Help! Hedgehog taken up residence in dining room

Careful_with_that_Axe

I heard some odd noises from my downstairs bathroom a couple of evenings ago and the next morning, came down to find "deposits" on the floor. Couldn't work out what it was until I was in the kitchen late that night, turned round and found a hedgehog on the kitchen floor looking at me! I managed to get it outside and it wandered off.
Just heard odd noises again, went to look and just saw the tail end of it disappearing into the dining room! It's freaking the cat and me out.

How on earth do I catch it and get it to stop getting free accommodation?

wallbash

Grab a towel , and pick it up .

AND stop leaving your back door open!

pawsies

Be careful about parasites it may have that might pass on to the cat. From what I remember hedgehogs carry fleas which is normal for them but obviously not normal for the cat.

Careful_with_that_Axe

The back door is left open for ventilation and for the cat to come in and out. I'll put up a board in future to stop it getting in and try to build a home for it in the garden that it would prefer.
It's all very well saying get a towel and grab it, but you need speed for that. I can only walk on crutches and have to try to find it to catch it. As I have not long moved in and this house is temporary, dining room has boxes and lots of hiding places in it!
I am very fond of hedgehogs and all wildlife, but I am freaking at it being in the house and me not knowing where it is.

lollipopsarah

aw bless, for advise maybe 'phone tiggywinkles
good point about the fleas, please keep an eye on your cat.
perhaps you could leave some pet food outside for the little darling, and encourage a safe haven in the garden (a nice little wildlife corner)
good luck and best wishes.
x

lollipopsarah

haha I've just remembered about a few years ago in my old house, when I was going to shut the door and heard a rustling noise, drove me nuts trying to figure it out.
So there I was at silly o'clock (not exactly sober) in me jim jams with a torch and low and behold there was a bin bag outside - moving about! (!!!!!!)
and yes there was a little hedgehog stuck in it, poor little thing got in and was stuck, yes I did manage to free it.
I wish he was in my new place, we've got the biggest slugs ever - ewwwwwwwwwwwww
x

fwor

You're so lucky to still have them about. Where I live I just don't see them any more.

You shouldn't actually need to move fast to catch one - all you need to do is make lots of noise near them and they will ~usually~ just freeze.

Also I don't think you need to worry too much about their fleas, as IIRC they are adapted to live on hogs and don't survive on anything else (but I may be remembering that wrong!).

And once it's outside you probably won't need to worry about it hanging around hoody-style outside your house - they don't seem to be very territorial and generally just wander off.

Careful_with_that_Axe

I thought I had blocked it in the dining room (with food and water provided), but heard a noise at 3.30am in my bedroom and found it under the bed. How it made it up the stairs, I don't know!
I popped it outside again and will put a board up at the door to stop it coming in again. I had a bag of weeds ready for recycling at the back door and wonder if it had made a home in there, so that will be moved. I think it must have made a return visit inside for the cat foor, so will put a wee feeding station and shelter up at another end of the garden for it.

I've checked and fleas etc, don't transmit from hedgehogs. I do, however, have to go round and pick up and disinfect where all the little presents it left me have been. Suspect it will have peed all over the place too, so a carpet cleaning is in order.
I can't believe I've felt terrorised by a hedgehog!
I do consider myself lucky to have it around, I just don't like it in the house - it freaks me out and it isn't its natural habitat

cajef

Careful_with_that_Axe wrote: »

How it made it up the stairs, I don't know!

I popped it outside again and will put a board up at the door to stop it coming in again.

It made it up the stairs because they are good climbers and stairs are not even a challenge.

Similarly a board will not stop it unless it is a high one and securely in place, they can squeeze through surprisingly narrow gaps and high jump and pole vault are nothing to a hedgehog.

macman

If you continue to leave your door open at night then you're likely to be visited by more than hedgehogs...
Would not a simple cat door be more practical?

panchenlama

i've just been camping and I had one come into my tent every night at the same time. Pain in the a*s.