In 2013 hedgehogs had the unfortunate distinction of making it into the Top Ten of Britain’s most endangered species.  In the 1950’s there were an estimated 30 million hedgehogs in Britain. Now there is estimated to be only one million.  

Habitat loss is thought to be the single biggest factor in the decline, with other causes being the increased use of agricultural and garden pesticides, including slug pellets, and the increase in roads and road traffic. Tens of thousands of hedgehogs die on the roads each year, with many more being injured and requiring the care and attention of one of the many wildlife or hedgehog rescue centres around the country.  

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Hedgehogs are solitary in nature and will usually avoid their own kind, only searching out other hogs for mating. The female raises her litter of 2 to 6 hoglets on her own.  She will give birth anywhere from May through to September and the hoglets leave the nest when they are only 5 to 6 weeks old.  September litters can have quite a job putting on the necessary weight that will allow them to make it through the winter. 

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Hedgehogs are nocturnal mammals that hibernate during the winter months in order to conserve energy while their food stocks are low.  They are omnivorous, but will feed almost exclusively on earthworms, beetles and caterpillars if there are enough available, but will supplement their diet with many other delicacies they find lying about. One of the big wildlife news stories of some years ago was the culling of hundreds of hedgehogs on the Western Isles of Scotland where hedgehogs were thought to be decimating populations of wading birds by eating their eggs. After some strong campaigning, the cull was changed to a relocation plan, and hundreds more hogs were trapped and moved to the mainland. All because of the hogs passion for eggs. 

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We often have hedgehogs in the garden without even knowing it as there are few of us who patrol our patch at three am when hogs are most active. In urban and semi-rural environments the hogs have the advantage that they will rarely come across badgers who compete with them for food.  On the other hand they do have to contend with more road hazards and the fragmentation of their landscape. Hogs often have home ranges stretching to 50 hectares and can travel 1 to 2 km per night so it is easy to see that one garden, even a large one, will not support a hedgehog.  With the fashion of installing walls and fences around our gardens we are making things even more difficult for our prickly friends.  

Contrary to popular belief, hedgehogs will not clear a garden of slugs and snails. In fact, these molluscs form a fairly small part of the hogs diet.  This may, on the face of it, seem like bad news for gardeners however the truth is that a quarter of their diet is made up of caterpillars, so what you lose on the one hand, you very definitely gain on the other.  While the hogs in your garden may not decimate your slug and snail population they will certainly make a dent in the population of other pests and clean up the garden into the bargain.  

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Slugs and snails are, in fact, a bit of bad news to hedgehogs because they carry a parasite that passes through the hedgehog’s gut and travels to lodge in the lungs. This lungworm then colonises those organs with such rapidity that the hog is left gasping for breath. About half the winter admissions of hedgehogs to wildlife rescue centres are caused by hedgehogs suffering from the effects of lungworm.  It is a lucky hedgehog indeed, then, that can find a garden where food is routinely left out to supplement his diet. A hog that has regular access to fresh, nutritious food will be able to forgo the distress of lungworm infection because he will be able to feast instead on healthy food and wont resort to the molluscs.  

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Hedgehogs will always benefit from a well-stocked, sensibly built feeding station, whether it be summer or winter. If the weather is particularly cold or hot or dry, their natural food larder of invertebrates will be at a low ebb, and extra feeding will be invaluable. Provide good quality moist cat food (no fish flavours), dry cat food, hedgehog food or unsweetened muesli together with a bowl of water. The food and water should be placed well out of reach of inquisitive cats or dogs, so making a hole in a plastic storage box to provide a doorway, and placing the food underneath is a quick and simple way of making a weather- proof feeding station. A large transparent box will allow you to keep an eye on the food and water supply, and will even let you watch any visiting hogs if you place a low watt solar light nearby.  Ensure that the entrance hole is no more than 4 inches square, so that cats won’t be tempted to squeeze inside, and choose a box big enough to ensure that the feeding hogs can’t be reached by the paw of an inquisitive cat or fox. 

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The biggest danger for hedgehogs in human/hedgehog interaction is the misplaced desire to feed them bread soaked in milk. Hedgehogs cannot digest either the bread or the milk and it will give them diarrhoea. This is bad enough for healthy hedgehogs, but any hogs that are under the weather for any reason will suffer badly. It isn’t that they don’t like milk - quite the opposite - they love it.  It just isn’t good for them. Apart from this there are many things that home farmers can do to help save our hedgehogs. 

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Netting is a terrible hazard for hogs in the garden or allotment. If you must use netting, place it a foot above the ground so that hogs and other wildlife can make their way safely underneath. Netting is a merciless killer, slowly throttling its victims or slicing them deeply. Old netting should be disposed of in such a way that it will not become a hazard in another setting. Some nettings will melt if boiling water is poured over them, otherwise tie the netting into a tight bundle and dispose of it in a safe place. 

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Hedgehogs can swim, but they need a way to escape from garden ponds and troughs if they do happen to fall in. Ensure there are rocks or stones or a suitable sloping bank to allow hedgehogs and other wildlife a means of escape. 

Most people know to move and check the contents of bonfire-night heaps on cool November nights before setting them alight, but the same applies to fires throughout the year…it isn’t only hibernating hedgehogs who seek out the shelter; foraging hedgehogs will also look on any stack of wood, leaves or branches as a good place to spend the day. 

Cover any open drains or grids in your garden or provide a means for escape such as a rough plank of wood angled to provide a getaway route. Heavy duty thick plastic netting will provide foot holds for hedgehogs and other animals, such as toads, who may find getting out not quite as easy as falling in. 

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Every gardener should have a compost heap and every gardener should remember that hedgehogs often choose the warmth and shelter of  a heap to hole up in during the daylight hours. Go gently with the fork! 

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Discarded rubbish can be quite lethal to hedgehogs, as much as to any other wild creature. The plastic collars which hold drinks cans together, plastic bags and tin cans all pose potential threat. Always completely remove the lids of tin cans and cut through plastic collars to prevent any animal becoming trapped. 

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There is little need to discuss the horrific damage that can be inflicted on wildlife by strimmers.  Go through an area to be strimmed before starting and pay special attention to areas of brushwood which would be particular attractive to hogs. 

Keep hedgehogs in mind whenever you go into your garden shed. Remember to close the door so that hedgehogs don’t wander in and get trapped inside and be aware of chemicals stored in the shed.  

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Leave gaps underneath walls, hedges and fences that allow hogs to travel between gardens so that they can forage and find a mate.  

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Bin bags are as great a temptation to hogs as to any other animal who can smell the goodies within. Hogs though may burrow right inside and there is a possibility that they could be thrown out with the garbage…a horrific thought! Place bin bags up high or in secure bins. 

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While hedgehogs may not decimate the slugs in your garden, slug pellets will most definitely decimate them. Some pellets which are listed as safe for pets and wildlife, still have a lethal effect on earthworms…and earthworms are one of the main food sources of hedgehogs, as well as many other garden visitors.  

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Use traps or hand pick live slugs and snails if you possibly can, but if all other avenues have been exhausted ensure that slug pellets are laid out in a very responsible manner by placing them inside an upturned pot which has a small opening to allow the molluscs to enter, but not allow hedgehogs, or indeed any other wildlife, to access the feasting slugs and snails. Dispose of corpses promptly to avoid very hungry foraging hedgehogs eating the poisoned remains.  

Hibernation huts come in all shapes, sizes and levels of luxury. The simplest can be made from a small cardboard box, covered with plastic and topped with a thick pile of brushwood for insulation.  Place dry leaves or straw in the base of the box and face the doorway away from north easterly winter winds to provide a warm and cosy place for a hedgehog to hibernate.  

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The upmarket version provides the same accommodation in slightly grander building materials. Wood, or even plastic can be used to make the house, but ensure that there are ventilation holes, particularly in plastic houses, or the air will grow progressively damp. This type has the advantage that it can be re-used, year after year, but it will need to be thoroughly cleaned between lodgers to get rid of pests and parasites. An entrance tunnel will help to channel drafts away from sleeping hogs.   

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Winter feeding.  It is usual for hogs to wake up from their winter slumbers for a snack on regular occasions. Provide water and some dry cat biscuits in the hibernaculum so that your hogs can wake, snack and fall back into a peaceful sleep. 

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If you find a hedgehog that is very obviously sick or injured take it along to your local wildlife rescue centre, hedgehog hospital or to your vet.  However if a hog simply appears small, confused or lost, leave the animal alone, ensure it can’t come to any harm, and phone your local centre for advice. Hundreds of perfectly healthy hedgehogs are unnecessarily ‘rescued’ every year by well-meaning members of the public.  Always check it out though; a hog who is out in daylight hours may need little more than a bowl of water and cat food, or it may require the prompt attention of the knowledgeable staff of the local rescue centre.  Fast action saves lives. 

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Local rescue centres (helpahedgehog.org.uk) and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (britishhedgehogs.org.uk) do an invaluable job of caring for the thousands of sick and injured hedgehogs that are rescued around the country each year. To help with time, fundraising or a donation please contact them, or your local centre.