House for hedgehogs

7 of the best hedgehog houses in 2022

Regrettably, the number of hedgehogs in Britain has been in decline for over two decades. 2020 saw hedgehogs classified as vulnerable to extinction as large-scale agriculture replaces hedgerows and trees, destroying their natural habitat.

Combined with pesticides killing off the hedgehog's natural diet of slugs, worms and insects, an increase in road construction and a lack of wild gardens, there's many threats to the hedgehog population.

Without a safe place to shelter and a reliable food source, hedgehogs are unable to hibernate through the colder months. Clearing out a space for a hedgehog house in your garden can provide a secure habitat where hedgehogs are able to sleep, nest and hibernate without the threat of predators.

While it's possible to make hedgehog houses yourself, not everyone has the time or resources to do so. Many of the best hedgehog houses have also been especially designed to be insulated throughout the winter, ventilated in the summer and are made with materials that are not always readily available in our local gardening centre or hardware store.

All of the hedgehog houses below should last numerous years due to weatherproofing and have helpful features such as removable roofs to make them easy to clean.

Want to encourage more wildlife? Check out our guides to the best nesting boxes, bird feeders, bird feeds and bird tables and bird baths. We’ve also rounded up the best bat boxes to help bats roost and hibernate in your garden. For a gift for the wildlife lover in your life, take a look at our guide to the best wildlife cameras or 25+ wildlife gifts.

How to choose the best hedgehog house

Choosing the right hedgehog house can be difficult as prices can vary considerably and these wildlife homes can come in a range of shapes and sizes.

The materials from which the hedgehog houses are built can also differ and will affect how sturdy the habitat will be, how resilient it is to adverse weather and how long it will last.

For example, brushwood hedgehog houses tend to be cheaper than solid wood options but are likely to degrade within three or four years. You will then need to spend more money on additional brushwood to patch up the hedgehog house.

These are some features to bear in mind:

Size: If your hedgehog house is too small, it won't be a suitable habitat for a hedgehog to build a nest for hibernation. You're also unlikely to attract more than a single hedgehog with a small home.
Value for money: The prices of hedgehog houses can vary. Solid wood and Eco-Plate homes are more expensive than simple brushwood styles but they will last longer and are therefore more sustainable in the long run.
Durability: Good quality hedgehog houses are typically built from water or weatherproof materials such as Eco-Plate and should ensure your hedgehog house has longevity. Treat those built from solid wood with varnish to improve durability.
Protection from predators: A narrow or tunnel-like entrance is essential to prevent predators such as foxes and badgers gaining access to the hedgehog house. Camouflaging the house with soil and leaves can also help.
Removable roof: A removable roof allows you easy access to clean the hedgehog house. They're als useful if you're rehabilitating hedgehogs and need to keep a close eye on them. Overhanging or pitched roofs will protect against high rainfall.

Browse our pick of hedgehog house below:

Best hedgehog houses for the garden

Garden Life Hedgehog House

Along with a pitched, waterproof roof, the Garden Life Hedgehog House is built with wood that has been pre-treated with a hedgehog-safe varnish to protect it against the British weather. The internal chamber is concealed from the entrance. A Hedgehog Care Guide is included with advice on how best to care for your hedgehogs and keep them safe and happy.

Price: £29.99

Buy Garden Life Hedgehog House at Thompson and Morgan

National Trust Luxury Pine Hedgehog House

Made of FSC pine, this house is packed with features that will keep hedgehogs as safe as possible. The floor is raised off the ground, which will help to keep hedgehogs warm in winter. Not only does it have a predator-proof entrance tunnel, which will keep cats, dogs and foxes out, but this tunnel is set at an angle to make it even more difficult to reach inside.

Price: £74.99

Buy the National Trust Luxury Pine Hedgehog House from CJ Wildlife

Wildlife World Hogilo hedgehog home

Wildlife World Hogilo

Used by the Hedgehog Preservation Society, the Hogilo’s lid swivels to provide easy access for cleaning or monitoring any hedgehogs that may be sheltering. Constructed from plywood, the Wildlife World’s Hedgehog House is finished with recycled agricultural plastic. The battened feet keep the house raised to prevent rot.

Price: £61.00

Buy the Wildlife World Hogil Hedgehog Home at Amazon

Riverside Woodcraft hedgehog house

Riverside Woodcraft Hedgehog House

Handmade in the UK, this hedgehog house features a narrow tunnel entrance, large chamber and a weatherproof lockable lid. The house itself is made from solid wood, which has been treated with an antifungal and antibacterial coating.

Price: £79.99

Buy Riverside Woodcraft Hedgehog House at Amazon

The Hutch Company Hedgehog Heat Reflecting Hibernation House

This hedgehog house from The Hutch Company is hand-built from sustainably-sourced timber and treated with an anti-bacterial coating. Other features include Airtec 1500 heat reflecting ground insulation to make it comfortable for hedgehogs looking to hibernate and a full removable roof that has a locking system to keep it firmly in place.

Price: £67.99

Buy The Hutch Company Hedgehog Heat Reflecting Hibernation House at Amazon

Deluxe Hedgehog House

With a narrow tunnel entrance, the Deluxe Hedgehog House should keep its inhabitants safe from larger predators. The removable panel at the back of the house allows for easy cleaning and all interior wood is left untreated.

Price: £120

Buy the Deluxe Hedgehog House at Not on the High Street

Frequently Asked Questions

When do hedgehogs use hedgehog houses?

A hedgehog house isn’t just for christmas. While it provides a safe place for them to snuggle up and snooze during their winter hibernation, it’s also somewhere for them to sleep during the day when they’re up and about again.

April and October are the two best months to put out a hedgehog house. Either side of their hibernation season.

These are also good months to do any cleaning out and this should be done every year.

If there's an unusually cold winter, the length of hibernation can be extended and you may need to wait a few weeks for temperatures to rise before putting out a new hedgehog house. This particularly applies to cleaning an already established house so as not to disturb hibernating inhabitants.

How do you encourage hedgehogs into a hedgehog house?

Firstly, make sure hedgehogs can visit your garden - if you have a fence or wall, make a hole that’s about 5”x5”, which will allow hedgehogs to wander through, but is small enough to deter most pets. If possible, leave a corner of your garden to go wild because this makes the perfect location to place a hedgehog house - plenty of vegetation provides shelter and privacy, as well as a habitat for their favorite food - insects.

Hedgehogs will typically build their nests from materials that are nearby so ensuring there are plenty of leaves close to the hedgehog house is helpful. You may want to consider placing dry leaves, straw or hay inside the main chamber of the hedgehog house. This will give them a head start when it comes to building a nest.

While you may want to tempt hedgehogs into their new home with food, it's not advised that you continue to do this. Hedgehogs don't like to eat in the same place they sleep and food can also attract predators. Consider building a separate feeding station instead.

For more advice on how to make your garden a hedgehog haven, take a look at our guide on the ways to help hedgehogs.

This Product Guide was last updated in November 2022. We apologise if anything has changed in price or availability.

How to make a hedgehog house

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BRITISH WILDLIFE

By Emily Osterloff

Hedgehogs hibernate through winter, so they need a shelter from cold weather and hungry predators. They also need a spot to nest to rear their young.

Follow our instructions on how to build a simple home for wild hedgehogs in your garden.

1. Scout your garden for a flat, quiet and shady spot to set up a hedgehog house. An area close to a garden boundary is ideal, such as at the foot of a wall or fence.

2. Before you start building, put on a pair of gardening gloves to help protect your hands from scrapes and splinters.

3. Use a spade to dig a hole about seven centimetres deep and 45 centimetres wide.

4. Fill the base of the hole with a thin layer of dry leaf litter - dead plant material such as leaves, twigs and bark that have fallen to the ground.

Overlap the bricks as you build so that the structure is stable. This should help to prevent predators, such as foxes and cats, from being able to knock the house over.

5. Lay bricks around the outer edge of the hole, making sure to leave a gap for the entrance.

6. Build up the walls by placing two layers of bricks on top of the first, overlapping them so the structure is stable. For the tunnel, use two bricks across the gap to make a roof.

An entrance tunnel will prevent predators from being able to reach a hibernating or nesting hedgehog

7. Place a sheet of wood on top of the house for the roof.

8. Stack logs on top of the roof to weight it down. Add more logs at the sides of the house for camouflage and to help attract insects, which are an important food source for hedgehogs. You could also add leaf litter for more camouflage.

9. The house is now ready for a hedgehog to move in. Try to leave this area of the garden undisturbed, but you could leave a twig across the entrance - if it moves, you'll know an animal has likely visited the house.

A hedgehog may use a house like this for hibernating through winter or for nesting and raising a litter of hoglets in summer

Alternative materials

You don't necessarily need to buy brand-new materials for this project. See if you or anyone in your local area has old bricks or dry wood you could use.

Instead of a sheet of wood for the roof, you could use a large paving slab, which will be too heavy for predators such as cats to move.

A large plastic box is another option for the house, but make sure to cut an entrance and plenty of breathing holes. Camouflage the box in the same way, with logs and leaf litter.

Any additional leaf litter near the house may be claimed by a hedgehog and taken inside to be used as extra bedding. Instead of a house, you could simply make a messy patch of leaves and logs in a quiet area of your garden. A hedgehog may choose to hibernate or nest there.

You don't need to put food or water inside the house. However, if you do like to leave food out for hedgehogs, it's best to place it a little way away so it doesn't attract other animals into the house. Wet or crushed-up dry cat food are good options, but avoid serving milk and mealworms as these can upset hedgehog stomachs.

The European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) is the species seen in the wild in the UK © Michael Gäbler via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Cleaning the hedgehog house

Cleaning a hedgehog house is important. It reduces the chances of parasites such as ticks and fleas being transferred through the nest. Removing old bedding and dousing the inside of the box with boiling water should kill any parasites.

This should only be done when you are sure there are no hedgehog occupants. There are two opportunities to clean a hedgehog house each year. The first is in April, when a hedgehog will vacate the house after coming out of hibernation.

The house may then be used as a nest between May and September, when litters of hoglets are born. By October, most baby hedgehogs will have been weaned, so you may have a chance to clean the house before it is occupied again for winter hibernation.

By weighting down the roof with logs rather than nailing it shut, you will be able to remove it to clean the inside. If you carefully lift the roof and there is hedgehog in the house, quietly replace the lid and leave it be. Disturbing a nesting female may cause her to abandon her hoglets.

As it is best to leave the hog house undisturbed, you could use trail cameras to keep an eye on activity at the entrance of your hog home. You could also leave a twig or scrunched-up paper at the entrance in the evening - if this hasn't moved by morning, the house may be empty or occupied by a hibernating hedgehog.

Hedgehog Street: scratch & shake

Hedgehog highway

Hedgehogs need a way into your garden to get to your newly built house. A hedgehog highway is one way to provide access.

To make a hedgehog highway, cut a small hole in the bottom of your garden fence, dig a tunnel underneath it or remove a brick or two from the base of a wall, if it is safe to do so. If you share a fence or garden wall with neighbours, be sure to get their consent first.

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Choosing a house for a hedgehog - Hedgehogs

When choosing a house for your hedgehog, you can consider a variety of options: a cage, a plastic container, a box, an aquarium, a terrarium, a cardboard box, or just your entire apartment or house, in which the hedgehog will move freely.

I shoot a lot of videos about the everyday life of our kennel, where I show what conditions they live in, how the containers are equipped, how the hedgehogs have fun and communicate with each other

It would be better if the container was bigger. There should be enough space for a house, a free corner with a feeder and a drinker, a corner for a toilet, and you need to leave room for a wheel.

When choosing a cage or container option, consider sizes from 50 cm long and 35 cm wide. You need a height just enough to fit the running wheel inside.

I keep my pets strictly one at a time, in translucent plastic containers (open, without lids!!!) from Ikea, they wash well, are light and perfectly save the hedgehog from unnecessary drafts and noise.

If you want to buy a cage - feel free to take the option for rabbits or guinea pigs. Well, if you install tunnels and stairs inside the cage, in addition to the wheel, then the hedgehog will be happy to move in them, because they are very playful animals that love to explore objects and space.

When choosing an open top container, pay attention to the material from which the container is made. The sides of the container must be slippery so that the hedgehog cannot get hooked and climb out of the container. Hedgehogs are good climbers and if you do not foresee it, he will definitely get out.

Under no circumstances should the floor be made of twigs, the hedgehog's feet are designed for walking on a solid surface.

The bottom of the cage or box can be filled with sawdust or cat litter (we use sawdust and straw based pellets), soft hay can be added. Sawdust should be used aspen, birch or the like. Do not use sawdust from arborvitae and other coniferous trees, as the essential oils of these tree species are toxic to the hedgehog.

If the hedgehog starts eating litter, you should replace it with another one. The filler must be changed at least once a week, and contaminated areas must be cleaned daily. The skin of hedgehogs is sensitive and when coming into contact with wet and damp filler, the hedgehog may develop dermatitis and infections.

Also, the cage can be equipped with a house or a bag made of dense fabric in which the hedgehog will sleep. I installed wooden houses in each container or just put a bunch of hay in the corner, from which the hedgehogs make a comfortable mattress for themselves.

There must be water in the cage at all times. It can be a heavy plate that is difficult to turn over, or a hanging one that is attached to the walls of the container. You can also install a drinker for rodents with a metal ball at the end. These drinkers are very convenient to use, but remember that it is very important to wash it every time inside, because microbes develop quickly in the drinkers, in 1 day and it becomes covered with mucus from the inside. This can harm the health of your hedgehog.

We put the food on flat lids so that it is convenient for hedgehogs to eat. Read about what these animals eat in the section feeding the hedgehog.

The temperature in the room in which the hedgehog will live should be maintained in the range of 28-35 C. Hedgehogs are very fond of warmth and become lethargic, sleepy, irritable at low temperatures. They can even curl up into a tight ball and refuse to eat if the room temperature is low. Hedgehogs are sensitive to temperature extremes and high humidity. Do not place animals near heaters, fireplaces or in places where drafts can form.

Hedgehogs have good hearing, try not to place the hedgehog box near speakers, TV, doorbells, appliances that make loud noises.

Now some information about how to train a hedgehog to go to the toilet in one place. It will take time for a small animal to learn to go to the toilet “in accordance with all the rules”. The duration of training for each hedgehog is individual. And the older the animal, the more difficult it is to convince him that you need to go to the toilet in a strictly designated place. Early litter box training is the key to success.

Therefore, as soon as a little pet has appeared in your house, it should immediately be taught to go to the toilet in a certain place. You must be consistent in your requirements in order to achieve the desired result.

At first, the hedgehog's cage must be sterile, not only in terms of cleanliness, but also in terms of clutter with various objects (for example, a running wheel). Spartan furnishings are ideal: a bowl for water and food, bedding. Observe which corner your ward chooses for toilet needs and how consistent he is in his preferences.

If the hedgehog goes to the toilet in the same place for several days in a row, place a tray there and put the hedgehog's excrement in it. You can also dip a washcloth in the urine and put it in the tray too. Most likely, the hedgehog will return to this place to go to the toilet again. After the issue with the place for the toilet is resolved, you can furnish the cage "richer", purchase a house and a running wheel. These items are not recommended to be placed immediately, since it is likely that the hedgehog will adapt them for his "dirty" deeds.

A hedgehog should buy a litter tray designed for ferrets. It should have high side sides, and the front and rear should be low. Sawdust should be used as filler for the tray. This is the best option for a small animal. Many people use cat litter for their convenience, as it doesn't get wet or clumpy.

Negative incentives will not help in training the hedgehog, you will not achieve the desired result. Do not throw and poke the hedgehog's face in the place where you found feces and urine, it will not work. The animal needs time to learn how to go to the toilet. Some hedgehogs can master it in a couple of days, others will need a month, and others will not learn how to do it, alas, never, especially for hedgehogs with already established “toilet” habits. Also, don't forget that even if your hedgehog learns to use the toilet, occasional "misses" can happen.

The toilet tray should be cleaned regularly. If the hedgehog chooses a different place for the toilet, then rearrange his tray to make it more convenient for him.

Hedgehog can use clean sawdust in the dust bath tray. Do not scold him and do not forbid him to do this, as hedgehogs do in natural conditions. Just buy him a larger litter box so he can bathe in it and pee. Reward your pet with favorite treats for regular trips to the toilet in a "sanctioned" place.

We build a cozy house for a hedgehog

Heading: Work in the garden then you do not have to spend a lot of time and effort on the fight against harmful insects. Most of the work for you will be done by the new guest of the garden. And so that he stays in the garden for a long time and becomes your constant assistant in guarding the garden, build a cozy house for hedgehog.

What should be the hedgehog's home to be comfortable and cozy for permanent residence in it?

1. The house has a small entrance, which does not give any chance for the cat to get inside.

2. From the hallway, the hedgehog enters the dining room, where special dry food is stored in a cup.

3. Through a small passage, the hedgehog's path leads to the bedroom, in which he will subsequently build a nest from crumpled newspapers.

A hedgehog needs little to be happy, namely: to be provided with a warm and dry shelter during the winter, and in the summer to have a richly laid table with food; to quickly stock up on fat for a long winter.

In the cafeteria, you need two shallow cups to feed your hedgehog. In one cup put 3 tbsp. spoons of dry food or a mixture of 2 tbsp. spoons of dry food and 30 g of canned cat food. Another cup is filled daily with fresh water. Before each filling of the cup with water, it is thoroughly washed and rinsed with hot water. Hedgehogs are very clean animals.

Hedgehogs love to build a nest. For this, a newspaper torn into pieces and crumpled is best suited. Unlike dry grass, from which small animals build their nests, paper does not absorb moisture as much and mold does not form on it. With the end of the warm season, the hedgehog uses the nest for hibernation.

The start of hibernation can be determined by the following sign: the hedgehog does not appear from its house during the week, and newsprint remains intact. It is important that at this time no one looks into the bedroom, into his newspaper nest - this will prevent the hedgehog from preparing for a rest period.

From mid-April to early May, the animal can be observed slowly coming out of deep sleep. At this time, there is still little to profit from in the garden. Nature is just beginning to wake up after hibernation, many insects have not yet recovered from their winter sleep. Unfortunately, many gardeners still start spring cleaning with the first rays of the sun in April: all areas of the garden are carefully freed from leaves and plant debris. As a result, bare land remains, where it is difficult for a hedgehog to find food. Therefore, the more foliage in the garden, the richer the table for animals is set.

A bowl of dry food will be gratefully received by the hedgehog in mid-April. This will help him easily replenish his energy reserves after hibernation ends.

At the end of May, the old paper in the nest must be replaced with new paper. It is not excluded the appearance of offspring in the nest. The young replenishment will live all summer in a cozy house and only at the beginning of autumn will they start arranging their own winter apartment. Hedgehogs are terrible individualists and prefer to live apart.

How useful hedgehogs are for the garden, you can judge by their menu: beetles, caterpillars, slugs. The closer to nature the garden, the easier it is for the hedgehog to find food. As a rule, food is found under fallen leaves, tree trunks in a shady corner of the garden, under bushes and coniferous trees.

A lot has been said about the benefits of hedgehogs in the garden. However, it's time to get down to business. Summer is coming, and we need to hurry up with the construction of a house for a hedgehog.

Raw spruce boards are used as building material.