Hedgehog House: Size, Safety and 4 Picks That Work

The best hedgehog house for most gardens is the Egelbescherming HedgyHome 1.0, built in Douglas fir with a tunnel entrance and vents front and back. Whatever you buy, size matters most: the Dutch hedgehog charity Egelbescherming sets a minimum of 40 cm high, 50 cm wide and 40 cm deep, and says most houses on sale are smaller.

This guide covers what makes a hedgehog house safe, how the cheap boxes measure up, where to put one, and how the main hedgehog charities in four countries disagree on bedding and food. One note for readers in North America: there are no wild hedgehogs in the Americas, so this page is for gardens in Britain, Ireland and mainland Europe.

Quick picks

• Best overall: Egelbescherming HedgyHome 1.0. Douglas fir, tunnel with dividing wall, ventilation front and back.
• Best large wooden house: any hardwood house that meets the 40 x 50 x 40 cm minimum and has a tunnel entrance.
• Best feeding station: a closed box with a maze or rat flap, for food rather than sleep.
• Best low British design: the NHBS Hedgehog Nest Box, built to British Hedgehog Preservation Society guidance.

How we chose

We have not used these houses in our own garden. This guide is research-based. We started from the published guidance of four hedgehog and wildlife charities: Egelbescherming Nederland, NABU in Germany, the LPO in France and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, together with the Hedgehog Street project. We compared that guidance with the specifications on manufacturer and retailer pages, confirmed each named product is currently sold, and left out any house whose size we could not check against the charity minimum.

Why are most hedgehog houses too small?

Because they are built to look cute and ship cheaply, not to hold a hedgehog family through a damp winter. Egelbescherming Nederland studied hedgehog houses in use for three years and found that nearly all houses on sale were too small for a mother with young, and that many did not let moist air escape.

Its director, Jenny Kleve, told the Dutch consumer programme Radar in November 2025 that many popular houses are so cramped she calls them coffins. She links damp, poorly ventilated shelters to a strong rise in chronic lung problems and fungal infections in hedgehogs over the past 10 to 15 years. A house needs enough height for a draught to form, and wood that does not soak up rain from above and below.

The charity’s advice is blunt: a house that is too small is worse than no house at all. If you cannot buy or build one that passes the size test, a brush pile or a heap of leaves does the job better.

How do popular hedgehog houses measure up?

Most listings give outside dimensions only, so the space inside is smaller still. Here is how two widely sold designs compare with the Egelbescherming minimum.

British and Dutch advice really do differ here. The NHBS box follows a long, low British design with a tunnel, while Egelbescherming wants more height for airflow. If you are in mainland Europe, follow the Dutch figures; if you are in Britain, either approach is defensible, but more space never hurts.

Egelbescherming HedgyHome 1.0: best overall

What it is: A hedgehog house designed by Egelbescherming Nederland after its research into houses in use, and produced and distributed by Vivara. It is made of Douglas fir with a bitumen roof.

Why it stands out: The entrance runs through a tunnel with a dividing wall, which keeps predators and curious pets from reaching in. Ventilation openings at the front and back let damp air escape during the four to five months of hibernation.

Good to know: The listings we checked do not publish inside dimensions, but the house comes from the same charity that set the 40 x 50 x 40 cm minimum.

• Best for: Most gardens in mainland Europe with hedgehogs nearby.
• Skip it if: You cannot find a seller in your country; use the next pick and the size checklist instead.

See available listings on Amazon

Large hardwood hedgehog house with a tunnel: best large wooden house

What it is: Not one model but a type. Look for a house that reaches at least 40 cm high, 50 cm wide and 40 cm deep, made from naturally durable wood such as Douglas fir or cedar.

Why it works: Size gives room for nest material and a family, and height lets air move. The Hedgehog Street project, run by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, says a house without a tunnel needs an internal wall so foxes and badgers cannot reach in with their paws.

What to check: Untreated wood inside, a roof you can lift for cleaning, and a solid base or a hard surface to stand it on. Avoid pressure-treated timber, which Hedgehog Street warns can contain harmful arsenic-based compounds.

• Best for: Gardeners who want a house that clearly passes the size test.
• Skip it if: The seller does not state the dimensions.

See available listings on Amazon

Hedgehog feeding station with a maze entrance: best feeding station

What it is: A closed box with a small entrance and an inner maze, baffle or rat flap, where you put food and water. NABU recommends exactly this kind of feeding house, with a rat flap or maze entrance, and says to wash the bowls and clear leftovers every day.

Why it works: Cats are the main thieves of hedgehog food. The British Hedgehog Preservation Society suggests a 13 cm square entrance and a brick placed about 13 cm in front of it to make it harder for cats to get in.

• Best for: Autumn, when NABU says natural food becomes scarce from mid-October.
• Skip it if: You want a winter nest. A feeding station is not built for hibernation.

See available listings on Amazon

NHBS Hedgehog Nest Box: best low British design

What it is: A long, low box in 12 mm exterior plywood, untreated inside, with a built-in tunnel, a raised entrance step and ventilation. NHBS says it was developed with the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and Dr Pat Morris.

Why it stands out: It follows the British approach, where a tunnel and a low, long chamber keep the nest sheltered.

Good to know: At 22 cm high it falls well short of the Dutch minimum height, so it suits British guidance rather than Egelbescherming’s.

• Best for: UK gardens following British Hedgehog Preservation Society advice.
• Skip it if: You want the extra height and airflow the Dutch charity recommends.

See available listings on Amazon

Comparison table

Where should you put a hedgehog house?

Choose a quiet, shady, sheltered and dry spot against a wall, fence, hedge or shed. The British Hedgehog Preservation Society says the entrance should not face north or north-east, and the LPO suggests south-east where possible.

Egelbescherming adds a few practical points: stand the house on a hard surface under dense evergreen shrubs, put the entrance near a fence or hedge so hedgehogs find it, keep it away from dogs and children’s play areas, and do not place it where you can watch the door, or it probably won’t be used. Hedgehogs also need a way into your garden: the LPO recommends a gap of at least 10 cm at the bottom of fences.

Should you put bedding inside? What four charities say

This is where the advice splits, so it helps to see it side by side.

A sensible middle path: a handful of dry leaves inside, a pile of leaves next to the entrance, and no disturbance from autumn to spring.

When should you put up a hedgehog house?

As soon as you can, ideally by October. NABU says most hedgehogs hibernate from mid-November until March or April, and look for winter quarters when soil temperatures stay around freezing. Egelbescherming says you can still put a house out at any point during winter. Once it is in place, leave it alone until spring.

What wood and finish are safe?

Untreated wood inside, always. The British Hedgehog Preservation Society says to use only a water-based preservative, only on the outside, and never creosote, solvent-based preservatives or paint, because the fumes linger. Do not nail the roof down, so you can open it for the yearly clean.

What if you don’t buy a hedgehog house?

A wild corner often works as well. NABU calls a pile of dead wood, twigs and leaves the ideal winter quarters, and Hedgehog Street lists compost heaps and log piles as nest sites. Our guide to building a brush pile shows how, and leaving the leaves explains why an untidy autumn garden helps wildlife. Avoid slug pellets and insecticides, which Egelbescherming says are deadly for hedgehogs. The same wildlife corner suits a bat house and an insect hotel, and our cats and birds guide covers keeping a garden safer for wildlife.

Sources

• Egelbescherming Nederland: Egelslaaphuizen
• Egelbescherming Nederland: Egels in uw tuin
• NABU: Igel im Garten
• British Hedgehog Preservation Society: Hedgehog homes
• Hedgehog Street: Hedgehog homes
• LPO: Fiche refuge, le hérisson
• AVROTROS Radar: Is jouw egelhuisje eigenlijk een doodskistje? (28 Nov 2025)