Hi Gill
Do you mean the hedgehogs have been visiting all winter?
Alternatively, do you know whether the hedgehog under the furniture had made a nest and is actually hibernating? If it is still hibernating, it would be best to leave it a while longer if you can. Normally the males don’t start coming out of hibernation until March – possibly mid-March and the females as much as 2 months later. It isn’t a good idea to disturb them whilst they are still hibernating. They don’t just suddenly ‘wake up’ it is a gradual process.
I can’t picture this stored furniture, but if you really have to move it, is it possible to leave the actual piece of furniture the hedgehog is underneath. alternatively if you have a hog box, maybe you could put it right beside and move the sleeping hog complete with nest into it, (that is if you really can’t leave the furniture there for a bit longer). But that may not work and the hog may move out anyway.
If the hog has been visting to eat during the winter, then the best time to do any removals is the evening, as you suggest, so that it has a chance to find somewhere else. Again a hog box might be handy for it and lots of leaves and new nesting material nearby as it will have to make a new nest. (They actually need far more than we might think to build a nest, so multiply what you think they might need by a few times) Although now is not an ideal time to make a new nest. I think we are expecting some slightly warmer weather, but we all know that March can sometimes bring some very cold weather!
So in summary. If you can – leave the furniture where it is until the weather is more reliable. Let’s hope it isn’t really under there after all!
Hope all the other hogs do well. Lovely that you can see them so close through the patio windows.
