The most basic hedgehog door is simply a 13x13 hole cut into a fence or barrier to allow wild hedgehogs to roam and access territories that humans have otherwise barred them from.
Our Hedgehog Doors add a little decoration to this basic idea.
They consist of a decorated frame for the hole. A bit like a fairy door, but with the likelihood of a more prickly visitor.
I decided to make these decorative doors is for several reasons.
I hope it will encourage more people to make these holes in their fences. The hedgehog population is in need of human help and this makes it fun for people to help hedgehogs.
It's fun to have a cute little entrance way for your prickly friends to use.
It looks nicer than just a hole having a hole in the fence.
It encourages kids to get involved in the conservation of hedgehogs. The doors will make them curious to imagine what might appear through it, and the wooden doors can be decorated by them so they can really feel involved in the process of installing a door.
You can buy them for your neighbours so they will let you install hedgehog holes, it's more appealing than if you just say you want to hack a hole in their fence. ;)
Can I use my Hedgehog Door right away?
Yes, the wooden doors are treated with wood preservative and are ready to be used right away.
If you decide to decorate your door, it's best top seal the design with a coat of varnish, and let it dry properly before installing it.
Ceramic Hedgehog Doors are ready to use right away.
What is the difference between the wooden and ceramic doors?
The ceramic Hedgehog Doors are slightly more expensive due to the time it takes to make them.
They are frost resistant. They are more durable than the wooden doors, however you cannot decorate them. I currently don't sell the ceramic doors online due to the difficulty in posting ceramics.
There are only 2 designs for the ceramic doors so far.
The wooden Hedgehog Doors are pre-treated with wood preservative ready to use.
You can decorate your wooden door with almost any media you can think of.
You can saw off the ground spikes and screw the wooden doors to your fence if there is no soil to push them into.
They are cheaper than the ceramic doors.
You can buy the wooden doors online.
There will be lots of different designs of the wooden doors.
How did you invent the Hedgehog Door?
The idea for Hedgehog Doors was really thanks to Pog, the hedgehog who visits my garden.
Seeing the craze for fairy doors and knowing about the campaign to get people to make hedgehog holes in their fences by Hedgehog Street, I came up with the idea.
As a ceramicist I initially decided to do ceramic doors, and indeed I do make ceramic hedgehog doors. But I soon realised as a studio potter I couldn't create the doors quickly enough.
I also realised that wooden doors would open up lots more possibilities. Like being able to decorate them, and making the price cheaper so that more people can afford them which in turn means more hedgehog holes being made!
After searching the internet I remembered a local wood worker I had met in passing who was local to me Made in Rugby. With his help the wooden doors became a reality!
Why are you so nuts about Hedgehogs?
Because they are brilliant!
I first became interested in hedgehogs in primary school, and became a lifetime member of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.
For a while hedgehogs took a back seat to my other obsessions, that is until I moved to a house with a garden. I've always loved wildlife and was hopeful to attract birds and frogs and insects, but when I spotted 3 hedgehogs in the area when returning from a late night out, I became hopeful of attracting a hedgehog too.
A few months later, I had installed a hedgehog hole, hedgehog house and built a hedgehog restaurant.
The appearance of some mystery poop on my lawn got me excited when I realised it was hedgehog poop.
I built a footprint trap to try and spy on my prickly guest, but she avoided it expertly.
Then with the help of an Aldi special buy I got a wildlife camera trap and got to meet Pog the hedgehog for the first time.
The camera trap proved a wonderful view on this brilliant animals life and I became obsessed.
You can see film and photos of Pog on Flickr.
If that hasn't convinced you that Hedgehog Doors are a good idea, my last word is this; Hedgehog doors are designed and made in the UK using small independent businesses. So you're not just supporting hedgehogs when you buy one, you're also supporting UK crafts people. :)
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