Make your plot more Mrs Tiggy-winkle friendly
Hedgehogs are among the most welcome visitors to allotment plots. Their diet includes those pests we struggle to control: snails, slugs and various insects. Sadly their population is in serious decline. I don’t think I’ve seen one on our allotments all year.
It’s not clear why this should be so but scientists are working on various theories. These include loss of habitats and increased use of pesticides. Until we know more about the reasons the best we can do is to make sure our allotments are as friendly as possible for these endearing little creatures.
Right now hedgehogs are looking for secure sites to spend the winter. This could be your compost heap so before thrusting a fork into the heap for turning it, gently inspect it for signs that a hedgehog could have chosen it for a spot to hibernate. A heap of dry woody material waiting for a bonfire also makes a very desirable hedgehog home. Before setting light to it, it makes sense to move the material to a new spot to make sure it hasn’t become the winter home for a hibernating hedgehog. I hesitate to recommend providing gaps at the bottom of site perimeter fences, allowing hedgehogs access to the wider world. Many allotment sites have a battle to keep rabbits out and a secure fence of fine mesh is the first defence.
All year round we can make our plots more hedgehog-friendly by making sure netting is firmly anchored down so they can’t get entangled and that ponds have a
Right now hedgehogs are looking for secure sites to spend the winter
shallow edge so they don’t drown.
Blue slug pellets are a threat to all kinds of wildlife including hedgehogs. There are so many different and better ways of reducing the population of slugs and snails. Coffee grounds, egg shells, fine grit, and even sheeps’ wool and hair from your pet act as useful deterrents while being harmless to hedgehogs.
Garden centres sell a range of hedgehog houses designed for hedgehogs to nest in at any time of year. Hedgehog Street is carrying out a census to collect evidence to help people choose the best sites for hedgehog houses. They want to know how frequently hedgehog houses get used, where they should be sited, and which design seems to work best. If you have one of these hedgehog houses, there are just a few days left to complete their survey. n