Making Your Garden Hedgehog Friendly

Hedgehog populations have declined by over 50% in the UK since the millennium, but garden management changes can provide vital habitat for these beloved mammals.

Key Facts

UK hedgehog populations have fallen from an estimated 30 million in the 1950s to around 900,000 today
Hedgehogs roam up to 2 km per night and require access across multiple gardens
Garden strimmer accidents kill or injure thousands of hedgehogs each year
Slug pellets containing metaldehyde were banned in the UK in 2022 due to wildlife toxicity
A single female hedgehog can raise two litters of up to six young per year

Welfare Considerations

Hedgehogs face multiple modern threats including road traffic, agricultural intensification, predation by badgers, and garden hazards. Enclosed gardens created by solid fencing form barriers that fragment habitat and reduce food availability. Strimmers and lawnmowers cause severe injuries when hedgehogs shelter in long grass. Pesticide use reduces the invertebrate prey base. Garden ponds without exit ramps drown hedgehogs. Simple modifications to gardens can collectively provide vital corridor habitat connecting isolated populations.

What You Can Do

Create a 13 cm hedgehog highway hole in fencing to link neighbouring gardens
Leave areas of long grass and log piles as shelter and foraging habitat
Never use slug pellets or other pesticides harmful to invertebrates
Check compost heaps and long grass before using powered garden tools
Provide supplementary food in autumn when hedgehogs prepare for hibernation