Hedgehogs in the Garden

Hedgehogs are welcomed visitors in many people’s gardens. Not only are they are delight to see snuffling around our leaves looking for critters to eat, but they also clean up our gardens and remove pests such as slugs and snails benefitting our garden plants.

Here are some simple ways to make your garden a better place for wildlife:

Hedgehogs Highways

Hedgehogs can roam between 1-2km each night looking for food, shelter and mates but they can’t get through walls or fences which seems to be the most common additions to recent gardens. The easiest way you can help if you have walls or fences in your garden, is to install a ‘hedgehog highway’, a small opening in your garden fence about 13cm wide and 13cm high (about the size of a CD case). Try to create as much access as possible, connecting gardens on all sides, and thinking about front and back gardens where possible, this enables Hedgehogs to roam safely avoiding main roads and instead visit various gardens without much danger.

Hedgehog Safety

Garden waste and netting can be dangerous to all kinds of wildlife, and hedgehogs are particularly prone to getting tangled and stuck. Keep your garden clear of litter, and ensure any netting is securely fastened or stored away when not in use. This can also cause harm to other creatures such as foxes especially with netting, this does not only mean garden netting but things like football goals in gardens can cause tanglement for foxes and hedgehogs. Try rolling up the netting after use to allow animals lower to the ground to pass through safely.

Ponds are great places for hedgehogs to get a drink but they can fall in and drown if there’s no easy way to get out. To make your pond safe, make sure there’s a sloping side or add a simple ramp using stones or wood to help them climb out, or you can use flower-border wood to block off entrances to deeper ponds.

Don’t use chemicals; Insecticides, lawn treatments and slug pellets can be toxic to hedgehogs and reduce the number of bugs in your garden for them to feed on. Instead look for natural alternatives that can help.

Spaces for Hedgehogs

Hedgehogs need a safe space to call home within our gardens. An undisturbed log pile can be an ideal nest, and is quick and simple to make. You could even build your own custom hedgehog house and make it a feature of your garden, or create a pile of leaves under hedges in our wild spaces that hedgehogs can use to hibernate and nest.

What to Avoid

Do not feed Hedgehogs milk. These creatures are lactose-intolerant and milk will actually cause them more harm than good, instead go for water and cat-food or better still buy purpose based hedgehog food.

Do not pick up or attempt to care for hedgehogs on your own. These are wild creatures are need specialist care, there are ample amount of rescues around the world that can provide them with the care they need.