Hedgehog-Friendly Gardens: Practical Welfare Advice

Gardens can be transformed into refuges for hedgehogs with simple, low-cost changes. Practical advice for creating hedgehog-friendly spaces helps homeowners directly improve local wildlife welfare.

Key Facts

UK hedgehog populations have declined from 36 million to under 1 million since the 1950s
Gardens represent a critical refuge for hedgehogs as agricultural land has become less suitable
Hedgehogs need access to multiple gardens to find enough food — network connectivity is essential
Common garden hazards including strimmers, bonfires, and netting kill thousands of hedgehogs each year
Artificial feeding can supplement natural foraging but must use appropriate foods to avoid harming hedgehogs
Hedgehog highways (13cm gaps in fencing) allow free movement between connected garden networks

Welfare Considerations

Individual hedgehogs in gardens face multiple welfare hazards that concerned homeowners can directly address. Strimmers operated without prior inspection can kill or maim hedgehogs resting in long grass. Bonfire piles ignited without checking can incinerate sleeping hedgehogs. Pond edges without escape ramps are drowning traps. Garden netting at ground level entangles hedgehogs causing suffocation or limb loss. Each of these hazards is preventable with simple action. Supplementary feeding of underweight autumn hedgehogs — those below 600g — is a direct welfare intervention that can save individuals from hibernation death. The Hedgehog Street campaign provides practical resources for connected garden networks.

What You Can Do

Create a hedgehog highway by cutting a 13cm gap in your garden fence and asking neighbours to do the same
Check bonfires for hedgehogs before lighting and install pond escape ramps
Remove ground-level garden netting before dusk when hedgehogs are active
Feed underweight hedgehogs meat-based wet cat food and water — never bread, milk, or mealworms