Animal poop is one of the most popular sources of inorganic fertilizers for backyard gardens. If you’ve spotted hedgehog poop a few times on your property, it is only logical to wonder whether it can serve as a cheap source of fertilizer for your gardening efforts.

This article answers the question “Is Hedgehog Poop Good For The Garden?” by looking at the nature of the poop and whether it contains components that may boost soil fertilization. We also look into the benefits wild hedgehogs offer for backyard gardens if any and whether driving them out of your property is a good idea. Let’s get started.

Is Hedgehog Poop Good For The Garden?

Hedgehog poop contains very few nutrients suitable for the garden due to its high fat and protein content making them similar to human poop. Hedgehogs also consume significant quantities of bugs and insects that may contain pathogens with negative side effects on your garden soil.

Finding hedgehog poop in your garden in the spring can be exciting because it serves as proof of life since many wild animals are unable to survive the harsh winters. However, hedgehog poop should never be applied to your garden because the effects may be negative at best.

Generally, poop is only beneficial as organic fertilizer when it comes from herbivorous animals since the nature of their diets provides the right nutrients in their fecal matter for the soil. Poop from omnivores and insectivores is useless for gardening.

What Does Hedgehog Poop Look Like?

Hedgehog poop comes in a small sausage-like shape and may be tapered at one or both ends like a dog or even human poop. It is typically shiny and unpleasantly damp in appearance with a likelihood of shiny fragments and berry pips from the consumed insect parts sticking out.

Hedgehog poop is normally black colored but may also appear in green depending on the mammal’s diet. It is not uncommon for wild animals to spend time in your garden especially at night when you’re indoors and hedgehogs may just be one out of a number of creatures including squirrels, foxes, and mice.

Knowing how to identify hedgehog poop can prevent mistaking it for some other animals’ poop which might be more beneficial for gardening.

Can Hedgehog Poop Make You Sick?

Physical contact with hedgehog poop can lead to exposure to salmonella and related sickness. Salmonella infections may result in diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps which could be a source of distress for many folks.

Avoid touching the poop of domesticated or wild hedgehogs with your bare hands for any reason to prevent the risk of contracting diseases. Hedgehogs infected with salmonella may show no obvious signs of illness for several days. (Source)

What Does Green Hedgehog Poop Mean?

Hedgehogs typically produce black stools but green-colored poop is not uncommon. Green stools indicate the presence of an infection or illness. For instance, hedgehogs are likely to produce slimy-looking green stools when suffering from gastrointestinal infections.

Stress can also trigger green stools in hedgehogs especially after arriving in a new home. The introduction of a new diet can also increase stress in pet hedgehogs leading to the excretion of green poop. Fortunately, the color of their feces often returns to normal once they get more familiar with the new surroundings.

The presence of green stools with additional signs like loss of appetite, thin body frames, and a distressed appearance could indicate serious trouble. Arranging a visit to the vet for diagnosis and treatment can be lifesaving for pet hedgehogs.

We recommend waiting a day or two for signs of improvement in the stool color and the hedgehog’s total demeanor before making the decision to book a vet appointment.

How Big Is Hedgehog Poop?

The average hedgehog poop is approximately 5cm and although it typically appears black-colored, green fecal matter is also common when the hedgehog is suffering from illness or infections.

Are Hedgehogs Beneficial For My Garden?

Hedgehogs are one of nature’s best pest controllers due to their voracious appetite for consuming potentially harmful bugs and pests in the garden that may inhibit proper plant growth. The knowledge that hedgehog poop is practically useless for your gardening efforts could be disappointing.

But, their presence can ward off the significant bug and insect populations that may feed on your flowers, fruits, and vegetables. They’re a no-cost pest controller with no negative consequences for the environment, unlike most bug sprays.

Hedgehogs should rather be encouraged to stay on your property and creating hedgehog houses from wood to aid their ability to rest and sleep during the daytime can be a great start. After all, the poop from other trespassers like squirrels and rabbits could be applied to your soil as organic fertilizer.

Is Rat Poop Good for Gardens?

Rat poop can be a great source of organic fertilizer to boost the growth of flowers, fruits, and vegetables cultivated in your backyard. The feces may be either applied to the soil directly or composted.

Composting is easy and simply involves adding the rat poop into your compost bin with equal amounts of straw or wood shavings. Waste bedding from your rodent’s cage may also be added to the compost bin to quicken the process.

Besides, kitchen leftovers and leaves could be great additions to the compost bin while you continuously turn it over fortnightly to promote air circulation. Add some water to ramp up humidity levels and stay patient because composting can take a whole year to be ready for your soil.

Conclusion: Is Hedgehog Poop Good For The Garden?

Hedgehog poop has no beneficial use for gardening and is best thrown in the dumpster. It contains excessive amounts of protein and fats which are unsuitable for plants.

Their primary diet of insects and bugs also makes their feces unhealthy for plants because there’s a high risk of pathogens that may cause problems for your garden soil. Poop from rodents like mice and gerbils may be composted or applied directly to the soil in your backyard for effective cultivation of flowers, fruits, and vegetables but the opposite is true for hedgehog fecal matter.