Erinaceus Europaeus: all about hedgehogs

I haven’t seen a live hedgehog for years.  For that matter I hardly ever see them squashed on the roads either.  I had begun to wonder whether their numbers were in decline, but according to The British Hedgehog Preservation Society, their numbers are healthy and they are common throughout Great Britain.

They live for about 5 years and they are solitary and nocturnal.  In the summer hedgehogs spend the day in temporary nests made of leaf litter and twigs. They hibernate during the winter, in a small nest (a hibernaculum) – most hedgehog deaths occur during this hibernation period. Their 6,000 spines, which are about  1” long offer protection from predators as they roll up into a tight ball covering the head and soft underside. Their underside is covered in coarse fur and I bet you didn’t know they have little tails.  Oh they do!  They have a good sense of smell and hearing but have poor eyesight and see only in sepia tones.

Hedgehogs have up to 2 litters a year, of about 4 – 5 hoglets.  When hedgehogs are born their spines are just below the skin, so they don’t cause their mother pain. They are blind at first, but after about 2 weeks their spines begin to show more, and their eyes open. Hedgehogs also have baby teeth, just like humans. These fall out by about 3 weeks. Hedgehogs leave their nests when they are about 4 to 5 weeks old, and they then must learn to fend for themselves. 1 out of 5 hedgehogs die before they leave the nest.

The Boys found this little hoglet wandering away from the hedgerow towards the road and after several minutes of ooh-ing and aah-ing over its utter gorgeousness, it was returned to the hedgerow.  A neighbour reported having seen an adult hedgehog snuffling around a few yards down the road, so we left nature to sort itself out.

Hedgehogs are the gardeners’ friends as they eat slugs, beetles and caterpillars but does no other harm.  You will not find them gathering your strawberries in tiny wicker baskets or carefully laundering your underpants when they fall from the line. Neither do they read books about rabbits because of their poor eyesight.

If you want to encourage hedgehogs into your garden, this is what you need to do:-

• Don’t be too tidy.  Leave wild areas and maybe a small pile of logs or brushwood and dry leaves.  This will also attract interesting beetles and other wildlife
• If you build fences or walls, leave small holes in overgrown corners for hedgehogs to get in and out of
• If hedgehogs start visiting, a tiny bit of meaty cat food or muesli mixed with water in a dish will encourage them, and water will be welcome in hot weather.  Hedgehogs don’t care what their food tastes like but, believe it or not, you can buy cans of hedgehog food called ‘Spike’s Dinner’ but research into that is down to you.  Do not, however, give them bread and milk – it’s very bad for them.
• The jury is still out on the use of slug pellets but to be on the safe side:-
  Purchase only pellets that contain blue dye and taste nasty to hedgehogs and use them sparingly. Try hiding them where slugs can easily get, but hedgehogs can’t. Under a propped up paving slab is a good idea, as this sort of shady place actually attracts slugs, but hedgehogs can’t get here.Remove and dispose of dead slugs.