Hedgehogs are very useful to gardeners as they are insectivore and eat many garden pests. Their diet is composed of slugs and snails that damage young seedlings of cultivated plants. Unfortunately, in our well-kept gardens these helpers might miss a place where they could sleep, care about their young and hibernate.

You can help an adult hedgehog in your own garden by providing it with a shelter. You can simply make a heap of branches and leaves in a quiet place in your garden. However, there is much safer and more comfortable variant of a shelter – a hedgehog home. Homes are designed according to British Hedgehog Preservation Society. It is vital to pad them with dry leaves, straw or newspaper. To provide homes with insulating layer it is useful to cover them with leaves and twigs.

It is useful to attract hedgehogs with a bowl of hearty food. You can provide them with a bowl of cat food, dog food or raw beef. It is necessary to change the feed and wash the bowl every day.