We love hedgehogs!

There’s a Hedgehog Day! ⁽¹⁾

Did you know that February 2nd is Hedgehog Day? This is the date on which Americans observe Groundhog Day but the tradition actually comes from ancient Rome where they believed if a hedgehog emerged from hibernation and saw his shadow in the moonlight he’d go back to bed, signifying that winter would last another six weeks!

Some Vital Statistics! ⁽²⁾

An average adult British hedgehog is around 30cm in length and can grow to a surprisingly hefty 1.5kg in weight. Like most day sleepers they don’t have brilliant eyesight, but make up for that with excellent hearing and sense of smell. In optimal conditions British hedgehogs can live for up to 10 years but sadly they seldom make it beyond 2 in the wild. They usually have between 5,000 and 7,000 spines, a fact which makes you wonder, who counted?!

What’s for dinner? ⁽²⁾

Wild hedgehogs happily munch on worms and insects, keen gardeners should encourage them into their garden as they also gobble up pests such as slugs and snails. We’re not sure where the myth of feeding hedgehogs bread and milk came from because it’s a terrible diet for them! They can’t digest bread and milk gives them a very poorly tummy! If you’re looking for something around the house to offer to a hedgehog visitor, cat or kitten food will do nicely, as would some cooked chicken, but be sure to cut it up small, they only have tiny teeth!

British hedgehogs are in trouble. ⁽³⁾

It’s shocking but true, we’ve lost a third of our hedgehog population in the last ten years. In fact, experts estimate that whilst the UK hedgehog population numbered over 36.5 million in the 1950’s there are now less than 1 million hogs surviving on our shores. As we take up more room and make our gardens inaccessible with walls and fences, the area in which hedgehogs can roam is in rapid decline. The good news is you can make a difference. By making a little gap in your boundary such as cutting a small piece out of your fence you can link your garden with others giving hogs a wider territory to forage for food and for potential mates with which to breed the next generation!

Help a hedgehog!

Although it might be exciting to spot a hedgehog out and about during the day this could be a sign that it is in distress, particularly in the summer months. If you are concerned about a hedgehog’s wellbeing pop on some gardening gloves (we sell some rather good ones as it happens), gently lift the hog and place it in a high sided cardboard box. Give the British Hedgehog Preservation Society a call on 01584 890 801 and they’ll offer you advice on what to do next.

Hogs make great product testers.

We adopted the hedgehog as our mascot in 1999. It seemed like the obvious choice for us because it’s scrubby on the topside and soft underneath, just like our scourers! The hog has had some wacky adventures over the years in its role as unconventional product tester and recently caused a bit of a stir on our Facebook page when we pictured its amorous advances towards our Washups, microfibres, gloves and even towards our mops!

To learn more about British Hedgehogs and how you can support them why not visit the British Hedgehog Preservation Society website at http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/

Clive Harris at DIY Garden has blogged a very informative article entitiled The Ultimate Guide to Looking After Hedgehogs detailing the plight of hedgehogs in the UK and what we can do to help them. Read the article here.

Sources :
_{(1) http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/hedgehogday.shtml
(2) http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/
(3) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/12002863/National-Day-of-the-Hedgehog-can-the-prickly-favourite-be-saved-from-extinction.html}