In Great Britain, hedgehogs are viewed as friendly creatures that will come and eat your garden pests. In New Zealand, hedgehogs have become nasty predators, and the wildlife conservationists say that traps should be set to kill the hedgehogs, as they are predatorily endangering other species of animal. When I started researching what is the best way to catch a hedgehog, I discovered websites telling me how to invite a hedgehog into my yard and some on how to get rid of them, and not let them into my yard. Regardless of location, and whether or not they are a nuisance, what is the best way to catch a hedgehog?
Should a trap be set, or should the hedgehog be chased and snatched up? Perhaps there is a hedgehog owner whose pet hedgehog has escaped from its pen, and he desperately needs to catch it before it eats all of his pet crickets. Perhaps snails and slugs are ruining a potential hedgehog owner’s garden and he wants this adorable animal to get rid of them by relocating its home to his yard, or to his attic where mice have taken up residence. Perhaps a man has been asked to bring a traditional hedgehog dish to the annual Roman Festival, but since they do not sell hedgehogs at the supermarket, he has decided to catch one himself. All these are problems for the average person; he just does not know how to catch a hedgehog.
The hunter of hedgehogs ought to go to a place that is usually populated by hedgehogs, such as, the hedges. It should be pointed out that when trying to catch hedgehogs, the prospective hunter should know that in North or South America, those who are searching for this creature in the wild, will be doing so in vain, since there are no native species of hedgehog on either continent. They can be found in Europe, Asia, and Africa, where they are native. They can also be found in New Zealand. Though they are not native, they were brought to New Zealand in the 1870s by acclimatization societies to remind settlers of their homeland and to get rid of garden slugs. They have since spread though the entire country and have become pests. They live in burrows that have been dug by other animals, and usually come out at night.
There are traps that can be bought to humanely kill hedgehogs, since in places such as New Zealand they are predators that need to be stopped. Predatortraps.com sells traps for hedgehogs and other small animals that are predatory in New Zealand. Since Hedgehogs eat the eggs and young of some ground-dwelling bird species, they are considered a nuisance. They also eat rare giant native centipedes, and other rare insects. If the hedgehog hunter is looking to get rid of hedgehogs, this may be the best option for him.
Another way to catch a hedgehog would be to lure it with food. They like eating most bugs, but will even eat cat food or cereal, since they are not very picky. Those that search for hedgehogs ought to make sure the hedgehog doesn’t see them when they sneak up on it while it is contentedly munching on whatever goodies they have left for it. If they are careful and do not scare it off, they might trap it beneath a bucket and enjoy all the benefits of owning a hedgehog. Overthegardengate.net says that hedgehogs can swim, climb walls, and run fairly quickly; so if the hedgehog escapes, the person trying to catch it may not be able to find it again.
March or April is when hedgehogs generally come out of hibernation. Wildlifetrust.org says that they are likely to be very hungry after a winter of sleeping, and that at this time they are more likely to be seen searching for a snack. It may be best to try and snatch a hedgehog if one is seen hunting for food. When threatened, the hedgehog’s response is to roll into a ball. If this happens, beware, for its spines are sharp. Using oversized salad utensils or crocheted purple oven mitts, as my friends have suggested, may be a successful method of snatching the animal without self-inflicted injury.
No matter what one’s motives are for catching a hedgehog, or whether one is using a commercial trap, a bucket, or oven mitts, catching a hedgehog seems a formidable task. After catching the hedgehog, what happens to it depends on whether one considers hedgehogs as predators or pets. All in all, even if none of these methods work to catch a hedgehog, at least you will have a story to tell your grandchildren.
Sources: hedgehogworld.com, nationalgeographic.com, hedgehogcenter.com, wildlifetrust.org, predatortraps.com, overthegardengate.net, doc.govt.nz
Apparently my teacher liked it because she gave me an A.
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