Gone missing

[PamSue]

Thanks Nic, I have been a bit reluctant to leave food out as the camera picked up a rat one night a couple of weeks ago (before the hedgehog disappeared). Not seen a rat since. I did leave some food out last night but it was left untouched. The camera picks up a fair bit of field mouse activity but no hogs. I will remove the food.
Before this year I have never seen hedgehogs in my garden which until late last year has been tightly fenced. Then I had metal gates installed and I am wondering if they got in via them although the gaps are really small – 2 inches between rails. I am waiting (for the last two weeks) for someone in the family with a jigsaw to come and cut some hedgehog highway holes in my fences in case my hog got out then couldn’t get back in again. The hog was a big one and I am unable to see if it was a male on the photos. It disappeared on the only night I forgot to put out food! But this was also one of the nights the camera failed to work. The garden clearance is due to start late November when they would be thinking about hibernating , hence I tried to relocate and resettle in another part of the garden well in advance.

[PamSue]

I had a couple of holes cut in my fence that gives access from a field (Neighbours not keen on holes in joint fence). Last night the camera picked up a hog by the hedgehog house but not if it came out of the house or if it went in for some reason. This is first time for two weeks. I am not sure if it is the same one as before but it had a good explore of the house entrance and did a lot of sniffing. I’ll put food out tonight.

[Nic]

Hi PamSue

Good idea to put holes in the field fence. The hogs may even be able to get into other gardens from the field direction.

Hogs do sometimes sniff around hog houses when there is another one in there, either eating, sleeping or hibernating. Normally if a hog is hibernating, the hog house would be fairly full so another hog may not be able to get in anyway. But even after most hogs have hibernated, hoglets sometimes turn up – i.e. maybe where they came from stopped feeding, so they are exploring further afield.

Good luck with the hog tonight.

[PamSue]

The original occupant of the new Hedgehog House returned last night at 9.30pm and was hopping in and out of the house for several hours and ate the food I put out. It has a spot on its back quills that the camera picks out so I am pretty sure it is the same one. The previous two nights the camera picked up rats (big fat ones) and mice but no hogs. I live in a semi rural part of town with fields and woodland very close to the house so was not surprised to see the rats but I did move a planter growing mint next to the house and moved the food dish to the path – more in the open, although still very dark. The mice and hogs don’t seem to be worried by the mint plant but I am hoping it deters the rats.

[Nic]

Hi PamSue

It’s good to hear the hog is making use of the hog house again. Sorry to hear about the rats – it would be interesting to know if the mint makes any difference to them. I had a couple here but I took the bowls out of the feed boxes and left them outside covered by the top of one of those mini greenhouses with plastic over the top. Interestingly since then, although one rat has been seen going into one of the feeding boxes, it didn’t go to the actual food. So, maybe it was suspicious of the structure around the food. They do say some rats don’t like things being moved around.

The only problem is that next I’ll probably get cats again – and they never seem to be around when the rats are!

Let us know if the mint works.

[PamSue]

I haven’t seen my hog again for some days now. It came back after two weeks when the holes were cut in the fence and took up residence again. This is the second period they have gone missing. I bought a new dome hog house to use as a feeding station now the rains have arrived and the food was being eaten every night but over the last few days all the cam is picking up is rats and fat ones too! But no hedgehogs. The mint defo doesn’t work! Rats seen scurrying all over it. I have moved it into the open again and put our half cat food half hog food in the hope this will deter rats. Actually I would like to attract a cat to spread its scent around.

[Nic]

Hi PamSue

The hogs there might be hibernating now. The ones from here have disappeared – hopefully hibernating. Unfortunately the wary rat (which was quite motheaten and humped looking) must have told its friends and there has also been another sleek looking adult and a younger one which don’t seem worried about anything. I left some food to start with, hoping any hogs would get there first, but now the hogs have gone I’ve had to stop. I’ve only ever had 1 rat at a time before – 3 is a bit much! I’m hoping they will give up and go somewhere else if they find no food for a few days running. I don’t think they live in my garden and I haven’t seen any bolt holes, so there isn’t much else I can do.

Interesting about the mint – I won’t bother to try that then! Sadly any cats who’ve visited here (sometimes a few a night) always seem to avoid the time the rats are here and the scent of them has never seemed to put any visiting rats off. I wonder if that lion poo which is sometimes advertised to deter cats would work any better. Although there’s a risk the hogs wouldn’t like it either.

Good luck with the situation there. I hope you manage to find something that puts them off.

[Mags63]

hi, no hog visits to my feeder the last few nights (only the regular wee mouse) so maybe they have hibernated. Will keep putting out a small amount of dry food throughout the winter just in case. There is always water out for the birds.
Last year, I packed away the feeder only to see a hog in January. Until the last week there have been hogs in the feeder every night since January.

[PamSue]

NO hogs on camera since 12th October. The hog was last seen dragging more straw into the house – it has taken in a whole large bag! No sign since but the rat appears every night. It was taking the food from the feeding station to I put the feed out in the open and trained the cam on the dish. It was indeed guzzled by the rat and if any was left it got eaten by a cat that came about an hour later. I am no longer putting food out and I hope the hog is fast asleep in the house. The dogs are still interested in the house although not as frantic as they were and are at least obeying the Leave it command.

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