Safe shelter
A hedgehog house in the garden? This is how you help the animals through the winter
When temperatures drop, hedgehogs need shelter to hibernate in
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In October you can see hedgehogs scurrying through the gardens in many places, looking for suitable winter quarters. Due to the dwindling forest and meadow areas, the animals find fewer opportunities to retreat from year to year. Perhaps you would like to offer them a safe haven?
Old leaves and dead wood offer hedgehogs sufficient protection in winter. Unfortunately, fewer and fewer gardeners take pleasure in tree waste lying around, so leaves and branches are regularly removed from the lawn. For the animals, whose natural habitat is getting smaller every year, the search for a suitable shelter is more difficult than ever. Especially since important food sources such as beetles and snails, which normally cavort in the piles of leaves, are disappearing. It is all the more important in autumn to offer the little garden visitors more protection – for example with a hedgehog house.
When and where: This is how you set up a hedgehog house correctly
The right time: When the temperatures drop, hedgehogs set out in search of suitable winter quarters. For this reason, you should put the shelter in the garden or on the terrace in late autumn (i.e. from October, but at the latest in November). It is important to know that the prickly animals are loners and therefore not in two Hedgehog house can move in. So if you want to take care of more than one hedgehog, you would have to set up several houses outside.
The right location: In order for a hedgehog to feel comfortable in its new home, the house should be placed in a quiet corner of the garden. The location must also be dry so that rain and snow do not harm the animal. Too much sun is also not good, as otherwise the hedgehog could wake up from its hibernation – because of the warmth, not because of the incidence of light. The entrance to the hedgehog house should be oriented to the south-east if possible so that wind and weather cannot penetrate the interior.
Important: A hedgehog house must meet these criteria
Hedgehogs have to relieve themselves every now and then during hibernation, but they don’t go outside to do this – they go to their quarters. In order for the shelter to remain reasonably clean, a hole should be drilled (if not present) in the floor of the house, which you fill with some sand or pebbles. This allows the urine to drain better. In addition, the roof should be removable in case you have to look for an injured hedgehog, add more straw or add some hedgehog feed. In the following we will introduce you to four different models:
1. Hedgehog house made of beech wood
This Igloo-shaped hedgehog house made of impregnated beech wood was additionally insulated from the inside to protect the animal from cold temperatures in winter. It has a narrow entrance so that its natural predators such as badgers, martens and foxes cannot pass through. On the back there is a large flap that can be opened for cleaning, for example.
2. Hedgehog house made of fir wood
The one made of sturdy fir wood Hedgehog house from Dehner has – according to the manufacturer – a weatherproof roof that can also be removed to make cleaning easier (after hibernation). The inside consists of two separate chambers so that the animal can better protect itself and withdraw. With a weight of just 300 grams, the hedgehog house is very light.
3. Hedgehog house made of pine wood
from Conni Oberkircher’s there is a model made of varnished pine wood. It should be weatherproof and protect the animal inside from intruders – this is made possible by a protective wall. It is important to know that this hedgehog house is delivered in individual parts and must be assembled. Since there is no soil, it should be covered with straw or dry leaves.
4. Hedgehog house made of multiplex panels
This model is the largest of our round of introductions and is therefore suitable for a whole family of hedgehogs – although the animals are loners, they can also use the shelter in spring to build nests for their offspring. According to the manufacturer, the hedgehog house was made of weatherproof multiplex panels, and there is also a removable roof and two separate entrances.
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Building a hedgehog house: you need to know that in advance
In order for the defenseless animals to survive the winter, they need a safe and dry shelter. If you want to build it yourself, you should consider the following points:
- The hedgehog house should be at least 30 x 30 x 30 centimeters so that the animal has enough space in it during hibernation.
- The entrance has to be big enough, but not too big because of its predators. The recommended dimensions are 10 x 10 centimeters.
- To protect the hedgehog from the weather, use weatherproof building materials such as real wood, natural, concrete or bricks.
- The lid should be removable so that you can easily clean the inside of the hedgehog house after hibernating.
- Isolate the interior and provide the hedgehog with straw or dry leaves to keep it cozy.
And another note: Once the hedgehog has withdrawn into its house and started its hibernation, it should no longer be disturbed.
Source: Naturschutzbund Deutschland eV
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