PEOPLE across the region have fallen in love with hedgehogs and are providing homes for the prickly creatures.
Bosses at the RSPB say the charity’s purpose-build hedgehog shelters are a big hit with the public and are now its top-selling product with sales doubling in the last year.
It has also seen an increase in sales of mini-bug houses for insects and bat detectors and the charity says that since launching its biggest ever campaign – Giving Nature a Home in June 2013 – sales of non-bird related products have increased by 232 per cent.
Sales in ladybird and lacewing boxes have almost trebled too, say the RSPB, which has pumped £50,000 into conservation work during the last four months.
The charity is asking people across the south east to provide a place for wildlife in their own gardens and outside spaces by putting up nestboxes or planting pollenrich plants to attract bees and butterflies and where possible provide a garden pond.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here