And remember that you won't see any activity between October and March or April, when they’re hibernating.
How to build a hedgehog house
Instructions
Make your hedgehog home
Cut out sections as shown on the diagram and nail all the pieces together except the roof.
Whether you make your own or buy one, fill the chamber of your hedgehog home with a layer of dead, dry leaves. Hedgehogs prefer small leaves such as birch, oak, hawthorn or hazel.
Then screw the roof to the box so that you can remove it in future to clean the box out. Place the narrow drainpipe in the hole at the back for ventilation.
Where to put a hedgehog house
Now you’ve finished making your box, find somewhere suitable to put it. It needs to be in a shady and quiet spot where it won’t be disturbed. The front entrance should be out of the wind. A quiet part of the garden under thick vegetation or behind a shed is ideal.