How to Make Your Garden Safe for Hedgehogs: A Step-by-Step Guide

Hedgehogs need to roam up to 2km a night searching for food, mates and nesting sites, according to the Hedgehog Street campaign run by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) and the People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES). Fences and walls that fully enclose a garden can block that movement, cutting hedgehogs off from the resources they need to survive.

Why gardens matter for hedgehogs

The State of Britain's Hedgehogs 2022 report, published jointly by PTES and the BHPS using data from five surveys collected between 1981 and 2020, found that rural hedgehog populations have declined by between 30% and 75% nationally since 2000. The steepest losses were recorded in the East Midlands and the East of England. The same report noted that urban hedgehog populations appear to have stabilised and may be starting to recover, which conservation groups attribute partly to garden habitats created by residents.

Step-by-step: creating a safe habitat

1. Cut or request a 13cm x 13cm (roughly 5in x 5in) hole at the base of a fence panel, known as a 'hedgehog highway', using a coping saw and sanding the edges smooth, per instructions from The Wildlife Trusts. Get a neighbour's agreement first, since the hole needs to line up on both sides of a shared fence.
2. If you don't want to cut your own fence, some manufacturers, including Jacksons and Birkdale, sell gravel boards with a ready-made hedgehog hole, according to Hedgehog Street.
3. Leave a quiet, undisturbed corner of the garden for a log pile, twig pile or leaf pile. The RHS says this creates both shelter and a 'larder of juicy grubs and beetles' for hedgehogs to forage.
4. Put out a shallow dish of fresh water year-round, topping it up in hot weather, as recommended by the RHS.
5. Offer supplementary food such as meaty cat or dog food, dedicated hedgehog food, or cat biscuits where meat is the first listed ingredient, says the BHPS.
6. Check long grass thoroughly before strimming or mowing. The BHPS and RHS both identify strimmers as a leading cause of fatal and serious hedgehog injuries in gardens; the RHS says strimmers cause tens of thousands of hedgehog injuries and deaths a year.
7. Install a ramp or escape route in ponds, such as chicken wire or a plastic-coated mesh scramble net, so hedgehogs that fall in can climb out, and keep drain holes and inspection pits covered.
8. Keep netting, such as pea netting, at least one foot (about 30cm) off the ground so hedgehogs can pass underneath without becoming entangled, per BHPS guidance.
9. Before lighting a bonfire, dismantle and rebuild the pile immediately beforehand to check no hedgehog has nested inside, and light it from one side only so any animal can escape, as advised by both the BHPS and the RHS.
10. Avoid metaldehyde-based slug pellets. The RHS notes these are now banned in the UK and should be taken to a recycling centre, because hedgehogs can be poisoned indirectly by eating slugs that have ingested them.

Hazards to check before you start

The BHPS lists several additional risks worth checking seasonally: compost heaps should not be turned while hedgehogs may be nesting inside, with October and November flagged as the safest months since young hedgehogs have usually left their mothers but hibernation has not yet begun. Partially used compost bags, garage inspection pits, and previously undisturbed shed doors should also be checked before use, in case a mother and her young have moved in.

The BHPS advises against moving or relocating a hedgehog found in a garden, or introducing one from elsewhere, because separating family groups can be fatal and relocated hedgehogs lose familiarity with local food sources and shelter.

Shelter and planting options

The RHS suggests planting native hedging, such as hawthorn, blackthorn, dog rose and honeysuckle, as an alternative or supplement to solid fencing, since hedges provide shelter and attract caterpillars and other food. Purpose-built hedgehog houses with a tunnel entrance, positioned facing south or east in a sheltered spot, are another option listed by the RHS.

Monitoring what visits your garden

The RHS suggests using a wildlife camera to confirm hedgehog visits, and identifies hedgehog droppings as 'black, shiny and around an inch long.' Sightings can be logged on national hedgehog mapping schemes to support conservation monitoring, according to the RHS.