How to check your bonfire for hedgehogs
We can all take steps to protect hedgehogs on bonfire night. Follow our 4 steps to make sure you keep hedgehogs safe.
Bonfires are very dangerous for hedgehogs as woodpiles are ideal places for shelter. Sadly many hedgehogs fall foul of un-checked bonfires and are killed because of it.
Here are 4 tips to help you avoid harming hedgehogs in your bonfire pile:
- Store materials for your bonfire in a safe place – then on the day you want to light it, move them to a different patch of ground.
- Build the bonfire on the same day that you will light it. The longer it’s left for, the more likely it is that a hedgehog will wander in.
- Always place the bonfire on open ground – never on a pile of leaves as a hedgehog may be hiding underneath.
- Always check the entire bonfire for hedgehogs before lighting it. They tend to hide in the base of the centre of the pile.
If you do find a hedgehog then move slowly and calmly. Pick it up with gardening gloves, along with any nesting material it may have been sitting in, and place it in a cardboard box lined with newspaper. Relocate the box to a safe location and release the hedgehog under a bush or log pile.