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View Full Version : Hogs for Bug Control?

saw192837
09-11-2005, 12:40 PM
Apparently regular european hedgehogs are used for pest control, (eat cockroaches, etc) in the gardens and other places.

Can a pet-pygmy hedgehog also be used to kill bugs? Or could it only eat small things like ants? Or is it too domesticated to do so?
PrettyHate
09-13-2005, 10:41 PM
I wouldnt let my hedgie get near any bugs if they werent bred specifically for the purpose of a food source. I would be too nervous of what those bugs could have gotten into - pesticides etc.

If you want to watch your hedgie hunt bugs, you can do so with store bought crickets, meal worms, super worms etc. Lots of people will put the drain in their bath tub, put hedgie inside with a couple crickets and let them go wild :)
AlisaD
09-13-2005, 11:19 PM
I don't think they are too domesticated to hunt. My hedgie jumps and goes crazy over mealworms. He just lunges at them.
saw192837
10-01-2005, 01:35 AM
Do hedgehogs like ants? Could you feed them lots of ants?

Also, could you acquire a full sized, non-domesticated european hedgehog just for outdoor bug eating? Seems like a good way to kill pests in the garden
paris26
10-01-2005, 02:02 AM
Do hedgehogs like ants? Could you feed them lots of ants?

Also, could you acquire a full sized, non-domesticated european hedgehog just for outdoor bug eating? Seems like a good way to kill pests in the garden

I'm sure hedgehogs would eat ants, but it's not a safe idea for the above reasons.
To the best of my knowledge, European hedgehogs are still illegal to import to the US, even for bug control. They are a wild animal and you can't keep them in Europe as pets either
Steph
10-01-2005, 02:41 PM
Because European hedgehogs can carry Hoof and Mouth importation in to the United States is not allowed. This is the same reason we can't import African Hedgehogs anymore.

My answer would echo those of the other MODS, feeding wild insects to your hedgies is asking for trouble. You have NO way of knowing what pesticides those ants have been exposed to. Aside from that NEVER, EVER, get an African hedgehog as an outdoor "garden" pet. They can not survive most climates in the US and it's against federal law to let one loose. Doing so would endanger the ability for anyone to keep a hedgie as a pet and would subject you to HUGE fines.