To encourage hedgehogs into the garden, add 13×13 cm access holes, offer water and meaty food, create cover, and remove hazards like netting and pellets.
Hedgehogs wander through many gardens each night. Small gaps, safe routes, and year-round food and water tilt the odds in their favor. This guide shows how to encourage hedgehogs into the garden with simple, proven steps you can start today.
How To Encourage Hedgehogs Into The Garden: The Essentials
Start with access, then build shelter, add safe drinking spots, and keep dangers off the ground. The steps below stack up fast, and they work in small spaces too.
| Action | What To Do | Why It Helps |
|---|---|---|
| Create A Hedgehog Highway | Cut a 13×13 cm square at the base of shared fences or walls on two sides of your plot. | Lets hedgehogs roam between gardens to find food, mates, and safe nesting spots. |
| Offer Water Daily | Set a heavy, shallow bowl near cover; refresh each evening. | Prevents dehydration in dry spells and supports night-time foraging. |
| Serve The Right Food | Use meaty kitten/cat food, dog food, or a quality hedgehog mix; never milk or bread. | Gives energy without tummy troubles; milk can cause diarrhea. |
| Build Or Site A Nest Box | Place a sturdy house with a short tunnel entrance in a quiet, shaded corner. | Offers shelter for day beds, birthing in summer, and winter hibernation. |
| Make Ponds Safe | Add a ramp or a shallow beach; cover drains and steep holes. | Hedgehogs swim but tire; escape routes stop drownings. |
| Lift Or Remove Netting | Raise pea netting 22–30 cm off the ground; tidy loose mesh and twine. | Stops snouts and legs getting tangled. |
| Avoid Banned Pellets | Bin old metaldehyde slug pellets at a recycling site; pick wildlife-safer tactics. | Keeps poison out of the food chain and away from hedgehogs. |
| Check Before You Cut | Scan long grass, compost heaps, and log piles before strimming or mowing. | Prevents common injuries from garden tools. |
Access Comes First: Connect Your Plot
Hedgehogs can cover one to two kilometers in a single night. Solid fences turn a street of gardens into dead ends. A CD-case-sized hole—13×13 cm—near the ground on two sides of your garden opens a safe route. Ask neighbors to do the same for a chain of linked spaces. If you rent, a removable gravel board with a pre-cut hole keeps things tidy and landlord-friendly.
Place holes where hedgehogs already move: under shrubs, behind sheds, or beside compost. Keep the gap clear of bricks, cables, or wire. A short “tunnel” section made from a length of pipe or stacked bricks can deter pets while still letting a hedgehog pass.
Shelter That Feels Safe
Hedgehogs need dry, quiet cover to sleep by day and to nest. You can buy a purpose-built house with a tunnel entrance, or make one from untreated timber. Face the opening south or east, set it on bare soil, and tuck it under shrubs. Add a sprinkle of dry leaves inside. Do not disturb the box once placed, and never move a box that might hold young.
Quick Cover With Natural Materials
- Log And Leaf Piles: Stack logs with gaps, then top with leaves and twiggy stems. Insects move in; hedgehogs follow.
- Compost Heaps: Great for warmth and prey. Turn with care and check first.
- Mixed Hedges: Hawthorn, blackthorn, dog rose, and honeysuckle create shady runs and caterpillar food for later meals.
Food And Water That Help At The Right Time
Wild invertebrates should make up most of the diet. Extra food helps in dry weather, in early spring after hibernation, and in autumn when adults need to build fat. Use wet meaty cat or dog food, or a good hedgehog biscuit. Skip fish flavors if cats raid your station. Place food under a simple feeding box with a 13×13 cm entrance to deter larger visitors.
Fresh water beats everything else. One heavy, shallow bowl at ground level works year-round. In heatwaves, put out a second bowl in shade. Wash bowls daily with hot water and dry before refilling.
Make Water Features And Holes Safe
Ponds, cattle grids, and steep-sided pits trap tired animals. Fit a rough-surfaced ramp that starts below the waterline and reaches the bank. A shallow shingle beach on one edge is even better. Cover drains and deep holes with firm lids or mesh. Keep water topped up so slopes stay reachable.
Garden Hazards To Fix Tonight
Strimmers, Mowers, And Bonfires
Walk the area before you cut. Long grass hides day beds. In autumn, leaf piles can hold sleepers. If you build a bonfire, stack it on the day you light it, or move and rebuild an older pile, then light from one side to give anything hiding a way out.
Netting, Twine, And Litter
Raise pea netting to knee height. Tie up loose mesh and store rolls indoors. Pick up cans, elastic bands, and the plastic rings from bottle caps. Small loops snag spines and legs.
Slug Control Without Old Poisons
Great Britain banned outdoor metaldehyde slug pellets in 2022. If you still have a box in the shed, take it to a recycling site and switch tactics: evening hand-picking, beer traps with covers, copper tape for pots, plant-friendly barriers, and tidy refuges for slug predators like ground beetles. If you must use pellets, choose ferric-phosphate-based products and follow the label to the letter.
For the official line on the metaldehyde ban, see this Government notice. For a full set of garden tips from a trusted horticulture body, read the RHS guide to hedgehog-friendly gardening.
Set Up A Low-Stress Feeding Station
A simple feeding box reduces food theft and keeps dishes dry. Use a plastic storage box, turn it upside down, and cut a 13×13 cm entrance. Weigh the lid with a brick. Place food at the back and water beside the entrance to limit spills. Leave a small gap behind the box so a hedgehog can pass through without feeling cornered.
Where To Put It
Pick a quiet, shady spot with a quick escape route under cover. Keep the path to the box clear of thorny stems. Lift bowls each morning to deter flies and wasps. If cats slip in, add a short tunnel section and reduce the entrance height with a strip of timber.
Planting And Layout For Night Visitors
Design beds with ground-level cover. Shrub skirts, native hedges, and clumps of perennials create cool tunnels. A narrow border along one fence line can act as a hedgehog “corridor” that links two access holes. Keep solar lights and motion floodlights gentle or shielded; harsh glare can alter night-time routes.
Hedgehog House: Simple Specs That Work
A good house is sturdy, dry, and hidden. Timber is common, but brick and turf roofs also work. Aim for a main chamber larger than a shoebox, with a short tunnel or internal baffle to block wind and deter predators. Set the base on soil so any damp can drain away. Cover the roof with leaves or a spare turf for extra weatherproofing.
Where And When To Place
Pick a shaded spot under shrubs, away from doors and pet routes. Site in late summer if you want winter use, or anytime for day beds. Once placed, leave it alone. If you hear soft snuffling in high summer, a mother may be inside; keep dogs and curious hands away.
Signs You’re Succeeding
- Tracks And Tunnels: Shallow prints and dark, smooth runs through grass under hedges.
- Droppings: Black, glossy, about 2–3 cm long, often with beetle wing cases or worm casts.
- Camera Clips: A simple trail cam on a low stake shows night-time pit-stops.
- Rustling After Dusk: Steady snuffles near the feeding box or log pile.
What Not To Do
- No Milk Or Bread: Causes stomach upset and does not nourish.
- No Garden Chemicals That Harm Wildlife: Skip old metaldehyde pellets and harsh sprays.
- No Traps Or Glue Boards: These cause suffering and can kill non-target species.
- No Sealed Fences: Without access holes, your plot becomes a dead end.
- No Daytime Handling: A hedgehog out in daylight may be unwell; seek expert advice from a local rescue.
Seasonal Hedgehog Care At A Glance
Plans shift with the calendar. Spring feeding helps lean adults recover. Summer needs quiet nest sites. Autumn calls for energy-dense meals before hibernation. Winter is mostly hands-off—avoid disturbance, keep water ice-free, and let sleepers rest.
| Season | Best Actions | Watch-outs |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | Refresh access holes; restart feeding with meaty food; add fresh water nightly. | Cold snaps; thin adults returning from hibernation need steady calories. |
| Early Summer | Keep log and leaf piles; plant hedge gaps; mow with care. | Nests in long grass and compost heaps. |
| Late Summer | Maintain water; offer food in dry spells; tidy netting from the ground. | Young hoglets learning routes; avoid loud garden projects near nest sites. |
| Autumn | Boost calories; place a house; build leaf piles for bedding. | Bonfires—move and rebuild on the day you light. |
| Winter | Leave houses alone; keep water ice-free with a morning kettle top-up. | Do not open boxes or rake leaf piles that may hold sleepers. |
| Year-Round | Link gardens; keep a safe pond edge; clear litter; check before cutting. | Poisons and loose netting cause injuries in any month. |
Simple Checklist You Can Print
- Cut two 13×13 cm access holes to link with neighbors.
- Place a shallow water bowl near cover, refreshed nightly.
- Offer meaty food in a covered feeding box during dry, spring, and autumn periods.
- Build a log pile and a leaf heap; add a sturdy nest box in shade.
- Add a ramp to ponds; cover drains and pits.
- Lift pea netting 22–30 cm; store loose mesh and twine indoors.
- Scan grass, compost, and piles before strimming or lighting fires.
- Remove old metaldehyde pellets from sheds; switch to wildlife-safer methods.
Your Next Step
Pick one task from the checklist and do it tonight. A single hole links your plot to the next. Water in a heavy dish can save a thirsty traveler. Repeat these small moves across a street and the change doubles. This is how to encourage hedgehogs into the garden in a way that lasts.
Share the link about hedgehog-friendly actions with neighbors and ask for two access holes each. A handful of gardens connected corner-to-corner beats one perfect plot cut off by fences. Do this, keep bowls filled, and you’ll soon have nightly snuffles at dusk—proof that your space now works for wildlife.