Hedgehogs are now out of their winter hibernation (Image: Getty)
Now it’s spring, we’re beginning to see our favourite animals back out in the wild again but if you want them to get up close and personal, you may need to follow a few simple steps when it comes to your garden.
Hedgehogs go into hibernation during the winter months and start to emerge again in March/April time, so you should start seeing the furry little creatures in your roads and gardens again.
During this period they tend to wake in an extremely hungry state, having lost a lot of body weight, and that’s when the foraging begins. They set out on a mission to start searching for food, water, and small, cosy nesting sites.
However, the number of hedgehogs roaming outside has seen a steep decline, and the fragmentation of their habitats makes it nearly impossible for them to get by.
The building of roads and motorways has taken up the space for natural habitats, while the use of pesticides has seen the decline in their food sources. Not to mention, in built-up areas, the use of fenced-off and walled gardens prevents them from travelling between gardens to forage and nest.
With this in mind, there is something you can do to help the little woodland creatures out, attracting them to your garden and giving them a helping hand this spring.
Hedgehogs eat invertebrates like beetles, worms and caterpillars (Image: Getty)
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Attracting hedeghogs to your garden
It’s simple, but one of the best things you can do for hedgehogs is opening up access to your gardens. This doesn’t mean you need to start tearing down your fences, but simply creating small passageways for them to enter and leave as they please.
GardenersWorld has advised that you simply cut a hole, as small as 13cm x 13cm, in the bottom of your fence, creating a miniature hedgehog highway.
If your garden is bigger, there’s nothing stopping you from making multiple holes, and teaming up with neighbours to do the same can allow for them to roam longer distances.
If you want them to feel comfortable enough to make themselves at home in your garden, you can even go as far as to create a hedgehogs’ house – the perfect habitat for them to be safe and warm.
The gardening experts suggest covering it with plastic sheeting and adding a layer of leaves, along with an entrance tunnel, just big enough for them to fit. This combination should help to prevent predators from getting into the home, and placing the makeshift house under a north-facing hedge out of the way will allow for the safest of spots.
Wild hedgehog live between two to three years but can live up to 10 (Image: Getty)
Another way in which you can encourage hedgehogs into your garden is by keeping it a little bit more natural; leave out any piles of leaves, logs or twigs instead of always clearing them away. You can keep them in a quiet corner of the garden, and it’ll make for an ideal hedgehog habitat.
By doing this, you’re also encouraging small invertebrate creatures which hungry hedgehogs can eat – including slugs, centipedes and beetles.
To make things extra comfortable for them, providing food will mean they don’t need to go further foraging, and the best type of food for them is pet food. GargenersWorld advises offering them meat-based dog or cat food. While natural foods are the best for them, these act as supplementary foods for when they’re unable to hunt for their protein.
Foods you must avoid leaving out at all costs are bread or milk, as this can dehydrate and kill them. Similarly, mealworms are said to lead to a “painful brittle bone disease”. While the like of small kitten food, in the form of biscuits, is perfect for a hedgehog’s tiny mouth.
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