Encouraging Hedgehogs Into A Safe Garden

Why hedgehogs need our gardens

Britain's hedgehog population has fallen sharply over recent decades, with roughly a third lost since the turn of the century. The countryside has been hardest hit, and gardens have become one of the species' most important strongholds. A single well-planned garden will not save the hedgehog, but a street of connected, wildlife-friendly plots genuinely can.

The good news is that helping them takes very little money and only a modest amount of untidiness. Hedgehogs need three things from a garden: somewhere safe to nest, a reliable supply of natural food, and a way to travel onwards to the next patch. Get those right and you may well find a prickly visitor snuffling about at dusk.

Create a hedgehog highway

Fences and walls have quietly carved up the places hedgehogs used to roam. An adult can travel up to two kilometres in a single night, so a solid boundary is a genuine barrier. The fix is simple and it is the single most valuable thing you can do.

• Cut a gap roughly 13cm by 13cm at the base of each fence panel — a CD case makes a handy template.
• Where two gardens meet, a small notch in the bottom of the panel is enough. Gravel boards or a slightly raised gate will also do the job.
• Encourage neighbours to do the same. Two or three connected gardens turn a dead end into a viable route.
• If you rent or the fence isn't yours, ask first — most landlords and neighbours are happy once you explain the reason.

Leave the gap clear all year round. A hedgehog pushing through a tight squeeze is vulnerable, and a blocked hole is no hole at all.

Leave a wild corner

Hedgehogs nest in dry leaves, long grass and the mess we usually tidy away. A corner left undisturbed from autumn through spring is a genuine asset.

• Build a log pile in a shady spot, stacking branches loosely so there are gaps to shelter in.
• Let leaves gather under a hedge rather than clearing them. That litter is bedding and insulation.
• Allow a patch of grass to grow long, ideally against a boundary where it won't annoy anyone.
• Leave a compost heap, but never fork it over blindly between November and March — hoglets may be sleeping inside. Turn it slowly and by hand.

If you want to go further, a simple wooden hedgehog house with a short tunnel entrance is cheap and effective. Site it in a quiet corner, out of prevailing wind and direct sun, and resist the urge to check inside. Put a handful of dry leaves at the entrance as a hint.

Food, water and the slug pellet problem

Hedgehogs are insect eaters. Their natural diet of beetles, caterpillars, earthworms and slugs is best served by a garden that isn't sprayed. Pesticides and weedkillers knock out the very things you want them to eat.

Slug pellets are the biggest avoidable killer. Metaldehyde pellets have been banned for outdoor use across Great Britain since 2022, but the iron phosphate alternatives are not harmless either — slugs and snails absorb them and can then pass the poison up the food chain. Hand-picking slugs at dusk, using a torch, is unglamorous but reliable. Beer traps should be covered or avoided altogether, as hedgehogs can fall in and drown.

Supplementary feeding helps, particularly in late autumn when hedgehogs are building fat reserves:

• Serve meaty cat or dog food — pâté style rather than gravy or fish flavours — or proper hedgehog food.
• Dry cat biscuits are useful in warm weather, when wet food spoils quickly.
• Give mealworms only as an occasional treat, never as the main diet. Too many can cause serious bone problems.
• Never offer milk or bread. Milk causes diarrhoea; hedgehogs are lactose intolerant.
• Put out a shallow dish of fresh water all year, and especially during dry spells.

Feed on the ground in a quiet spot, and clear leftovers each morning so you don't attract rats or foxes.

Everyday hazards to guard against

Hedgehogs are slow to react and easy to injure. A few checks before you reach for the tools will save lives.

• Strimmers and mowers: walk long grass first, and ideally cut it in stages. Never strim a hedgehog.
• Bonfires: build on the day you light it, or move the whole pile a few feet before striking a match. Check with a pole.
• Ponds: add a gently sloping edge or a sturdy ramp so an animal that falls in can climb out.
• Netting: keep football and pea netting lifted at least 30cm off the ground, or store it away when not in use.
• Drains and gullies: cover open ones, or drop in a rough plank as an escape route.
• Pets: keep dogs away from a nesting corner at night; hedgehogs have no defence against a curious terrier.

Small gardens and courtyards count too

You don't need a long lawn to make a difference. A paved courtyard can still offer a shallow water dish, a small log pile in a container, and a hedgehog house tucked against a wall. And a gap in a gate is just as useful in a tiny plot as a large one.

Even a balcony or a first-floor flat can help by keeping a water dish on a sheltered ledge, refusing to use pellets, and nudging whoever manages the shared green space. Hedgehogs live at ground level, so the most valuable contribution you can make is often simply a conversation with a neighbour about linking your gardens together. Do that, keep a corner messy, and let the leaves lie — the hedgehogs will find you.