You might have heard the hedgehog population has decreased in the last decade. There is ongoing research on why the numbers of hedgehogs are decreasing, but most lean towards the increasing use of pesticides. But also increase in agriculture, roads and badgers.
You can attract hedgehogs by making your garden accessible, environmentally friendly, supplying them a place to sleep, food, and water, stopping using slug pellets, and avoiding using robotic lawnmowers.
If you are like me, who enjoy the company of hedgehogs and value what they do for us in the garden, I will give you my best tips to attract more or even any hedgehogs into your garden and making them more welcome.
9 ways to attract hedgehogs to your garden
1. Make your garden easy to access for the hedgehogs
Think of ways you can help the hedgehog access your garden. The most common way is to build a so-called “hedgehog highway.” That means you make a dedicated hole in your fence or bush for them to go through.
Make sure the gateway leads to a hedgehog-friendly place. If the hole leads to your neighbor who has a dog and uses many pesticides, please reconsider another place for the hedgehog highway. The hole shouldn’t either be towards a trafficked road.
2. Make the garden environment friendly for hedgehogs
Dedicate a place in the corner for hedgehogs. They love it when it is untidy. Have a raised bed with leaves where they can hide under. When you rake the leaves in the garden, throw the leaves in your untidy area instead of putting them on the compost. The leaves also attract insects for the hedgehog to eat.
3. Provide the hedgehog with a house
You can either build or buy a hedgehog house. If you wish to buy an already built house, check with your local hedgehog rescue if they have any for sale. That way, you can support the saving of hedgehogs even more.
Don’t decorate the interior with leaves or similar. The hedgehogs want to do this themselves. You can provide them with the materials close to the house. Leaves and grass clippings are appreciated. Decorating the house is part of their hibernation routine.
Where should I put the hedgehog house?
- Put the house against a wall or fence
- The entrance not facing north due to cold winds
- Under or near a plant
- Where it won’t easily get disturbed
- Leave the box where you not easily can disturb it
4. Give the hedgehog good food that makes it want to stay.
There is a large variety of food you can give the hedgehogs. If you have a dog or cat, you can give the surplus food. Make sure there isn’t any fish in the food since that isn’t good for them. Chicken and turkey-flavored cat food is a treat. There is also the possibility to provide them with wet dog food (without gravy).
However, the risk of attracting other animals like rats increases. I would instead recommend giving the hedgehog some nutritious hedgehog pellets instead. The freeze-dried mealworms are a real treat for them. Beware not to put out too much since they will eat until there’s nothing left.
If you place the food inside the hedgehog house, make sure to place it as far in as you can so cats cannot reach it.
5. Provide the thirsty hedgehog with water
The hedgehogs are extremely thirsty drinkers. They easily get dehydrated. When serving them water, make sure it’s placed in a small shallow bowl that can’t flip over. You should only give water—nothing else.
6. Be a friendly gardener and not use slug pellets
Stop using chemicals and slug pellets in your garden. Chemicals repel the hedgehogs and kill species unnecessarily. Slug pellets to kill off the slugs isn’t a good idea. If a hedgehog eats a slug that has eaten pellets, the risk of potentially killing the hedgehog increases dramatically since the pellets also are poisonous for the hedgehog.
7. Avoid and limit the use of robotic lawnmowers
The increase of hedgehog deaths due to robotic lawnmowers is increasing. Many owners of the lawnmowers let them roam free in the garden almost 24/7. I’m not saying you should stop using your robot lawnmowers, but instead decrease the time it’s spending mowing your lawn. Between 10 AM and 4 PM is a good schedule for lawnmowers to run since the hedgehogs are sleeping safely during this time.
8. Are you planning a bonfire – check this before
Hedgehogs love to get cozy in a good pile of leaves. The warmth and chance of getting an unaware bug as a snack is heaven for hedgehogs.
In case you will do a bonfire with the leaves in your garden to this:
- Move the leaves to another place first. Please don’t use a pitchfork since it can hurt the hedgehog. Use gloves and move a small portion of the leaves at the time to a new place.
- Check it thoroughly after hedgehogs.
- If you have the opportunity, move the pile to a raft the day before the bonfire. That way, no hedgehogs can sleep in it during the night. But also, why not do a Viking burial for the bonfire on the raft?
9. Leave the last logs in the firewood pile
Storing firewood in a large pile is a great way to attract beetles and earwigs—especially the logs at the bottom. Save the wood at the bottom of the pile so that insects can move in and feed the hedgehog.
You don’t need to have a fireplace for doing this. Building a pile of logs in your garden attracts insects and increase the biodiversity in your garden.
How do you know if you have a hedgehog in your garden?
There are some ways of knowing you have hedgehogs in your garden. A first clue is their droppings which almost look like a darker version of cat poop. You can also notice there are small paths where the grass has been plowed. Mud in the garden will reveal footprints.
1. Droppings in the garden might reveal the hedgehog.
Hedgehogs leave a very dark, about 1.5-5cm (0.6 to 2 inches) small sausage-shaped dropping in the garden. Looking almost like cat poop. Cats try to hide their leavings, unlike hedgehogs.
2. Small tunnels in the grass.
When hedgehogs move, they plow. You will start to notice the grass has been pushed away to the sides when the hedgehogs are making their way. Try to follow the path to see if there’s an entrance hole.
3. Footprints in mud are a great way to identify hedgehogs.
Unlike cats and dogs, the hedgehogs have five digital pads and one metacarpal pad. However, the hedgehog claws are more noticeable than cat footprints. And they take much shorter steps.
Can I introduce hedgehogs to my garden?
You can introduce hedgehogs to your garden by making sure there’s an entrance hole into your garden 5″ (13cm). Offer fresh water, some food, and places for them to sleep—for example, a hedgehog house or a pile of leaves. Don’t use pesticides and slug pellets since it’s harmful to the hedgehogs.
Do hedgehogs return to the same garden?
Hedgehogs are solitary animals and not territorial. However, they do prefer to follow a routine and enjoy returning to the same garden, and often at the same time every night. The hedgehogs can walk up to 2 miles (3km) each night, so the chance of them returning to your garden are high. As long as you welcome them with food and something to drink.
How small a gap should I have in my fence, wall, or bush?
The hedgehog requires a width and height of 5″ (13cm) to be able to access your garden. Suppose you have a stone wall. Remove a rock so the hedgehog can pass through. If you have a fence you don’t want sawing in, you can dig a small ditch underneath.
However, the gap or ditch shouldn’t be facing a trafficked road or a neighbor with a dog or cat. Speak with your neighbors before.
What are hedgehogs a sign of?
If you have unknowingly got hedgehogs in your garden, it could be because you have something in your garden they want. Hedgehogs prefer a diet of slugs, beetles, and other small critters. They also drink a lot of water and enjoy sleeping in quiet places, like a pile of leaves. If you don’t mind the help of hedgehogs in your garden, make an effort to welcome more of them. The population of hedgehogs has decreased in the last decade, and we need to help them. In case you do not wish to have hedgehogs in your garden, make sure to check if you have any entering holes in the fence, bush, or stone wall. The hedgehogs need about 13cm (5″) to squeeze through.
Conclusion
The decline in the hedgehog population is not yet to be determined. However, research suggests the decrease is because of the increase in agriculture, overuse of pesticides, and warm weather, which evokes badgers.
There are several ways and reasons to have hedgehogs in your garden. Mainly, they provide you with slug control and keeps insects like beetles and earwigs away. You can provide them with good shelter, food, and water. You can help the hedgehogs by having an opening in your fence, having a wild messy area in your garden, a pile of leaves, and leaving out some hedgehog pellets for them.
Hedgehogs love routines and usually come back to the same garden every night at the same time if they like it. So provide them with food and fresh water and offer them a place to stay by having a hedgehog house placed in a calm place against a wall, where it won’t be disturbed.
