{"id":27074,"date":"2024-01-17T15:54:18","date_gmt":"2024-01-17T15:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moowy.co.uk\/?p=27074"},"modified":"2024-01-22T13:25:09","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T13:25:09","slug":"hedgehogs-in-the-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moowy.co.uk\/hedgehogs-in-the-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Do With Hedgehogs in Your Garden"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Have you spotted a hedgehog (or, even better, a family of hedgehogs) in your garden? Lucky you! You’ll probably want to know how to welcome them and protect this very important garden visitor.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Because hedgehogs are a sign of the health of your garden\u2019s ecosystem, and we should definitely help them thrive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This article explores what to do with hedgehogs in your garden. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ready? Let\u2019s go!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you see a hedgehog, you don’t necessarily need to do anything \u2014 ideally, leave it to its own devices. They’ll arrive in search of food, appearing nocturnally between April and September, hibernating in the winter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hedgehogs typically live between two and five years, hibernating during the winter, losing around a third of their body weight. So, when they are active, they must regain their strength before their mating season in May. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This means that April to May is the prime feeding season to rebuild their energy and vigour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They begin building their litter once they’re back to strength in July. And once they’ve done their parenting for the year, they’ll build their winter nest, protecting them from predators and the elements during their hibernation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s nothing to fear from a hedgehog \u2014 in fact, hedgehogs have way more reason to fear us because their numbers are declining due to an increased loss of natural habitat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, if you spot one of these prickly little creatures, you should not disturb them or try to catch them. Hedgehogs move very little during the day, so you\u2019ll only really spot them at night in your garden \u2014 this is how to protect them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hedgehogs are welcome in gardens because they eat many of the garden pests we try so hard to remove, such as slugs, beetles, and snails. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, be careful about laying out slug pellets because they can poison your friendly hedgehogs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We favour more natural ways of tackling slugs and snails<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat to do if you spot a hedgehog in your garden<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The hedgehog\u2019s calendar of action<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Hedgehogs are a protected species<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to protect a hedgehog<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Keeping a hedgehog warm<\/h3>\n\n\n\n