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Bonfires
Bonfires pose a real threat for hedgehogs. Hedgehogs often nest for
hibernation in piles of leaves, which turn out to be bonfires. Bonfires
are then set on fire, and the hedgehogs die. If you build a bonfire,
move it to another location before you light it. This way you can find
any hedgehogs. Just leave them for a bit, and they will soon wander
off.
Hedgehog Road Deaths
Sadly, many of us will have seen squashed hedgehogs on
the roads. When surveys have been carried out to find out which animals
are killed most often on our roads the poor hedgehog often comes out in
the top four.
Surveys have calculated that about 12,000 to 15,000 hedgehogs are
killed on our roads every year. This seems a very big number, but if
the hedgehog population can suffer these deaths, and yet not go
extinct, surely this is a good thought.
Cutting the Grass - Lawnmowers and Strimmers
Hedgehogs are often hurt by lawn mowers and strimmers, especially if
the grass is long. Ensure you check what you are cutting very
carefully.
The Dangers of Slug Pellets
The main ingredient in slug pellets is a substance called metaldehyde.
The reason it is used is because it is (usually) harmless to other
animals, and because it takes only small doses to kill slugs. To kill a
slug, it takes between 5 and 20 micrograms of metaldehyde per gram of
slug. Whereas a hedgehog sized animal would need 200 - 1,000 micrograms
per gram. So it would take 40 - 50 times as much to kill a hedgehog
than a slug. That is a lot, but many other factors need to be
considered. For example, will hedgehogs eat slug pellets? They do not
usually like hard, dry things but post mortems have found slug pellets
in hedgehogs, proof that they will eat them occasionally. However, this
is not proof that they died as a result of eating the slug pellets.
Another question is: what if hedgehogs eat poisoned slugs? Dead or sick
slugs are an easy target for hedgehogs, so it would seem that many
hedgehogs could get metaldehyde in this way. But metaldehyde soon
decomposes in dead slugs, so the risk is minimal. If however, a
hedgehog did eat poisoned slugs, the sort of doses involved would mean
that a hedgehog would have to eat about 5,000 slugs for it to prove
deadly. Some tests show that to kill a 1lb (500g) hedgehog it would
take about 250 milligrams of metaldehyde, much more than would be
consumed by eating poisoned slugs, or pellets themselves.
This seems to suggest that slug pellets are safe, but this does not
take into account the effect of small doses which could cause smaller
problems from sickness to birth defects. It would seem that more
research needs to be done in this area.
There are some things that you could do though:
- Purchase only pellets that contain blue dye and taste
nasty to hedgehogs.
- Use slug pellets sparingly.
- Try hiding them where slugs can easily get, but
hedgehogs can't. Under a propped up paving slab is a good idea, as this
sort of shady place actually attracts slugs, but hedgehogs can't get
here.
- Remove and bury dead slugs.
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