Build a hedgehog house: In just a few steps to a winter shelter
Created: 09/24/2022, 09:00
By: Joana Lück
Hedgehogs go into hibernation as early as November.
They find safe shelter in a specially built hedgehog house.
The hedgehog (lat. Erinaceidae) is one of the mammals that "real hibernates" and thus does not withdraw from November to spring as part of a shorter hibernation like raccoons, squirrels, badgers and bears.
But with less forest and increasingly urban areas, finding shelter is becoming increasingly difficult.
A self-built hedgehog house can be the solution.
Build a hedgehog house: In just a few steps you can create a winter shelter for hedgehogs
Hedgehogs “truely hibernate” during winter, in contrast to the hibernation of other mammals.
© Stock&people/Imago
In old tree trunks, caves or piles of leaves - hedgehogs are not too picky about their winter habitation.
However, since many gardens offer fewer and fewer shelters for the small mammals, you can help with a self-built hedgehog house.
According to
Norddeutscher Rundfunk
(NDR)
, this is what you need for the small DIY project:
wooden boards
screws and nails
Alternatively, an old flower pot or an upside down fruit box
You don't need a blueprint to provide a hedgehog with an adequate home.
If the hedgehog's roost for the winter covers an area of about 30 by 30 centimeters and is twice as high, the basic requirements are met.
It is important that the entrance is not too large, otherwise cats, raccoons or dogs will also have access.
About eight to ten centimeters are sufficient for a door, as
NDR
knows.
Downstairs the house can be open.
Do not use wooden boards that are too thin so that the house does not fly away and snow and rain are kept out as well as possible
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Stones are also suitable, which can be converted into a hedgehog house by attaching and stacking them.
An old flower pot or an upside down fruit box are also suitable as housing.
If you use fruit pallets, you should secure them with additional boards, otherwise too much air will get inside.
You can find out here which food you should feed hedgehogs before they hibernate.