National Hedgehog Day: households in Sussex and beyond encouraged to help cute critters in the garden
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GardeningExpress.co.uk has recently shared five tips to help these cute critters for people in households with gardens.
The website called hedgehogs ‘a gardener’s friend’ because they eat worms, caterpillars, beetles and other pests.
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Hide AdChris Bonnett, founder of GardeningExpress.co.uk, said: “During winter hedgehogs are busy hibernating. During this time they'll be relying on having enough fat reserves to survive their winter sleep and you can help them do this by making just a few changes in your garden. Just completing a small task can go a long way. Try keeping one section of your garden untidy with piles of leaves and logs to give hedgehogs a place to nest and shelter. It's also important to give them food that will help them gain weight like meat-based cat or dog food and specially formulated hedgehog food.”


Here are five tips from GardeningExpress.co.uk:
1) Leave an area of your garden ‘wild’ with long grass, twigs, leaves, logs or compost. This provides a natural shelter, nesting materials and a home for the invertebrates that hedgehogs like to eat.
2) Hedgehogs like meaty cat or dog food or cat biscuits left out for them to supplement their diet. People can also leave out a few small bowls dotted around the garden instead of just one large bowl. A few shallow water bowls will help too.
3) Hedgehogs may need help getting in and out of the garden, so you could create small square gaps in your fences or walls (13cmx13cm). Replacing fencing with hedgerows can also help.
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Hide Ad4) Gardeners are advised to keep hedgehogs in mind and to check before using mowers or trimmers. Hedgehogs can hide in long grass, compost heaps or hedges. Check bonfires before lighting them.
5) Hedgehogs can swim but find it hard to get out of steep sided ponds or pools. People can create a sloped edge on part of the pond to allow them to climb out or they can use stones or bricks at the side of the pond to create an escape route. Cover swimming pools when not in use.
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