Court Lane Allotments

Yesterday I was on my allotment when Lin and Bob (Plot 10a) called me over to their plot. They had lifted a tarpaulin to find a grassy nest with a mother hedgehog and at least one baby hedgehog tucked inside. Needless to say, they replaced the tarpaulin to allow the mother peace and quiet to raise her baby (babies).

Whilst I appreciate the excellent work hedgehogs do in controlling slugs, I completely understand that some plot holders also use slug pellets to help protect their veggies from the munching hordes. It would be good if everybody could only use wildlife-friendly slug pellets on their plots to minimise the risk that hedgehogs might be poisoned through eating poisoned slugs or the pellets themselves. Hedgehog Rescue gives more information on this as well as suggesting several other ways for controlling slugs using natural methods.

The most famous hedgehog hospital is St. Tiggywinkles. Their factsheet about hedgehogs and what we can do to help is both interesting and informative. For example, did you know that baby hedgehogs are called “URCHINS”? I certainly didn’t.

Here’s hoping our own little Tiggywinkles grow up to be healthy slug-eating machines.