Debi Holland shares five jobs for this autumn that will encourage hedgehogs to visit and thrive in your garden.
Five ways to help hedgehogs
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I’ve got five tips to help hedgehogs in autumn.
- Create a natural habitat in your garden.
Hedgehogs need somewhere quiet and cosy to hibernate. Pile up logs and leaves in a quiet corner of your garden. If a hedgehog wanders in, it can find shelter there. A wild corner will also attract insects, which are a favourite food for hedgehogs.
- Buy or make a hedgehog hibernation box.
Choose a box made from thick timber for insulation, with an entrance corridor to help keep out predators such as cats and foxes while hedgehogs sleep. Raising the box slightly off the ground helps keep out damp and reduces the chance of the wood rotting. Buy a ready-made box or have a go at making your own.
- Provide food and water.
Hedgehogs need to stock up before their big sleep. Leave out dry cat biscuits, wet meaty cat food in jelly or a suitable hedgehog food. Bread offers little nutrition, and milk can make hedgehogs ill. Put fresh water in a shallow dish and give the dish a good scrub before refilling it.
- Make a hedgehog highway.
Hedgehogs like to roam. Leave a gap under a garden gate so they can move between neighbouring gardens. With your neighbour’s permission, you can also make a gap about 13 cm high and 13 cm wide at the bottom of a fence.
- Leave hedgehogs to sleep.
If a hedgehog hibernates in your garden, leave it in peace. Resist the temptation to check whether it’s snuggled up in your five-star hedgehog box. Leaving it undisturbed gives it the best chance of getting through winter.
And that’s my five tips to help hedgehogs in autumn.
