Hedgehogs are one of England’s favourite mammals, yet they are in severe danger of extinction. Our spiny ancient friends are now critically endangered. This is because in nature, they live among hedgerows (hence their name).
But today as most hedgerows have disappeared due to urbanisation and modern farming methods, they rely on domestic gardens to travel up to 2 miles a night, searching for food. Hedgehogs are also at risk from pesticide use and road accidents.
Don’t encourage hedgehogs into your garden, if you live with dogs. They are natural predators (as are badgers).
Use Safe Humane Slug & Snail Deterrents
Hedgehogs in nature live on many foods (worms, beetles, caterpillars, earwigs, millipedes and slugs). So putting down slug pellets can harm them.
Organic gardens are the best way to help hedgehogs, as this will provide them with natural food. If you do use other methods to deter, choose humane methods to deter slugs and snails to keep hedgehogs and other wildlife (and pets) safe.
Keep Your Garden Free from Hazards
Hedgehogs are very curious, and will investigate anything. Common litter hazards are broken glass and empty cans, barbed wire and bin bags, oil, paint, netting and string – and of course garden chemicals.
Cover Open Drains
Hedgehogs often fall down drains, so a simple drain cover can prevent this. Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital say the only way to get them out is to clamp two pairs of pliers to the spines, to gently pull out. Take them to a wildlife rescue, to check for chemical burns.
Choose Garden Shears (instead of strimmers)
How you garden is one of the most helpful ways to help hedgehogs. Never use chemicals. And always use garden shears over garden strimmers (which cause awful injuries to sleeping hedgehogs).
If you do use a strimmer, then always gently sweep through the grass with a broom first, to give sleeping hogs time to escape. Same with mowers. Ideally use a manual mower (don’t use robotic mowers as sleeping hogs can’t escape in time).
Don’t Have Bonfires (or at least check first)
Hedgehogs often sleep or hibernate in bonfire piles, which pose a serious danger. If you build a bonfire, do it on the day it’s lit. Or move the entire pile just before lighting.
If you’re going to light a bonfire, gently lift the base with broom handles, and shine a torch in, to check for sleeping hedgehogs. If it’s clear, light the fire from one side only, so anything in the heap has one last chance to escape and move away.
Likewise, don’t fork compost heaps, just gently lift to check for hedgehogs (frogs often hide under compost bins too).
Create a Hedgehog Highway
Many urban gardens are fully fenced in. So as long as it’s safe to do so (no pets that could escape – but you can seal up holes during the day, when hedgehogs are sleeping), it’s a good idea to make a ‘hedgehog highway’.
These are gaps in fences around 13cm by 13cm), so hedgehogs can from garden to garden at night, in order to find food. Check the gaps regularly, for debris and overgrown plants.
The Wildlife Community’s Hedgehog Crossing is made from recycled plastic, and comes pre-drilled with holes for fixing, and instructions (fixing are specific to your fence type).
Leave ‘Messy Areas’ for Hedgehog Hibernation
Hedgehogs typically hibernate from November to March. Ensure your garden offers safe, undisturbed areas like compost heaps or hedgehog houses to shelter them. Leave your garden ‘messy’ in autumn with logs and leaf piles, and leave compost piles undisturbed through winter (don’t fork them, this also helps frogs).
Also have a low-sided shallow dish to hold water (with a little platform so bees and butterflies who use it don’t drown).
Don’t disturb sleeping or hibernating hedgehogs (nor take photos, especially with flash bulbs).
Check sheds and outbuildings for nesting hedgehogs (lift floor carefully and do not disturb nests, postponing work for at least a month, until you’re sure they have left).
Build or Buy a Hedgehog House
- If building a hedgehog house, use untreated wood and dried leaves, then place in a quiet garden area, away from wind. If you must move the house to clean or repair, do so in March or October (between breeding and hibernation seasons.
- Ensure the box is not in use before you disturb the site. Place a small stick or flower head in the entrance for a few nights (that needs to be pushed aside to enter or exit the box) to know if it is still in use.
- If you accidentally uncover a nesting ‘hog, replace all bedding, and leave well alone.
- If the house has been empty for a week or more, clean with hot water and scrubbing brush, and provide clean nesting materials.
- Don’t worry about cleaning out hedgehog homes on a regular basis (and never use dog/cat flea powder). They often reuse nests in the wild, and add new bedding themselves! If you want to help, leave leaf piles in dry quiet corners of your garden.
The Wildlife Community has a good selection of quality hedgehog houses. For rescuers, it recommends wooden hedgehog homes (where roofs can be opened for checking – not ones with open bottoms).
Hogilo is the choice of British Hedgehog Preservation Society. The swivel lid allows easy cleaning, and there’s an overhanging roof and porch to protect against rain (the raised feet prevents rot). The small entrance tunnel leads to a porch, with a maze-style entry door to the inner sanctuary.
Happy Hog Cafe includes a predator-resistant tunnel. This hedgehog house slots together easily, with hassle-free access for cleaning and maintenance.
Igloo Hedgehog Home has a small entrance tunnel to protect from pets and badgers (anchor down for extra security). The steel frame has a waterproof roof decorated with rattan, and is spacious enough to accommodate a mother and hoglets. This is more for shelter, but with additional brushwood cover in winter, can be used for hibernation.
Don’t Use Creosote
If painting your fence or shed or garden furniture, use nontoxic wood preservers and stains. LifeTime Wood Treatment is a Canadian brand (sold in the UK) that is made from safer natural ingredients, sold as a powder that you mix with water. It’s created to a family recipe used for over 60 years, and one application lasts forever.
Help for Injured or Orphaned Hedgehogs
Healthy hedgehogs are active at night, with clear eyes and shiny coats. If you notice signs of injury, lethargy, wobbling, sunbathing or weight loss, it needs urgent help. Follow first aid advice here. Never leave out bread and milk for hedgehogs, as these can harm.
Contact British Hedgehog Conservation Charity for advice over the phone, and they can also direct you to local wildlife rescuers. Handle hedgehogs carefully with gloves, place in a high-sided box with a towel and water bottle for warmth. Read first aid advice.
Hedgehogs have fleas, but they won’t host on other species. Hedgehog ticks (grey behind the ears) in excess, could lead to anaemia.
If a hedgehog has fallen down a drain, Tiggywinkles says the only way to get it out is to firmly grab its spines with two pairs of pliers. Take the hedgehog to a vet or wildlife rescue, as it may have chemical burns.
Ask Royal Mail to Stop Using Rubber Bands
Campaigners are asking Royal Mail to stop using red rubber bands, to keep mail together. Littered bands in their millions cause a lot of harm to hedgehogs and other creatures, getting trapped around legs etc (ducks often feed them to chicks, thinking they are worms).
If you see any plastic beer can holders on roads, also put them in the bin, after ripping the holes apart.
Stay Vigilant on the Roads
Hedgehogs come out at dusk, so stay alert on roads, keeping an eye for movement along the roadside. Read more on how to make roads safer for wildlife (includes info on hedgehog crossings!)
Help Hedgehogs in Your Community
Start a local hedgehog group. Join the Big Hedgehog Map Survey and sign up to the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme.
Share from trusted sources such as British Hedgehog Preservation Society to avoid spreading misinformation.
British Hedgehog Preservation Society is our national charity of expert, which has a website packed with information, a telephone helpline and free leaflets for gardeners, farmers and the general public.
Support them by purchasing their gummed envelope reuse stickers (stick these on old envelopes to save trees, and pass along messages of what they do). Also support local hedgehog rescuers.
Books to Learn More About Hedgehogs
The Hedgehog Handbook is a wonderful guide to one of England’s favourite mammals, by Yorkshire nature writer Sally Coulthard. Explore the hedgehog’s eating and sleeping habits, and how to preserve this icon of rural life. A gift for anyone with a penchant for prickles!
The Hedgehog Diaries tells the story of a journalist and her grandson, who find a poorly hedgehog in the garden, a few days after Sarah’s elderly father goes into hospital. The hedgehog’s fate also becomes a matter of concern, as these prickly yet defenceless creatures are now at risk. She believes this is a symptom of our alienation from the natural world.
A Handful of Happiness is the story of a depressed vet, who begins an extraordinary friendship with an orphaned hoglet that he’s asked to foster. Ninna’s curious and affectionate nature brings out the protective dad in Massimo. Slowly he begins to reconnect with the world around him. And as he releases his new friend to the wild after her first hibernation, he accepts that she is ready to move on.
But that’s not the end. So inspired by Ninna’s contagious will to live, he has since set up a wildlife sanctuary in his native Italy!
