Living with Birds How to help hedgehogs in your garden Tweetapedia

Hedgehogs are a wonderful addition to any garden, and creating a safe, welcoming environment can turn your outdoor space into a life-saving sanctuary. By letting grass grow long and leaving log and leaf piles untouched, you breed the essential insects hedgehogs love to eat and provide cover where they can feel safe. 

Here are a few extra tips to help you welcome these charming creatures into your garden.

1. Constructing a Safe Home

A proper shelter gives hedgehogs a secure place to rest, hibernate and raise their hoglets.

• The Perfect Fit: Whether you buy a purpose-built hedgehog house or craft your own, ensure the entrance is a 5-inch (13 cm) square. This allows hedgehogs to pass through easily while keeping out potential predators like cats and foxes.
• Quiet Location: Place the house in a secluded, peaceful corner of the garden, tucked away from the main garden path.
• DIY Decorating: Don’t worry about filling the inside with bedding. Instead, leave piles of dry grass and crisp autumn leaves nearby. Hedgehogs are natural-born architects and prefer to drag in their own materials to construct a cosy, custom nest.

2. Smart Feeding and Hydration

Providing food and water offers a much-needed boost, especially during the busy breeding season.

• Nutritious Food: Offering high-quality, specialised dry hedgehog food is a fantastic way to keep your garden visitors healthy. Dry food is a particularly great option for the summer months because it stays fresh and hygienic outdoors, meaning you won't have to worry about it attracting flies or maggots.
• Fresh Water: Provide a shallow dish of fresh water (a bird bath on the lawn works perfectly). Never offer milk, as hedgehogs are lactose intolerant.

3. Opening Up the ‘Hedgehog Highway’

Hedgehogs are avid travellers, often roaming up to two miles a night in search of food and mates. Fencing can trap them in isolated pockets, so they need our help to get around.

• Fence Gaps: Cut a small 5-inch (13 cm) square opening at the base of wooden fences.
• Dig Underneath: If your garden is enclosed by concrete gravel boards beneath the fencing, simply dig a small, safe tunnel underneath to clear a path.

4. Eliminating Garden Hazards

Creating a safe environment is essential for protecting the hedgehogs that visit your garden.

• Pond Ramps: Hedgehogs are competent swimmers, but they will drown if they get trapped in a steep-sided garden pond. Ensure your pond features a gentle slope, a pebble beach or a wooden ramp so they can easily scramble out.
• Pesticide-Free: Avoid toxic slug pellets completely. While hedgehogs rarely eat slugs naturally, the pellets themselves can attract hedgehogs directly, or poison the beetles, worms, and caterpillars that make up their main diet.
• Check Before Cutting: Always thoroughly comb through long grass, brambles, and undergrowth before using a lawnmower or strimmer to ensure no hedgehogs are sleeping out of sight.