Hedgehogs - The Gardeners Friend
It is a common myth that hedgehogs come into our gardens and eat up all
the slugs and snails. They are actually a little more sophisticated than
that.
Hedgehogs are insectivores (and opportunistic omnivores in
times of need). Their foods of choice (beetles and caterpillars) are
becoming less and less available.
Weed killers have a devastating impact and gardens are rather
too tidy for wildlife conservation. Nature has a fantastic way of keeping
things in balance and it doesn't take many weed killer free seasons for your
garden to be able to look after
itself. Hedgehogs can make enormous inroads into the so called 'pest'
population of your garden.
They love the larvae of moths and butterflies including those of the infamous cabbage white which often devastate the veg patch.
When there is a choice the hedgehog will naturally pick on the creatures
with the highest nutritional value. Tasty fast moving beetles,
with the strawberry seed beetle being a particular favourite. Weevils
are another important food source , along with the cockchafer beetle
which cause enormous damage to the roots of vegetables. Click
beetles, which devastate potato crops and wireworms are
also featured on their varied, balanced menu.
Interestingly ladybirds (who have
an inbuilt chemical insect repellent) are not eaten because they have
an apparently acrid taste. This is a fabulous arrangement as they eat
the aphids higher up on plants while hedgehogs concentrate on the ground level
stuff. Nature's very own version of Groundforce
The chemical secretions of the millipede which can damage
plants at ground level, attract the hedgehog and are a favourite food
source. Together with earwigs, caterpillars, aphids and beetles they
make up the bulk of the diet. Imagine the effect on the hedgehog
when humans douse these critters in
insect killing agents. It is a
terrible way for them to die.
In high summer they will eat crane flies and ants, flies and
maggots.
They will also eat carrion left by the family cat or large
birds .Earthworms are way down the menu.
Hedgehogs are fantastic and effective pest controllers, so why
not encourage them into your garden, sit yourself down and let them
do the bulk of the work.
Notes
- Please think carefully
before using weed killers or slug pellets. If they were called wildlife
killers would they be so popular?
- Please feed dried Calci worms
sparingly. They are like giving cake to children. Lovely and desirable but not very nutritious.
- Leave a little wild area for
wildlife to thrive and a gap for hedgehogs to enter and exit.
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