There are many ways to create a hedgehog house, here are my top three…
Easy
If you have any old bricks, slabs or tiles laying around, you can make a simple hedgehog house in just a few minutes! Click below to watch our video tutorial…
Homemade hedgehog hideaways
Tom Marshall
One of the easiest ways to help your neighbourhood hedgehogs is to create a homemade hedgehog hideaway for your garden.
Intermediate
What you will need:
- A plastic storage tub with lid
- A plastic or metal tube of diameter at least 13 cm and length at least 30cm
- Hay and leaves
- A drill, strong scissors or a Stanley knife
- Optional - smaller plastic tube
Step one and two
Step two
Step three
Step four and five
Step 1: Choose where you want your tunnel entrance to connect and draw around the tube to mark where to cut.
Step 2: Cut out the circle shape and sit the tube inside the hole – you can use a circular attachment on a drill, strong scissors or if the plastic allows a Stanley knife. Smooth any sharp edges with tough black outdoor tape.
Step 3: Drill some breathing holes near the top of the tub
Step 4: Half fill the tub with hay. Close the lid and place in the garden in a cosy spot.
Step 5: Cover the finished hedgehog home in branches and leaves.
Deluxe
Got some more time on your hands? Why not treat your neighbourhood hedgehogs to this deluxe hibernaculum.
Top tip: If you want to know whether the home is being used, place some small leaves or sticks in the entrance. If they get moved, you know a hedgehog has come to stay!
Remember to enter your hedgehog house into our hedgehog house building competition by sharing a photo on social media, tagging Essex Wildlife Trust and using #NatureNeighbours. Enter by 27 November to win a bundle of hedgehog goodies to truly transform your garden into a hedgehog haven!