Illustration ©  nic-nic 2019

Pest or guest of the month

This monthly selection offers a description of some of Warriston's beasty inhabitants and advice on how to live with them organically. Find more in our Pest or Guest archive

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March guest 2019—Hedgehog

​Neil, a west side plot holder says:
 
Our guest this month is the much loved native spiny mammal (not rodent!) the hedgehog.

Found in all areas of Britain (except some Scottish Islands), this familiar yet elusive nocturnal creature is sadly fast declining in numbers.  As one of its major predators is the fox, it's no surprise that there have been no known sightings of hedgehogs within the Warriston site — if you've seen one on your plot we'd love to hear from you! They'd make a welcome guest on any allotment, as they live mostly off beetles and caterpillars, and will eat slugs and snails... and there are definitely hedgehogs in the immediate area, as I've seen one in my garden on Hawthornvale on two occasions (once in 2013 and once in 2018).

Should you wish to encourage and help the hedgehog population, here are a few things you can do, either on your plot, or in your garden, if you're lucky enough to have one.

Food — Because of the scavenging fox population and potential for rat infestation, best not to leave out food. And despite reputation, milk should never be offered as it makes hedgehogs ill.

Shelter — Create a 'wildlife area' on your plot or in your garden — a pile of logs makes a great home for a hedgehog, and long grass will provide cover and encourage the insects that hedgehogs love to eat. You could even build a 'hogitat', a purpose built hedgehog house that they can hibernate safely in — various simple designs can be found online.

Safety — Chemical slug pellets are poisonous to hedgehogs and we would encourage everyone to stop using these at Warriston — even eating a slug that has ingested a pellet can kill a hedgehog or bird. Please use other organic methods of pest control to keep our wildlife safe.

Further information from the Hedgehog Preservation Society:
https://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/

European hegehog Erinaceus europaeus
Image credit: By Michael Gäbler
CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25702847

European hegehog Erinaceus europaeus
Image credit: By Richard Croft
CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13096660