Hedgehogs – what you need to know about the UK’s prickliest characters

Hedgehogs. From Mrs Tiggy-Winkle to Sonic, hedgehogs are an important part of our culture, but they’re elusive creatures – when was the last time you saw one? Let’s take a deeper look into their lives and I’ll share some hints and tips for spotting some! Plus, some ways you can help conserve hedgehogs in the UK.

Photo by Piotr Łaskawski on Unsplash

Hedgehog habits and habitats – taking a closer look at hedgehog daily life

European hedgehogs (which are the species we have in the UK) are nocturnal and spend their days sleeping in nests built in undergrowth or piles of leaves. They come out in the evening to forage, hunting for worms, slugs, and beetles. You’ll often hear a hedgehog before you see it because they make loud snuffling sounds when they’re looking for food!

Hedgehogs are primarily insectivorous and are a gardener’s best friend because they help rid a garden of pests such as snails and caterpillars. Surprisingly they also eat lizards and snakes! Fun fact – they’re naturally resistant to adder venom, tough little creatures!  

When and where to spot them

Hedgehogs are widespread across the UK but can be difficult to see (I’ve hardly seen any in the last few years), so it’s going to take a little luck to spot one in the wild.

Hedgehogs hibernate between November and March, so the best time to see one is over the summer at dawn or dusk (or maybe even at night if you’re feeling adventurous). Try searching through hedgerows or local parks to boost your chances.

Gaudete, via Wikimedia Commons

It might sound a bit gross but a good way to know if there are hedgehogs in an area is to keep an eye out for their poo (I’ll let you google what that looks like). Footprints or trails across dewy grass can also be useful signs that a hedgehog has been through an area recently. And don’t forget to listen out for those snuffling noises when you’re out and about, especially between May and July when the breeding season means they’re having to spend more time feeding.

Another great tip - the big hedgehog map shows you where hedgehogs have been seen locally, so check that out!

Fun fact – did you know that hedgehogs have tails? They’re just usually hidden under all the spines!

Conservation concerns

As the name suggests, European hedgehogs are found across Europe from Portugal to Italy and up into Scandinavia. They’re a species of least concern, meaning that their population levels are stable but that’s not so in the UK, where they’re on the red list and thought to be at risk from local extinction!

Why is the situation in the UK so different to that on the continent? Well, it’s quite complex but, as ever, the key issue is a lack of suitable habitats. Simply put, the UK has less and less space for nature due to urbanisation, intensive farming, and industrial development and that means that species like hedgehogs are struggling to find homes.

Other potential causes of this decline are thought to be an increased use of pesticides, road casualties and competition with badgers.

But there’s positive news, Britain’s urban hedgehog populations are thought to be stabilising! Surveys in 2022 suggested that urban populations may even be beginning to recover, and this is something that you can help with!  But what can we all do to give hedgehogs a boost?

Photo by Ashleigh Robertson on Unsplash

Inviting hedgehogs into your garden

We can help hedgehogs by working to make our gardens or local areas more hedgehog friendly. Hedgehogs roam up to a mile each night, so we really need whole communities working together to create hedgehog friendly spaces.

The easiest way to do this is create hedgehog highways – small holes in the bottom of your garden fences to allow hedgehogs to pass through and roam around. These small holes only need to be 13cm square to let hedgehogs fit through and they make a big difference, opening up whole new areas for hedgehogs to feed or nap in! More information is available here https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/link-your-garden/

If you suspect you have hedgehogs visiting your garden then you can set out food and water for them – this is both great for the hedgehogs but also gives you a better chance of seeing your local hedgehogs, win win! You can buy specially made hedgehog food, but cat food works too, and a shallow dish of water can be really helpful, especially if it’s a hot dry summer. Did you know that hedgehogs are lactose intolerant? So please don’t put milk out for them!

There are lots more tips about how to make your garden hedgehog friendly here 

© Michael Gäbler / Wikimedia Commons

Other ways you can help British hedgehogs

If you don’t have access to a garden or want to help further, then here are five more things you can do:

1 – Register as a Hedgehog Champion with Hedgehog Street (the team behind the hedgehog highways initiative). This gives you access to lots of information and posters which you can put up in your area to raise awareness.

2 - Spread the hedgehog love by talking to your friends and family, share some of the tips you’ve learnt about how they everyone can support hedgehogs in their gardens and the importance of hedgehog highways.

3 – Volunteer with a local hedgehog rescue - many rescues are looking for volunteers to help in their shelters or sometimes to foster hedgehogs that have been sick but aren’t yet ready to be returned to the wild.

4 – Pick up litter in your local area – hedgehogs are very inquisitive little creatures and can hurt themselves by getting stuck or tangled in litter. Why not gather some friends and litter pick your local park or any areas you think hedgehogs are likely to hang out?

5 – Donate where you can towards local hedgehog rescues or wider organisations like the British Hedgehog Preservation Society 

Conclusion

Have you had hedgehogs in your garden or tried any of the tips mentioned in this article? Do you have any tips of your own? Let me know in the comments!