Wildlife Stories For Older Readers
Encouraging Hedgehogs Into Your Garden
How to encourage hedgehogs into your garden.
Access
If you’ve already read ‘Hedgehogs Need Room to Roam’ you will understand the importance of providing access - can hedgehogs actually get into your garden? Providing hedgehog holes, 13cm or 5 inches square, is essential for creating ‘hedgehog highways’ between gardens.
Habitat
Leaving a wild section in a secluded area of your garden may encourage hedgehogs, especially if it encompasses hedges, bushes and long grass as these are ideal habitats for hedgehogs. It will also encourage the natural wild food that hedgehogs need to stay healthy. Areas with leaf litter, twigs and moss offer materials for hedgehogs to make nests to sleep in, raise hoglets and hibernate.
Hog Logs
Hog Logs - a decaying wood pile encourages insects such as beetles, earwigs, slugs, millipedes and centipedes. Arranged in a pile with leaf litter, it may attract hedgehogs to nest there.
Food
A hedgehog’s diet consists of beetles, caterpillars, crickets, centipedes, millipedes, earwigs, cockroaches, slugs, worms and other insects such as moths and butterflies. Hedgehogs will also eat small rodents, birds, bird eggs, frogs, small reptiles and snakes. If available, they may also eat some native mushrooms, berries, seeds, and fruits.
Native plants (such as honeysuckle, dog rose, hawthorn and blackthorn, in the uk) are caterpillar food plants for a wide range of moths, who then lay eggs on the leaves. The new caterpillars often descend to the ground to pupate before becoming an adult, offering great food for hedgehogs.
It can be helpful to give hedgehogs a nutritional boost when they emerge from hibernation and in the run up to hibernation in order to rebuild or build-up fat reserves. However, the right food is essential to avoid making hedgehogs sick. A high protein cat food (without chemical additives) containing less than 15% fat and no pea fibre is a good start.
Water
A clean, chlorine free, fresh water source is essential for hedgehogs. A healthy pond can provide a welcome source of water and encourage a variety of additional natural food sources for hedgehogs, but remember to make sure it is hedgehogsafe!
Here is some basic guidance on how to construct a pond or mini pond.
Accommodation
Hedgehogs will utilise leaf litter, twigs and moss to construct nests to sleep in, raise hoglets and hibernate. Suitable locations can be under hedges, bushes, logs, compost heaps or sheds. Commercial hedgehog homes are available to buy or you can construct your own hibernaculum. If you have a hedgehog hibernating in your garden (between November to March in the UK) – do not disturb it.
Finally, hedgehogs face many daily hazards. You can learn how to protect one of our most beloved and endearing British mammals here.
Hedgehog Hazards
Helping hedgehogs avoid common hazards.
The Garden Compost Heap
A gardeners friend - the compost heap is great for soil enrichment, but it’s also a great place for hedgehogs to nest, especially amongst grass clippings, leaves and twigs. So, before you dig your garden fork in, have a thorough check for signs of hedgehogs.
Ponds & Swimming Pools
A garden pond can make a fantastic addition to your garden, providing an opportunity to encourage and observe a diverse range of wildlife. It also provides the chance to educate and encourage children to develop an interest in wildlife. Hedgehogs are great swimmers but they need a form of ramp in deep areas and a shallow area at least to one side, in order to climb out of the water if they fall in.
Who doesn’t love a swimming pool? To prevent hedgehogs from drowning, ensure they have a means to get out or keep your pool covered when not in use.
Bonfires
A pile of wood, brush, leaves and cardboard provides a very enticing nesting opportunity for hedgehogs to sleep or hibernate in. It can be difficult to thoroughly check if hedgehogs are present in your bonfire, so it’s best to have all your materials ready nearby and assemble your bonfire on the day of lighting.
Pesticides & Chemicals
The use of slug pellets may poison hedgehogs. Also, as well as killing pests, garden pesticides and chemicals can kill the beneficial insects that help to naturally protect our vegetable gardens and may also inadvertently, kill pollinators.
Netting & Electric Fences
Hedgehogs can easily become entangled in netting, especially when it separates areas they are trying to access. Ensure unused netting is stored away and any netting protecting vegetables, placed at a height sufficient to allow hedgehogs to pass under - after all you want to encourage these marvellous natural pest controllers into your vegetable garden! Electric fences should be checked before, each time they are switched on.
Pets
Dogs especially, can cause serious injuries to hedgehogs. If you have visiting hedgehogs, accompany your pet into the garden when you let them out at night.
Strimmers, Mowers & Garden Tools
Many of us like to get outside and tackle the garden on a sunny day. Garden tools and machinery can cause serious and often, fatal injuries to hedgehogs. Remember to check the area you are working in for hedgehogs. Leaving a wild area even if you only have a small garden, not only may encourage hedgehogs, but other beneficial wildlife too.
Hedgehogs Need Room To Roam
Highlighting the importance of linking gardens.
It may surprise you, that hedgehogs are estimated to have a home range of between 25 - 50 acres or 10 - 20 hectares. That’s an area the size of up to 160 olympic-size swimming pools or almost 24 football fields!
Photo by Alexas_Fotos on Unsplash
Thank goodness that hedgehogs aren’t territorial because right now, British hedgehogs are fighting a battle for survival. In a little more than a decade, we have lost almost a half of British hedgehogs, who are now listed on Britain’s Red List for Mammals.
Reasons For Decline
Reasons for their decline are thought to include habitat loss and fragmentation, an increase in intensive agriculture and a decline in suitable food sources.
Helping Our Hedgehogs
We can all help hedgehogs in their fight for survival. Creating wild areas or vegetative cover in gardens and parks, and maintaining rural field margins and hedgerows, provide habitat and potential food sources for hedgehogs. Learn how to encourage hedgehogs and other wildlife into your garden.
Hedgehog Highway
Most importantly, it’s vital that hedgehogs can access areas, due to their vast range of territory. You can help hedgehogs by linking up your garden with your neighbours, creating your own hedgehog highway. Learn how to link your garden.
Finally, hedgehogs face many daily hazards. You can learn how to protect one of our most beloved and endearing mammals here.