This month, before hedgehogs come out of hibernation, I would like to urge you to have a look around your garden, or outdoor space, to try and make it a safer place for hedgehogs to visit when the Spring comes.
Why not try and imagine that you’re a hedgehog, snuffling around at night looking for creatures to eat, water to drink or places to shelter? Travelling around a mile each night, you come across all sorts of hazards along the way. There’s always a risk of getting caught up in things, stuck in places or eating the wrong things.
Things you can do to make your garden more hedgehog friendly:
- Store or keep netting off the ground:
Hedgehogs often get their spines tangled up in netting that hits the ground which can be fatal. Make sure any netting (including sports netting) is stored off the ground and pea netting is high enough up to let hedgehogs pass under safely.
2. Cover holes:
Keep drains covered or fill in any holes that they could climb into and not get out of, causing death unless they are rescued in time.
3. Avoid using chemicals:
Slug pellets are the most well-known chemical hazard to hedgehogs. Let your garden balance itself naturally and try out various slug deterrent tricks if you’re trying to protect plants from slug damage. Hedgehogs do eat slugs, although they only make up a small part of their diet. Using herbicides in your lawn is thought to decrease the number of earthworms in the soil (a hedgehog delicacy) and using other insecticides can also reduce the amount of other invertebrates, reducing the food available for hedgehogs. Wood preservers can also be harmful to hedgehogs as they will often lick freshly treated fences. Try to use a water-based environmentally friendly treatment instead.
4. Remove litter:
Hedgehogs can easily get stuck in all sorts of rubbish as their spines get entangled. They also seek shelter in unsuitable places like recycling boxes or plastic bags.
5. Have a ramp or slope in your pond:
Hedgehogs are good swimmers, but they often drown through sheer exhaustion as they are unable to get out of ponds. If you have a garden pond, make sure at least one side slopes gently to allow any hedgehog to get out, or you can form a ramp to create an escape route.
Created with production company Liquona and narrated by environmentalist Chris Packham, The Littlest Hoglet follows the misadventures of a young hedgehog who accidentally teaches us how to make our gardens safer, more welcoming spaces for wildlife like hedgehogs.
If you find a sick or injured hedgehog, then the nearest Hedgehog hospital is Forth Hedgehog Hospital in Rosyth or you can also phone the SSPCA. For more information about initial first aid see here.
Jen Walker, Sustaining Dunbar’s Pledgehog Project Officer