Build your very own Hedgehog Hibernaculum

What you need:

• A square wooden or plastic box measuring approximately 40cm long, 30cm wide and 30cm high. It’s better to have a removable lid so you can occasionally clean inside (do this in March).
• If you use wood it must be untreated or only treated with a water-based preservative.
• Raise the box off the ground using small pieces of wood to help insulate it.
• Cut a hole approximately 14cm square in the front.
• Create a wooden entrance tunnel 14cm square and about 30cm long to fit into the hole. You can also create a tunnel using old bricks and some slate as a roof.
• If you really want to get fancy you can create an “air pipe” using some plastic plumbing pipe, but make sure no water is going to get in when it rains. Some wire meshing on the inside will stop it getting clogged up from the inside.
• Make sure you place it in a quiet area of your garden, preferably south-facing against a fence/wall.
• Cover the box and tunnel with dead leaves and soil and use a polythene sheet to help waterproof it.
• You can then camouflage it with more leaves and soil.