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.

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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.

Hedgehogs often hide under piles of leaves in autumn and winter

A hedgehog snuffling about in leaf litter at night under a garden light

Hedgehog © Jon Hawkins – Surrey Hills Photography

Two hedgehogs. The collective term for hedgehogs is an 'array'

Photo by Jon Hawkins

Help a Hog guide

Download our free guide for inspiration on how to turn your garden into a haven for hedgehogs

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