Badger sett construction Harlow
Our Ecologist Toni Harrington supervised the creation of an artificial badger sett as part of mitigation works for future development. The new sett will be monitored over the next couple of months to see if badgers take up residence.
Our Ecologist Toni Harrington supervised the creation of an artificial badger sett in Harlow as part of mitigation works for future development.
The artificial sett was located within 100m of an existing main sett and was constructed by The Badger Consultancy. Firstly a trench approximately 1 metre deep, 2-3m wide and 15 metres long was dug. Plastic tubes, which would act as tunnels, were then laid in the trench.
The sett was then backfilled with earth (although the chambers not filled completely) and some earth was also placed inside the tunnels to enable the badgers to grip when passing through.
To prevent earth falling into the chambers and to cover the sett, plywood boards were placed on top, overlapping, to make it more difficult for anyone to disrupt the sett. More earth was then piled on top of the boards to completely cover them and about a metre of topsoil was added for insulation and then smoothed out.
The entrance holes to the plastic tunnels were left open and the earth next to the tunnel entrances were shaped to create an artificial spoil heap, making it more realistic for any passing badgers!
The new sett will be monitored over the next couple of months to see if badgers take up residence.
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