Anyone who keeps a compost heap is well aware that this warm dark place not only serves as fermentation bed for producing rich black organic compost but it provides a welcome shelter and a handy incubated hideaway for Hedgehogs, sloworms, grass snakes, field mice and a host of other garden creatures.
You will also be aware that if the compost heap does become an occupied space then utilising the compost, if you have a conscience becomes almost impossible.
The best solution is to set a side a small area - at the back of a shrub border is best - to tip all of your spare grass clippings, leaves and weeds so that the sloworms and hedgehogs can hideaway here without the fear of being disturbed.
You might also want to lay a piece of old board or carpet in a corner set on four housebricks so that toads can get underneath. That way the toads can then be able to live and breed while they hop around the garden and eat the slugs and snails.
If you are handy with a saw and a hammer then you might want to construct this more extensive Hedgehog detached house.
I've got sloworms in my small urban garden, as well as hedgehogs. I also own 3 cats (apparently the cause of the demise of sloworms)
Tonight I had the strangest encounter with a sloworm.
I have a useless air vent near the ceiling in my living room. I've heard noises in it. Tonight, I noticed 2 of the cats looking at it - next minute, this snake-like thing fell a la 'raiders of the lost ark' to the floor. Betty (cat) ran over, so I had to check what it was - it was a sloworm! THEN I had to stop Betty playing with it, and pick up this extremely cross & active thing up and put it in the garden!
Pleased to say it kept it's tail, and was incredibly healthy and strong. Job tomorrow is to unscrew the vent to see if there are any more.
I can only presume it climbed up the ivy that I've been trying to kill for years.
Posted by: Gweet | Sep 30, 2012 at 12:27 AM