Garden Visitor Houses

Bat boxes are important for conservation and research. Your bat box will provide an artificial roosting site for bats and, if you are lucky, a maternity colony may raise young in it. It may be in use throughout the year, other than very cold periods.

The box can be put in your own back garden, or an area with few natural roost sites such as a conifer plantation. It should be south-facing, sheltered and at least 5m above ground, either on a tree or under the eaves of the house. Ideally, it should be exposed to the sun for several hours every day. There should be no overhanging branches or other obstruction that might obstruct the bats flight path.

You can tell if your box is occupied by watching carefully at dusk to see whether bats are flying to and from it – but it may take months before it is actually used by bats. Another tell-tale sign of use is the presence of tiny black droppings underneath it. With this design of bat box, you may also be able to shine a torch upwards through the slit and see them roosting.

IMPORTANT NOTE: In the UK, bats and their roosts are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and it is an offence anyone without a licence to disturb, handle or kill bats. If you intend to remove your bat box for relocation etc., please ensure it is not in use by visually checking it during the day, when any resident bats would be sleeping in it.

Dimensions: NN (w) x NN (h) x NN (d) cm

Hedgehogs can often be found nesting in gardens under piles of logs or old sheds, or in compost heaps. But you can provide a hedgehog with a safer place to hibernate, and encourage it to become resident in your garden. If the house is suitable, a female may have her babies in it during the spring.

In the autumn, hedgehogs will begin to collect leaves, grass, bracken, straw and other materials to line the house, so you can encourage this process by putting some torn up newspaper or straw in the hedgehog house and putting it where it will not be disturbed – under a hedge is ideal. The entrance should face South for added protection from the elements. The house should then be covered with a piece of plastic, and then soil, twigs and leaves to make a protective and camouflaged dome. The entrance must be kept clear and you should not disturb the hedgehog during the winter when it is hibernating.

The house should be cleaned in the spring when no longer inhabited - if you put one small twig across the entrance, and this is moved, you will be able to tell if the house is in use.

It's only available in black - coloured versions would be pointless because it will be buried.

Dimensions: NN (w) x NN (h) x NN (d) cm