A hedgehog home offers a safe place for hedgehogs to sleep, nest and hibernate, throughout the year. The design allows hedgehogs to enter and exit the box, but stops larger animals, such as cats, foxes and badgers from getting in. This keeps hedgehogs safe, meaning they always have a home in your garden when they need it.
Read about different examples of Hedgehog Homes and how they are created below.
Bought Hedgehog Homes
Here is an example of a bought Hedgehog Home, Hogilo made from recycled agricultural materials. The owner of this one has four of these in her own garden and three are currently occupied.
Filled with dried leaves and placed in an undisturbed, sheltered area and surrounded by logs and leaves. Entrance kept clear for the hedgehogs to get in and out, being careful to avoid blocking ventilation holes.
Making a Hedgehog Home with a pallet - Bullfinch Walk Example
This hedgehog home was made from a sturdy pallet with some left over pond liner on the top to make it waterproof and cosy. Hedgehogs need a gap of around 13cm x 13cm (5” x 5”) to get through, so we used some bricks to make the gaps in the sides of the pallets smaller. This will allow hedgehogs to get in but keep larger animals out.
Grass turfs were used to insulate it and help it to blend into the surroundings. Once the grass grows, we will have a small grassy mound with a hedgehog home inside. The log pile and wood chip will provide places for invertebrates to live and these in turn will provide food for any hedgehog which comes to shelter in the new home.
Brick House Hedgehog Home
This is an example of a hedgehog home using bricks and pond liner.
Slate placed on top to create the home space.
Covered in pond liner.
Buried under piles of twigs for camouflage.
Bread Crate Hedgehog Home
This is an example of a hedgehog home created using a spare bread crate - great recycling!
The crate was placed upside down, with bricks for walls on the open side and filled with straw.
Covered in pond liner for shelter.
Hidden under piles of leaves and twigs for camouflage.
Trug Hedgehog House
This hedgehog house was made by upcycling a trug with a broken handle. It was spray-painted green as it was originally red. An entrance was cut out and it was filled with straw.
Stakes were then put in the ground to secure it and willow twigs woven around to camouflage and provide some insulation.
These hedgehog homes were set up by residents and volunteers with the support of our Environmental Team. If you would like to be more involved in our environmental projects, contact Debbie Wallace and keep an eye on our social media.