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Make a hedgehog footprint tunnel

Make a hedgehog footprint tunnel

BBC Gardeners' World Magazine

Published: Sunday, 7 April 2019 at 10:18 am

Find out if hedgehogs are visiting your garden by checking for their footprints.

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Do you think a hedgehog might be visiting your garden? Find out by making a hedgehog footprint tunnel, which will record their footprints as they feed.

Discover 10 ways to help hedgehogs.

More wildlife projects:

Make the tunnel using a sheet of corrugated plastic, place food, paper and ink inside, and site it near a fence or hedge, then be patient and check your tunnel daily for signs of activity.

You Will Need

Corrugated plastic or an old storage box
A4 paper
Paper fasteners
Masking tape
Small plastic bowl
Paint brush
Carbon powder
Vegetable oil
Hedgehog food / meaty pet food

Step 1

Triangular tunnel made from corrugated cardboard

Make a triangular tunnel with sides roughly 23cm, or a bit over the width of a sheet of A4 paper. It should be about 90cm long in order to take two A4 sheets, plus space for ink and food.

Step 2

Painting ink on to either side of the bowl

Make a cardboard insert and attach as sheet of A4 at either end with paper fasteners. Add strips of masking tape, to paint the ink onto, either side of the bowl. Mix the carbon powder with oil to make a non-drying ink, and then spread this on to the masking tape. Place the food in the bowl and fit the whole insert into the tunnel.

Step 3

Finished hedgehog tunnel

Set the tunnel up in a quiet corner of the garden and check the paper for hedgehog footprints.

hedgehog-footprints-2

Identify your footprints

As other animals may visit your hedgehog tunnel, here's what hedgehog footprints look like.

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