Why Hedgehogs Need a Helping Hand

A hedgehog shuffling through the dusk is one of the great pleasures of a British garden, but it is becoming a rarer sight. Numbers have fallen sharply over recent decades, with the loss of hedgerows, the tidying of gardens and a rise in busy roads all taking their toll. The good news is that gardens have become genuinely important. A well-run suburban plot can offer food, water, shelter and safe passage for these nocturnal wanderers — and all it takes is a little deliberate untidiness and a few practical changes.

Hedgehogs roam surprisingly far in a single night, often covering a kilometre or more in search of beetles, worms, slugs and caterpillars. A single garden is rarely enough. The trick is to make yours one link in a chain that lets a hedgehog move safely through your neighbourhood.

Make a Hedgehog Highway

Solid fences and walls are one of the biggest barriers hedgehogs face. They are excellent climbers of rough ground but cannot scale a six-foot panel fence. The solution is simple and increasingly popular: a 13cm by 13cm gap at the base of each boundary. That is roughly the size of a CD case, and it is enough for a hedgehog to squeeze through while being far too small for most pets to follow.

• Cut or dig a small square gap where two fences meet, or at the base of a gravel board.
• If you have a gravel board, raise it slightly and rest it on two bricks — this leaves a neat tunnel beneath.
• Mark the gap so it does not get blocked during repairs, and check it stays clear of leaves and debris.
• Talk to your neighbours. A gap in every other fence creates a genuine corridor rather than a dead end.

A shallow channel or tunnel under a gate is another useful route, particularly if your garden is enclosed on all sides.

Leave a Wild Corner

Hedgehogs do not want manicured lawns. They want cover to travel through, invertebrates to eat, and somewhere dry and quiet to sleep during the day. Giving up a corner of the garden to nature is one of the most effective things you can do.

• Let a patch of grass grow long, ideally with native wildflowers such as ox-eye daisy, knapweed and bird's-foot trefoil. Long grass is a highway in itself.
• Build a log pile in a shady spot. Stacked logs with gaps and rotting wood attract beetles and provide a dry nesting nook.
• Leave leaf litter in place over winter — it is insulation and larder combined.
• Keep a compost heap, but never turn it without checking first. Hedgehogs nest in them, especially in late autumn.
• Consider a purpose-built hedgehog house: a wooden box with a tunnel entrance, placed in a quiet corner against a wall or fence, facing away from prevailing wind and rain.

If you use a strimmer or mower on rough areas, walk the ground first. A slow look and a gentle prod with a stick saves lives.

Food and Water Done Properly

Hedgehogs are nocturnal, so any food you put out should go out at dusk and be cleared away in the morning to avoid attracting rats, foxes and cats. Clean the dish regularly — a dirty feeding station spreads disease between individuals.

What to offer:

• Meat-based cat or dog food in jelly, not gravy. Chicken, turkey or beef flavours are ideal; avoid fish.
• A purpose-made hedgehog food, widely sold in garden centres.
• Fresh water in a shallow dish, no more than 2–3cm deep, with a rough stone or ramp inside so anything that falls in can climb out.

What to avoid:

• Bread and milk. Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant, and this old favourite causes diarrhoea and dehydration.
• Large quantities of mealworms. They are fine as an occasional treat, but an unbalanced diet of them is linked to serious bone problems in young hedgehogs.
• Peanuts, raisins and sunflower hearts, which can cause choking or dental damage.

Keep the Garden Safe

Hedgehogs are curious and clumsy, and many garden hazards are entirely avoidable.

• Ponds need an escape route. A gently sloping edge is best; if your pond has straight sides, add a ramp of stacked stones or a piece of rough timber that reaches the water and rests above it.
• Never use slug pellets. Even those marketed as wildlife-friendly pose a risk to hedgehogs that eat poisoned slugs. Encourage frogs and birds instead.
• Check bonfires before lighting. Build the pile on the day you intend to burn it, or move it a metre or two first.
• Cover drains and gullies with a fine mesh, and cut plastic ring carriers before binning them.
• Netting is a trap. Keep sports and fruit netting well above ground level, pegged taut so nothing can become tangled.
• Watch the dog. Most dogs learn to ignore hedgehogs, but a curious terrier at night can do real damage.

Signs You Have a Visitor

Hedgehogs leave traces. Look for small, dark, cylindrical droppings full of beetle wing cases, snuffling noises after dark, and distinct trails through long grass. Torch-and-listen surveys on warm evenings in spring and summer are the easiest way to confirm a resident.

If you find a hedgehog out in daylight, it is usually in trouble. A small juvenile in late autumn — especially one weighing less than about 450g — will struggle to survive hibernation without help. Contact a local wildlife rescue for advice rather than trying to manage it yourself, and remember that a healthy hedgehog is a nocturnal one.

Get these simple things right and your garden stops being a dead end. It becomes a small, safe, well-fed stop on a much longer journey — and that is exactly what Britain's hedgehogs need.