Gardening with Hedgehogs in Mind
- John Plant
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
We all love Hedgehogs, but we all need more help on how to encourage and safeguard Hedgehogs in our gardens.
Hedgehogs are marvellous at controlling slugs on our Hostas. They are always a welcome sight in anyone’s garden, but we need to know what to do and not to do to encourage these beautiful endangered creatures.
The following are the official words courtesy of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. These have not been altered in any way. Please follow their instructions.
Hedgehogs are considered the gardener’s friend as they can help keep some
of the garden pests under control. However whilst they can give us the pleasure
of seeing them as they wander across our gardens late at night we can cause
them a lot of problems with our gardening activities. The following advice should
help to reduce some of the problems that they might encounter in our gardens.
Bonfires - use a proper incinerator or move the pile to be burnt just before
setting fire to it. This should ensure that no hedgehog has made a home in
the rubbish. Do not burn or trim pampas grass until you are sure there are no
hedgehogs nesting in it and always light checked material from one side only to
offer an escape route for anything you may have missed
Netting - keep all pea-netting a foot above the ground so the hedgehogs can
go under it and will not try to go through it and become stuck. The same applies
to tennis nets, football nets etc. Barbed wire should also be kept off the ground
and never left trailing or carelessly discarded.
Ponds - provide escape routes eg plastic coated wire over the side and into
the water to make a ladder, or when making a pond have a gentle slope to at
least one of the sides. Keep ponds topped up, especially in hot weather so
hedgehogs are less likely to topple in. Children’s paddling pools and sandpits
are also a danger when filled with rainwater. Keep pots etc that might fill with
water upside down. Provide a shallow dish of clean water for all visiting wildlife.
Drains - keep drain holes covered: this stops both leaves and hedgehogs
blocking the drain. Check uncovered drains, bean trenches, holes for footings
etc and garage inspection pits daily to make sure no hedgehogs are trapped.
Provide escape routes if possible eg rigid plastic netting or a plank with batons.
Fences - repair wooden fences that blow down in the wind etc as soon as
possible or hedgehogs may be tempted to make their nests underneath them.
Create 13 x 13cm (5 x 5”) square holes in the bottom of fences or newly
constructed walls so the hedgehogs can come and go. Use environmentally
safe wood preservatives on sheds, fences etc as hedgehogs often lick new
smells or substances – your garden centre should be able to advise. Very
occasionally hedgehogs are found with a leg trapped in between the gaps in log
rolls (used for edging) so check these and other hazards regularly.
Wild Patches - STRIMMERS MUTILATE - take care when mowing long grass
and tidying wild patches, as they are an ideal place for a hedgehog’s nest.
When cutting long overgrown areas check for hedgehogs and other wildlife,
then cut initially to about a foot long. Check again before cutting any lower.
Providing a suitable nesting or hibernating box can help prevent accidental
disturbance. Bin bags left at ground level will also attract hedgehogs and they
may try to nest in them and get put out for the dustcart.
Compost - another ideal place for a hedgehog to make a nest and rear its
young. Take care when turning the heap; one thrust of a fork can easily kill
more than one baby hedgehog. The safest time to spread the heap is probably
Oct/Nov when most babies have left their mum and adults have not yet started
to hibernate. Partly used bags of compost may also have nesting hedgehogs in
them.
Slug Pellets - We ask that you don’t use slug pellets at all. If you must use
them, use sparingly in the middle of a narrow pipe or under a slab raised just
off the ground with pebbles and pick up the dead slugs and snails as soon as
possible. Read the directions for use before you use the product. Much better to
use organic methods that don’t risk harming hedgehogs or other animals.
Sheds - do not suddenly decide to keep doors closed which have previously
been left open for some weeks without first checking that there is no nesting
hedgehog inside. Keep chemicals, oil etc in both sheds and garages out of
the reach of hedgehogs. We receive a lot of calls in summer from people
dismantling sheds that find a mother with babies under it – so do take care or
dismantle in October when the hoglets have left the nest and hibernation may
not have started.
Dogs – If you have a dog that you know attacks hedgehogs try to warn the
hedgehog when the dog is being let out eg turn on an outside light a minute or
so before letting the dog out. Also for the dogs final patrol of the evening you
might consider putting him on his lead or using a muzzle. These precautions
should only be necessary at night. You may notice that hedgehogs have their
own routine ie they appear at a certain time from a certain point. If this is
observed keep the dog in during those times.
Not all the above suggestions will be practical for one reason or another but be
aware of the dangers of some of your gardening activities and try to minimise
these dangers.
The above are ways to help visiting hedgehogs but if you want to actively
encourage them into your garden you can provide food in suitable feeding
stations and nesting sites (eg a pile of leaves in a quiet corner of the garden).
Surveys show that hedgehog numbers are in decline so anything you can
do to help them will be appreciated. They are particularly vulnerable in the
autumn when they are fattening up for hibernation and extra food then can be a
lifesaver.
Feeding - to encourage a hedgehog to stay in or near your garden ensure
it has a fresh supply of water available - especially in very hot weather - and
leave a dish of good quality meaty hedgehog food, meaty cat or dog food or
cat biscuits, in a place where the hedgehog can get it, but not the local cats
(eg under something low). TIP: look for meat as the first ingredient.
Never take a hedgehog from the wild and put it into your garden nor to take one
from your garden and re-home it elsewhere. If this is done and there are young
they may die once their parent is removed.
Finally if you do accidentally disturb a nest with a single adult hedgehog in it,
replace the nesting material. The hedgehog can then either repair the nest or
build another elsewhere. If the disturbed hedgehog is hibernating and wakes up,
a dish of food and some water each night until it starts hibernating again would
be helpful.
If there are babies in the nest, again replace the nesting material, handling the
nest as little as possible so as not to leave your smell on it. Keep an eye on
the nest to see if mum returns and telephone the BHPS for advice and a local
contact. Do not allow friends, children etc to uncover the nest for a peep. If
the mother has returned, she may abandon or even eat her young if she is
disturbed again.
To visit the BHPS website just click Here
Please help our Hedgehog population by simply following the above guidlines.
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John Plant
Rewela Hostas
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