How to Make Your Garden Hedgehog-Friendly?

Welcome Our Favourite Spiky Visitor

Hedgehogs are one of our most beloved garden visitors, but their numbers have plummeted dramatically in recent decades. The good news? Your garden can become a vital sanctuary for these charming nocturnal Backyard Heroes. With a few simple adjustments, you can help reverse their decline and enjoy the delight of hosting these wonderful creatures.

Why Hedgehogs Need Your Help

Hedgehog populations across the EU have declined by as much as 50% in rural areas and 30% in urban areas since 2000. The primary threats include:

• Loss of hedgerows and natural habitats
• Fragmented gardens without access routes
• Pesticide use diminishing their insect food source
• Garden hazards like netting, ponds, and strimmers
• Lack of safe places for nesting and hibernation

Your garden can truly make a difference in helping hedgehogs survive and thrive.

Create Hedgehog Highways

The most crucial step: Hedgehogs roam up to 2km each night in search of food and mates. Fenced gardens create barriers, trapping them in small territories.

Solution: Create 13 x 13 cm (the size of a CD case) holes in your fences or walls. Talk to your neighbours and create a network of connected gardens – a “hedgehog highway” allowing them to roam freely.

Tips:

• Cut holes at ground level in fence corners
• Mark them with a small sign so neighbours understand their purpose
• Regularly check they haven’t become blocked
• Join the Hedgehog Street campaign to map your highway

Provide Food and Water

Hedgehogs are insectivores, but you can supplement their natural diet, especially during dry spells or when they are building up fat reserves for hibernation.

What you can feed:

• Meat-based cat or dog food (wet or dry)
• Specialised hedgehog food
• Crushed unsalted peanuts or sunflower seeds

Never feed:

• Milk or bread (can make them very ill)
• Mealworms in large quantities (cause bone disease)

Water: Always provide a shallow dish of fresh water, especially in summer. Hedgehogs can dehydrate quickly.

Create Natural Shelters

Hedgehogs need safe places to nest, raise their young (hoglets), and hibernate from November to March.

Natural shelters:

• Leave areas of your garden wild and undisturbed
• Create log piles in quiet corners
• Leave leaf piles under hedges or shrubs
• Don't clear all autumn leaves – hedgehogs use them for nesting
• Maintain dense hedges and shrubs

Hedgehog homes:
You can also build or buy a hedgehog house. Place it in a quiet, shaded spot against a wall or fence, with the entrance facing away from prevailing winds. Fill it with dry leaves and straw.

Garden Safely

Many common gardening practices can harm hedgehogs. Here’s how to keep them safe:

Check before you:

• Strim or mow — Check long grass and undergrowth first, especially at dusk
• Light bonfires — Build them on the day you light them, or move the pile before lighting
• Use garden netting — Suspend it 30cm above the ground so hedgehogs can pass underneath
• Turn compost heaps — Hedgehogs may be hibernating inside

Pond safety:
If you have a pond, ensure hedgehogs can climb out if they fall in. Add a gently sloping edge, a ramp, or some stones as an escape route.

Chemical-Free Gardening

Pesticides and slug pellets poison the insects and slugs that hedgehogs eat, which can, in turn, poison the hedgehogs themselves.

Natural alternatives:

• Encourage natural predators like hedgehogs, birds, and beetles
• Use beer traps or copper tape for slugs
• Plant slug-resistant varieties
• Hand-pick pests in the evening
• Utilise companion planting to deter pests naturally

Plant a Hedgehog-Friendly Garden

Create a garden that attracts the insects hedgehogs love:

• Native plants – Attract native insects like beetles, caterpillars, and earthworms
• Night-scented flowers – Attract moths and other nocturnal insects
• Berry bushes – Attract insects and provide cover
• Wildflower meadows – Support diverse insect populations
• Compost heaps – Attract beetles and provide warm nesting sites

What to Do if You Find a Hedgehog

Hedgehogs during the day: A hedgehog active during the day usually needs help. They might be ill, injured, or underweight. Contact a local hedgehog rescue immediately.

Young hedgehogs in autumn: Hedgehogs born late in the season may not have enough weight to survive hibernation (they need a minimum of 600g). If you find a small hedgehog in autumn, seek advice from a rescue centre.

Injured hedgehogs: If you find an injured hedgehog, gently place it in a high-sided box with a towel, keep it warm, and contact a rescue centre immediately.

Monitor Your Success

Once you’ve made your garden hedgehog-friendly, look out for signs of visitors:

• Hedgehog droppings (small, dark, and cylindrical)
• Disturbed leaves or nesting material
• Footprints in soft ground or sand
• Empty food bowls in the morning
• Snuffling sounds at night

Consider setting up a wildlife camera to capture nocturnal visitors – it’s incredibly rewarding to see hedgehogs in your garden!

Celebrate Your Hedgehog Heroes

As you welcome hedgehogs into your garden, celebrate these wonderful creatures with our European Hedgehog magnet. As part of our Backyard Heroes collection, each magnet supports wildlife conservation and reminds us of the small actions that make a big difference.

Every hedgehog-friendly garden is a step towards saving these beloved animals. Start today and become a hedgehog hero.