Why leaving your garden untidy could help hedgehogs

Our prickly garden visitors are facing an uncertain future, but a few simple changes – from leaving fallen leaves to creating hedgehog highways – can help give them a safer place to forage, nest and hibernate.

Hedgehogs are so easy to love… Those surprisingly purposeful little legs as they snout about in the undergrowth. And, when things get too much, their magnificent ability to turn themselves into a prickly little ball. Fun fact: baby hedgehogs are commonly called hoglets, or their earlier name, urchins – surely two of the cutest words in the wildlife dictionary?

While hedgehogs remain one of Britain’s best-loved garden visitors, their future is far less certain

The State of Britain’s Hedgehogs report from the People’s Trust for Endangered Species and British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) found that rural populations have declined by between 30% and 75% in different areas since 2000, with hedgehogs now classed as vulnerable to extinction and on the red list for British mammals. Habitat loss and fragmentation, road deaths, garden accidents and the impact of chemicals including insecticides and rodenticides are among the threats they face.

The good news? Our gardens can provide a haven

Autumn is a vital time, as hedgehogs prepare for hibernation. Leaving areas of your garden wild and undisturbed – think fallen leaves, log piles, long grass and natural corners – provides shelter and nesting materials, while attracting the grubs, beetles and insects they need to build up enough weight for winter.

Round & About editor, Liz Nicholls, recently visited Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital, the world-leading wildlife hospital near Haddenham in Buckinghamshire. Founded more than 40 years ago by Les Stocker MBE with help from his wife Sue, and now overseen by their son Colin, the charity has cared for generations of Britain’s wildlife. Its logo is, appropriately, a hedgehog, while its name was inspired by Beatrix Potter’s character Mrs Tiggy-winkle.

Today, the dedicated Tiggys team receives around 70,000 enquiries a year, offering expert guidance to veterinary teams, wildlife rehabilitators and members of the public around the world. The hospital operates round the clock, 365 days a year, caring for every sick, injured or orphaned animal arriving at its doors. Among them are many hedgehogs, including those injured by strimmers and other gardening equipment.

Suzi Kemp of Tiggywinkles says that creating more natural habitat encourages more bugs for hedgehogs to forage on. So perhaps resist the urge to clear every last leaf. Your messy patch could actually be prime hedgehog real estate. A wildlife-friendly garden doesn’t mean abandoning all sense of order, either: wildflowers, colourful seedheads, log piles or a pond can create a space that looks beautiful while supporting biodiversity.

Avoid pesticides, insecticides, poisons and slug pellets where possible, too. A healthy food chain starts with the tiny creatures at the bottom.

Hedgehogs can roam more than a mile in a single night, moving between gardens in search of food and mates. A tiny 13cm-square gap at the bottom of a fence or wall can make a huge difference. These “hedgehog highways” allow gardens to become connected green spaces rather than a collection of isolated plots. Research from the University of Reading found that 54% of Hedgehog Champions who created a highway subsequently reported increased hedgehog activity.

A shallow dish of fresh water is another simple way to help, particularly during hot weather or when the ground is frozen. Add a few large pebbles and insects, bees and butterflies can drink safely, too.

If you want to supplement a hedgehog’s natural diet, meaty hedgehog food, meaty cat or dog food or dry cat biscuits are much better choices than one of the most persistent old-fashioned recommendations: bread and milk. Milk can make hedgehogs ill, as they are lactose-intolerant, while bread offers little nutritional value.

Seeing a hedgehog at night is perfectly normal. A healthy one will be active and purposeful, snuffling around on a mission for food. But a hedgehog that is lethargic, lying out, covered in flies, wobbly, trapped, tangled in netting or litter, injured or otherwise causing concern needs help.

And don’t panic if you spot one during the day. Although daytime activity can sometimes indicate a problem, there are exceptions, including pregnant females gathering nesting material and mothers leaving the nest to forage. During milder weather, hungry hedgehogs may also be active around dusk and dawn. Hibernation is weather-dependent, too, and hedgehogs can wake during warmer winter spells.

An active hedgehog doesn’t automatically need rescuing. Unless it appears sick, injured or underweight, the best place for it is usually in the wild. If you are worried about a hedgehog or any other wild animal, Tiggywinkles’ 24-hour helpline is available on 01844 292292.

As autumn rolls into November, there’s another danger to remember: the bonfire pile

Fay Vass, chief executive of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, says: “A bonfire pile looks like a perfect ready-made home to a hedgehog seeking a winter nest to hibernate in. So check the pile thoroughly before you light – hedgehogs have no idea of the danger they’re in.”

The BHPS’s advice is simple: Stop, Move and Check.

First, consider whether you need a bonfire at all – an organised community event can be a safer alternative. If you do have one, build it on the day you plan to light it, moving collected material to a new site immediately beforehand.

Then carefully check the entire pile with a torch, gently lifting sections with a broom or pole. Never use a spade or fork, which could seriously harm a hidden hedgehog. Listen, too, for the huffing sound of a disturbed hog.

Finally, light the fire from one side only, giving any wildlife you may have missed an escape route.

There’s no doubt the picture is serious, but there is hope. In urban areas, hedgehog populations are beginning to show signs of recovery. More than 135,000 Hedgehog Champions are already helping through the Hedgehog Street campaign, while almost 25,000 hedgehog highways have been logged on the Big Hedgehog Map.

And perhaps that is the most encouraging thing about hedgehogs: helping them doesn’t necessarily require grand gestures. A gap in a fence, a dish of water, a pile of leaves left undisturbed or simply thinking twice before reaching for the strimmer can make a difference.

These small, prickly visitors have been quietly sharing our gardens for generations. With a little help, we can make sure they continue to do so.

For more information, visit britishhedgehogs.org.uk or hedgehogstreet.org.

Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital in Bucks also has a 24-hour helpline on 01844 292292.

Its visitor centre in Haddenham, HP17 8AF, is a wonderful family day out and is open 10am–4pm, Thursday to Monday, during autumn and winter.

Donations help the charity continue protecting Britain’s wildlife.

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