Designing your garden for hedgehogs

When you think about British wildlife, one of the first creatures that springs to mind is cute with spikey hair and a wet nose (no, I’m not talking about any of the members of The Backstreet Boys during the 90s) I am of course talking about hedgehogs. They’re one of the most loved wild critters we have in the UK but unfortunately aren’t as present in our gardens as they once were.

Hedgehogs have had a pretty rough time of it over the last 20 years and for such a cutie, they really don’t deserve it. Not that looks are everything, of course, they’re also an incredibly useful garden visitor as they’re one of few animals that will eat slugs. I’m not one for labelling ‘pests’ in a garden but let’s just say that slugs remind me of those creepy slimeball men that somehow always appear when you’re alone out at night (insert disgusted facial expression right here). So suffice it to say, hedgehogs are one of the good guys for helping to get rid of them.

The decline of British hedgehogs really is quite shocking when you look at the research. The People’s Trust for Endangered Species’ reported that hedgehogs have declined 30-75% across different areas in the countryside since 2000. With pesticide use killing the invertebrates that hedgehogs eat, busy roads causing mortalities, hibernation habitat losses and many more reasons, it’s easy to see why their numbers have reduced so drastically.

I’m sure I don’t have to convince you that hedgehogs are wonderful creatures but what can you do to help them live a happy life in your garden? Luckily, there are a number of things you can do to help our prickly friends and even making one change can make a difference for them.

Let them in

Hedgehogs can travel up to 2km each night in search of food and easy access to our gardens can be really helpful. Creating a gap or hole in a gate or fence of around 13cm should be big enough to enable them to make their way through from your garden to the next. Having a space each side of your garden is ideal as it allows them to continue on their merry way once they’ve munched through all your slugs and beetles.

Notice when something’s wrong

Spotting a hedgehog is quite a rare and special occurrence at night, however, seeing one in the day can be a sign of there being something amiss. If you do see a hedgehog out during the day, it’s best to give your nearest hedgehog rescue centre a call to see if they think it might need some help. Hedgehogs can suffer from parasites, injuries, dehydration and many more ailments that will make them disoriented and can often need special treatment to help them recover. If you think there might be something wrong, it’s always best to ask to experts. There are many charities around the country doing such fantastic work to get injured hedgehogs back on their feet and rehabilitated so that they can return to the wild and live a happy life. Bravo to all those charities, you’re very much appreciated.

Ditch the pesticides

Not using pesticides or herbicides in your garden will help all your local wildlife exponentially. Once you’ve stopped using chemicals, give your garden a few seasons to get the ecosystem balance back. You may find in the first season you suffer with unwanted garden visitors, but there’s always a predator that will catch wind and rock up to help out next season.

Feeding might not be the answer

I’m personally not a fan of regular feeding as your garden wildlife can become reliant on you for their sustenance. If, for some reasons, you can’t feed them for a bit then they’re going to go hungry as they won’t necessarily be able to find enough food to replace your feedings. If you do want to help out your local hedgehogs with some food, it’s best to offer wet cat food or hedgehog food. Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant so they old thought process behind offering ‘bread and milk’ is actually really not good for them!

Help them ‘out’

Garden ponds are fantastic for wildlife but you must give them a way out if they happen to fall in. Hedgehogs can swim quite well and having one sloping edge will mean that, if they do find themselves in your pond, they’ll be able to climb their way out and continue on with their evening.

Designing for wildlife

When designing your garden, there’s many different aspects that you can consider to benefit not only hedgehogs, but many different garden visitors. From having something flowering each month of the year to providing different habitats such as hedging and a patch of longer grass, there’s definitely something you can do that will make your garden beautiful for you as well as wildlife friendly. If you’re looking just to tweak or totally redesign your garden, get in touch as I’d love to help create your dream garden.

I really want to hear your wildlife success stories and any changes you’ve made in your garden. Follow me on LinkedIn or Instagram (@laura.kendallsmith.gardens) and send me a DM 😊 or email me at studio@laurakendallsmith.com