Creating a Hedgehog-Friendly Garden

Simple garden modifications can make domestic gardens significantly safer and more hospitable for hedgehogs, helping reverse the dramatic population decline affecting this beloved species.

Key Facts

Hedgehog populations have declined by over 50% in the UK since 2000, with urban populations now more stable than rural
A single garden hedgehog needs to travel 1-2km per night to find food — impossible if surrounded by solid fences
Hedgehogs are beneficial garden wildlife eating slugs, beetles, millipedes and other invertebrates
Netting, garden ponds without escape ramps, and strimmers at ground level cause thousands of hedgehog deaths annually
13cm holes in garden fences (hedgehog highways) are sufficient for hedgehog access

Welfare Considerations

Garden-friendly modifications for hedgehogs represent one of the most direct and accessible wildlife welfare actions available to UK householders. The national hedgehog decline is substantially driven by habitat fragmentation — solid fences preventing hedgehogs from accessing the connected territories they need to find food and mates. Each fenced-off garden removes another piece of potential habitat. Each garden with a hedgehog hole, native planting, a hedgehog house and no slug pellets is a piece of the connectivity network that allows hedgehogs to survive. At neighborhood scale, coordinated hedgehog highway programs connecting multiple gardens create genuinely effective habitat corridors.

What You Can Do

Create hedgehog highway holes in all fence panels on your property and encourage neighbors to do the same
Register your garden at hedgehogstreet.org to contribute to the national hedgehog highway mapping project
Check for hedgehogs before strimming or mowing at ground level, especially in summer
Leave a log pile or hedgehog house in a quiet garden corner as nesting habitat and hibernation opportunity