How to help hedgehogs this winter
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Autumn is officially here and gardeners are being encouraged to help one of Britain’s most loved creatures, the hedgehog.
Gardening experts at GardeningExpress.co.uk have shared five ways households can help hedgehogs in their own gardens during the colder months.
Hedgehogs are a gardener’s friend, eating worms, caterpillars, beetles and other pests which may be harming the garden. Bearing this in mind, a helping hand should be offered to our spikey little friends.
As winter approaches hedgehogs will be frantically searching for food to fatten themselves up and keep warm before their winter hibernation.
Throughout this period they need as much help as possible to stay well-fed, hydrated, and safe from dangers in urban environments.
Chris Bonnett, founder of GardeningExpress.co.uk said: “During autumn hedgehogs are busy preparing for their hibernation.
“It’s important that they build up enough fat reserves to survive their winter sleep and you can help them do this by making just a few changes in your garden.
“Just completing a small task can go a long way. Try keeping one section of your garden untidy with piles of leaves and logs to give hedgehogs a place to nest and shelter.
‘It’s also important to give them food that will help them gain weight like meat-based cat or dog food and specially formulated hedgehog food.”
How to help hedgehogs this autumn:
- Hedgehog haven
Leave an area of your garden ‘wild’ with long grass, twigs, leaves, logs or compost. This can provide for a natural shelter, nesting materials and a home for the invertebrates hedgehogs like to eat.
- Hedgehog menu
Hedgehogs will appreciate meaty cat or dog food or cat biscuits left out for them to supplement their natural diet. Consider leaving out a few small bowls dotted around the garden rather than just one large one. Be sure to have a few shallow water bowls available and topped up each day as well.
- Hedgehog highway
Hedgehogs travel around a mile each night so may need your help to get in and out of your garden, creating little square gaps in your fences or walls (13cmx13cm) so they can easily come and go. Replacing fencing with hedgerows can also help provide access and homes for other wildlife but be sure to check with your neighbour before creating a highway.
- Garden with care
Keep our tiny critters in mind when taking care of your garden, check before using mowers or strimmers as hedgehogs can be found hiding in long grass, compost heaps or hedges. Be sure to check bonfires before lighting them as wood piles are ideal shelter for hedgehogs, many fall victim to un-checked bonfires and are killed as a result – materials should always be re-sited just before it’s lit.
- Pond exit
Hedgehogs can swim, but struggle to get out of steep sided ponds or pools, so create a sloped edge on part of the pond to allow them to climb out or use stones or bricks at the side of the pond as a form of escape. Remember to cover swimming pools at night when not in use.
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