Hedgehogs: Prepping for Hibernation

For humans, autumn means spooky parties, cosy nights in, and pumpkin spiced lattes. But for hedgehogs, it’s time to find the perfect hibernation spot and hunker down for a long winter sleep.  By making simple but impactful changes to your outdoor space, you can lend hedgehogs a helping hand.

Wild hedgehog numbers are in decline in the UK. Image Credit: Abigail Fox and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society

Hedgehogs are one of Britain’s best-loved creatures, famous for their iconic spiny coats, distinctive waddle, and shy nature. Weighing approximately one kilogram and growing to around 25 centimetres long, the spiky mammals live mostly solitary lives in hedgerows, gardens, woodlands, and parks.

But, in the past decade, the number of hedgehogs has dropped by half, largely due to the loss and damage of natural habitats. This means that hedgehogs have fewer hibernation spaces to choose from, leaving them vulnerable to predators, hunger, and cold weather.

 

So, what makes the perfect hibernation station? Follow these four steps to create a haven for hedgehogs.

1. Lay Out a Hedgehog-Friendly Feast 

Hedgehogs eat a varied diet of mainly grubs and insects, and occasionally small carrion like frogs and rodents, and even birds’ eggs. However, their natural food sources are becoming scarcer due to habitat loss and pesticide use. By providing supplementary food, you can help support hedgehog populations to thrive.

 

Good options include meaty cat or dog food and specially formulated meat-based hedgehog foods. You can also provide fresh water to keep hedgehog visitors hydrated. Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant, so dairy should be avoided.

2. Create ‘Hedgehog Highways’ 

A ‘hedgehog highway’ is a small gap in a fence that allows hedgehogs to move safely between gardens without needing to venture close to roadsides, where they are most at risk.

‘Hedgehog highways’ help hedgehogs move safely from garden to garden. Image Credit: Christopher Morgan and Hedgehog Street

The best hedgehog highways are in sheltered, shrubby areas. You can either move or remove a slat in your fence or cut a hole (13cm x 13cm square) at the base of your fence or wall. This is large enough for a hedgehog, but too small for most pets. Make sure the hole is free of sharp edges and not obstructed by wires, nails, or debris.

Adding a sign close to the hedgehog highway lets others know that it’s an intentional choice – not something to be repaired. You can even register your highway on the BIG Hedgehog Map with Hedgehog Street to support national conservation efforts.

3. Provide a Natural Nest

Hedgehogs prefer warm, dry hibernation spots. An undisturbed log pile is ideal, or a wild corner in the garden. You can also buy or build a hedgehog house, with a tunnel entrance to stop predators from getting inside. Place the house in a shaded area, ideally under a hedge or behind shrubs.

Rewilding your outdoor space will help hedgehogs to thrive. Image Credit: The British Hedgehog Preservation Society

Half-fill the house with dry leaves, hay, or straw. Avoid newspaper or synthetic materials, which can be harmful to hedgehogs. Try not to get too close and avoid disturbing the nest – you can buy a small outdoor camera to watch the comings and goings of your hedgehog guests.

4. Keep Outdoor Spaces Safe and Accessible

A wild space is a welcoming space. Leaving corners of your garden to grow wild will encourage more wildlife to use it as a habitat, including hedgehogs. Log piles and leaf piles are perfect for nesting and foraging, so leave these undisturbed, especially during the colder months. Avoid using pesticides and slug pellets, which can poison hedgehogs whilst reducing their food sources such as insects and small mammals.

 

Importantly, before lighting bonfires, inspect piles of leaves or wood for hidden hedgehogs, and move the heap to a new site just before burning.

Before lighting bonfires, check for hidden hedgehogs. Image Credit: The British Hedgehog Preservation Society

By providing suitable food, ‘hedgehog highways’, natural nesting, and keeping your outdoor space safe and accessible, you can help to protect hedgehogs and reverse the trend in falling hedgehog numbers.

 

Helping Injured or Lost hedgehogs

If you find an injured or sick hedgehog, carefully place the hedgehog in a high-sided box with a jumper or towel in the bottom and bring the box indoors. Wrap a hot water bottle in a towel and place it inside the box, ensuring there’s enough space for the hedgehog to move away from the bottle if it gets too warm – don’t allow the bottle to go cold as this will chill the hedgehog. Offer meaty cat or dog food and water. Then, contact the British Hedgehog Preservation Society to connect with an independent rescue centre to take the patient in as soon as possible.

 

Enjoying Your Hedgehog Hotspot

Winter is a tough time for hedgehogs, but by making small tweaks to your outdoor space, you can create a safe, secure hibernation site for generations of hedgehog families.

 

Fay Vass, Chief Executive for British Hedgehog Preservation Society, says:

“We should all consider how our actions impact on the wildlife around us, and how small, positive changes can make a huge difference to a small, at-risk species like hedgehogs.

 

“As autumn arrives, an easy way to help hedgehogs is to make use of one of nature’s resources – fallen leaves. Leaving fallen leaves rather than getting rid of them will not only provide materials for hedgehogs to build their hibernation nests, but play host to a bug buffet of prey as well!”

 

For more information on creating a hedgehog haven, visit the British Hedgehog Preservation Society website.

 

About the author:

Laura Autumn is a writer, environmental campaigner, and hedgehog enthusiast based in York, UK.