Safety please always cut the rings off milk bottles, juice bottles, peanut butter/vegemite jars before putting them in the rubbish. Hedgehogs crawl into them, they get stuck on their prickles then they grow into them and have to have them removed surgically. Also empty food tins, yoghurt cartons etc as these can be a hazard to hedgehogs. Because their prickles point backwards, they can get into things but then they can't get back out.
If you have a fish/lily pond, please put a small pile of rocks in one end so that if a hedgehog falls in it has something to climb out on. They can swim quite well, but not indefinitely. If you have a cattle stop, please put a ramp of some sort in it so any hedgehog that inadvertently falls in can get out.Fishing nets and tennis nets are another great hazard for hedgehogs. These need to be stored well off the ground.
Putting out the welcome mat
In hot, dry weather, put out a heavy, shallow dish of water if you think you have hedgehogs around. If you want them to stay around consider providing a hedgehog box and put out some cat biscuits for them to eat too. Put out extra feed in March/April at night as this is when hedgehogs are out bulking up on food in preparation and building up condition for their hibernationEncourage a resident hedgehog to your garden as they are a natural garden helper, eating slugs and snails. Hedgehogs can die a horrible death from the blue slug bait that is supposed to repel animals." So please don't use snail bait, let your hedgehog population do the job, naturally and safely!
Be very careful raking leaves during the winter. if they've built up against a wall, fence, compost heap or similar, a hedgehog could be hibernating there or, in the spring, have babies there.
Please please... if planning a bonfire, build it up only on the day you intend to light it. Hedgehogs are naturally attracted to want to live and breed in bonfire piles left for weeks and months ahead of the day.
Creative Woodcrafts range of wildlife habitat create fantastic educational opportunities for schools and pre-schools to learn more about our garden visitors.
The pic of the baby hedgehog is cute! , it is the African Pygmy hedgehog – not the European one that is found in NZ.