Help the Hedgehogs

Hedgehogs are nocturnal so should NOT be seen out during the day. The only exception to this rule is for mums-to-be and new mums during the short summer nights of June and July ONLY, when, to extend their opportunity to find the extra food needed, they will stay up a little later in the mornings and rise a little earlier in the evenings. But these mums will look purposeful and will stick to the shade and undergrowth.
If you see an injured hedgehog, or one out in full daylight, then it needs urgent medical help. Pick the hedgehog up with thick gardening gloves or similar and place them in a high sided box with a towel, a warm hot water bottle and a shallow dish of water. Then contact your local rescue right away.
Visit https://hedgehogcabin.info/emergency for a detailed step by step guide on what to do.
Visit https://directory.helpwildlife.co.uk / to find your nearest rescue.

There are so many dangers facing our spiky little friends. Before embarking on gardening, there are a few simple things you can do to make things safer.
Pesticides, slug pellets and herbicides can make hedgehogs very poorly, so avoid them wherever possible. Check before using a strimmer on tall grass as hedgehogs may be hiding within. Keep netting at least a foot off the ground because hedgehogs can get trapped in it.
If you are lighting a bonfire, please check that no hedgehogs have made it their home. They love hiding inside a woodpile!

Hedgehogs need access to lots of gardens to find enough food and to find a mate. They can travel up to 2 miles a night.
If you want to make your garden a hedgehog haven, the best thing you can do is create a wildlife garden, or even just a wildlife area in your garden, filled with wild flowers, or, even better, weeds like nettles. Hedgehogs love a wood pile or a compost heap to build their nests in. Hedges are better than fences, but if you do have a solid fence, make sure there are small square gaps at the base. These ‘Hedgehog Highways’ allow the hedgehogs to travel between gardens.
Visit https://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/creating-wildlife-garden/ and https://littlesilverhedgehog.com/2016/01/18/hedgehog-friendly-gardening for more tips on creating a perfect hedgehog garden.

The hedgehog’s natural diet mainly consists of earthworms, ground beetles, caterpillars, earwigs and millipedes. During cold or dry periods, these creepy-crawlies become much scarcer in gardens, so hedgehogs will benefit hugely from a shallow dish of water and supplementary feeding.
The best way to feed hedgehogs is to create wild corners and log piles in your garden where their natural diet of insects can thrive. You can also help by providing additional supplementary food for them. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Hedgehogs will relish any combination of meat-based wet dog or cat foods, or dry cat/kitten food, as long as meat is the main ingredient.
If you’re lucky enough to have more than one resident in your garden, set up multiple feeding stations to avoid confrontations between hungry hedgehogs!
Visit https://hedgehogcabin.info/feeding for information on the best foods for hedgehogs.
Visit https://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/feeding/ and https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/feed-hedgehogs/ to learn how to create a simple hedgehog feeding station.

In autumn, hedgehogs collect dry leaves, grass, bracken, reeds and other materials to build nests to hibernate in.
In the wild these nests are at the bottom of hedgerows, in fallen logs or piles of brushwood. In a natural garden they like to make nests in places like gaps under sheds, compost heaps, shrubs and piles of leaves or behind stacks of logs and under spare building materials.
Where there is not so much opportunity for a natural nest, you can help by providing a ready-made home for hedgehogs. These houses are best placed in a quiet, sheltered spot in your garden. The mumma hedgehog may even nest her young there in the spring!
Visit https://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/hedgehog-homes for details on how to make the perfect hedgehog home.
Visit https://springgardenandhome.co.uk/collections/hedgehog-houses to buy a readymade hedgehog house, that meets all the recommended requirements.

Help the Hedgehogs Help the Hedgehogs