Making Your Garden A Home For A Hedgehog
Hedgehogs are one of the UK’s most loved garden visitors, but they need safe, connected spaces to feed, nest, roam and hibernate. Creating a hedgehog friendly garden is one of the simplest ways to help local wildlife and support hedgehogs in your area.
At Nova Hedgehogs, part of our work is helping people understand how to help hedgehogs through small, practical changes at home. Whether you have a large garden, a small patio or a shared outdoor space, there are many easy ways to create a safe garden for hedgehogs.
Why Hedgehog Friendly Gardens Matter
A hedgehog friendly garden can make a real difference. Hedgehogs can travel up to around 2km in one night while searching for food, shelter and safe nesting spots. This means they rely on connected gardens, green spaces and safe routes to move around.
Gardens can also contain hidden dangers. Ponds, netting, strimmers, bonfires, pesticides and busy roads can all put hedgehogs at risk. By improving garden safety for hedgehogs, you can help protect these much-loved animals and make your outdoor space better for wildlife too.
In Your Garden You Could:
Create a hedgehog highway
One of the best ways to help hedgehogs is to create a hedgehog highway. This is a small gap under a fence or gate that allows hedgehogs to move safely between gardens.
A gap of around 13cm x 13cm is usually enough for a hedgehog to pass through. These small openings help create connected gardens, which are especially important because hedgehogs travel long distances at night to find food, mates and shelter.
If you can, speak to your neighbours and encourage them to create a hedgehog highway too. A whole street of connected gardens can become a valuable route for local hedgehogs.
Add a hedgehog house
A hedgehog house can give hedgehogs a safe, quiet place to rest, nest or hibernate. You can buy a ready-made hedgehog house or build your own using a sturdy wooden box with a small entrance, waterproof roof and ventilation holes.Place the hedgehog house in a quiet, shaded part of your garden, ideally under shrubs, near a hedge or in a peaceful corner. Fill it with dry leaves, straw or hay to help keep it warm and comfortable.
Try not to disturb the hedgehog’s new home.
Leave out fresh water for hedgehogs
Leaving out fresh water is one of the simplest ways to support hedgehogs. Place a shallow bowl of clean water in a quiet, sheltered area of your garden and refresh it regularly.
This is especially helpful during warm, dry weather when natural water sources may be harder to find.
It is important to remember that hedgehogs should not be given milk. Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant, and milk can make them unwell. Fresh water is always the safest choice.
What to feed hedgehogs
If you are wondering what to feed hedgehogs, suitable options include meaty wet cat food, dry cat biscuits or specially made hedgehog food. Put food out at dusk, when hedgehogs are most active.
Avoid giving hedgehogs bread or milk, as both can cause health problems. A good hedgehog friendly garden should also encourage natural food sources, such as beetles, worms, caterpillars and other invertebrates.
Avoid pesticides and slug pellets where possible, as these can reduce natural food sources and may be harmful to hedgehogs.
Make ponds safe for hedgehogs
Ponds can be dangerous if a hedgehog falls in and cannot climb out. To improve garden safety for hedgehogs, add a gentle slope, stones, bricks or a small ramp so hedgehogs and other wildlife can escape safely.
This small change helps create a safe garden for wildlife, protecting frogs, insects and other animals as well as hedgehogs.
Check before mowing, strimming or clearing
Hedgehogs often hide in long grass, leaf piles, compost heaps and under shrubs. Before mowing, strimming or clearing garden areas, check carefully for resting hedgehogs.
This is especially important during spring, summer and autumn when hedgehogs are active, and before winter when they may be looking for a safe hibernation spot.
Taking a few extra minutes can help prevent serious injuries.
Things To Be Wary Of:
Be careful with bonfires
Bonfire piles can look like perfect shelter to a hedgehog. Before lighting a bonfire, always check it thoroughly. Even better, build your bonfire on the day you plan to light it, rather than leaving it standing for several days.
If a pile has been left for a while, move it carefully before lighting. This is an important part of hedgehog garden safety.
Avoid pesticides and slug pellets
A wildlife friendly garden is safer when it contains fewer chemicals. Pesticides and slug pellets can be harmful to hedgehogs and can reduce the insects and invertebrates they naturally eat.
Instead, try to encourage a more natural garden environment with log piles, leaf litter, long grass, native plants and compost areas. These features help create shelter and food for hedgehogs.
Keep netting and rubbish off the ground
Garden netting, football nets, loose plastic, string and litter can trap hedgehogs. Keep netting raised well above ground level when not in use and check your garden regularly for anything a hedgehog could become tangled in.
This simple step helps create a safe garden for hedgehogs and reduces the risk of injury.
Leave wild corners in your garden
A perfectly tidy garden is not always the best garden for wildlife. Hedgehogs need quiet, sheltered areas where they can rest, forage and nest.
Leaving wild corners, log piles, leaf piles, hedges and long grass can help create a hedgehog friendly habitat. Even a small untidy area can provide shelter and natural food for hedgehogs.
What to do if you find a hedgehog in need
Hedgehogs are nocturnal, so they are usually most active at night. If you see a hedgehog out during the day, or find one that appears injured, cold, weak, wobbly, very small or unwell, it may need help.
Contact a local hedgehog rescue, wildlife rescue or vet for advice as soon as possible.
