Late September is the best time to clean your garden hedgehog house with most of the hedgehogs getting ready to think about finding a cozy home to nest over the cold winter hibernation season. Most of the families have all left their mothers and should be Juveniles / adults by this time of the year. The peak seasons for hoglets would have finished and the risk of disturbing a nesting family is low for the time of the year.
You don't need to scrub the hedgehog clean with harsh chemicals, a wash down with water will be just fine scrubbing any built up dirt. The bedding should be replaced ideally with hay or straw but dried leaves will be just fine. It's worth leaving a pile of dried material close by to the hedgehog house so new residents can drag in more bedding material should they need it.
If you are worried about mites and ticks you can powder the base of the hedgehog house with mite and lice powder, the type used for poultry is best (JVP Poultry Mite and Lice Powder). There are a few different types but you can use products with Permethrin in it and spread it thinly around the corners with a brush to scatter around the base, before you lay in new bedding.
You might also like to clean your feeding station out and replenish with hedgehog food and water. Ideally with dried type food, but you can also use wet food. Flies are not a big of a problem during the colder months than the warm months but they are attracted more to the wet food. Any jelly based dog or cat food is great too, or the dried biscuits.
Hornbeam Wood Hedgehog Sanctuary (http://www.hwhs.org.uk)
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