Join the Hedgehog Highway!
Helping native wildlife starts right at home. You can become a wildlife warrior with these simple ideas that will help hedgehogs right in your garden. By making some small changes you might get to watch them in action too!
Hedgehogs hunt for their food by snuffling undergrowth in gardens, parks, farmland and woods. They use their excellent smell and hearing to hunt, and can travel around a mile every night to look for food or a mate!
Hedgehog numbers are declining in the UK, and one of the key factors for this is that the walls and fences we are building have become so secure that there is nowhere for the hedgehogs to get through on their travels.
But you can make a massive difference to hedgehogs, with these easy additions to your garden:
Make your own hedgehog hole
If you can get the support of your neighbor, you can remove a fence panel and cut out a 13cm x 13cm square section using a coping saw. This is big enough for hedgehogs to pass through but small enough to stop most other animals like cats and dogs. Make sure to smooth any rough spots with sandpaper and replace the fence panel.
You can also buy kits to help you do this, and some fence companies even have custom hedgehog friendly panels ready made! So if you are putting a new fence up, don't forget to ask if this is something they can provide.
Encourage the minibeasts
Allow a portion of your garden to remain wild. Choose a no-mow section and allow the grass and other plants to grow as they please! You can also add a small pond to the area or even a simple log pile or compost heap.
These small actions will attract and provide habitats for the minibeasts that are hedgehogs' natural prey. It will also attract other wildlife and birds into your garden that feed on them too, making it a real haven for nature!
Provide food and water
Hedgehogs are opportunistic eaters and while their main food consists of minibeasts, they also enjoy carrion, fallen fruit and even eggs!
They will readily eat food left out by people but this is believed to supplement their diet rather than fully replacing it.
You can feed hedgehogs with:
- specially made hedgehog food
- meat-based cat or dog food
- cat biscuits
Do not feed hedgehogs:
- bread - which has little nutritional value
- milk - which can cause diarrhea
- mealworms - which are believed to cause health problems when large quantities are eaten
Linking your garden to the hedgehog highway
Have fun helping hedgehogs with your family, and don't forget to tell others about your work. You might inspire them to help hedgehogs too!
- Amy
