“Hedgehogs aren’t just cute, they’re also valuable pest controllers with their diet of slugs and grubs,” says Sarah Squire, Chairman of Squire’s Garden Centres. Which is why it is important that we encourage our clients to attract hedgehogs to their gardens.
Known as the gardener’s friend, hedgehog numbers have declined dramatically in recent years. Estimates put the hedgehog population in England, Wales and Scotland at about one million, compared with 30 million in the 1950’s.
Research by the People’s Trust For Endangered Species (PTES) and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) suggests that their decline in numbers is partly due to the loss of hedgerows and field margins to intensive farming. They are also often victims to cars on the roads, so to help the hedgehog population a new sign was introduced this year featuring a picture of a hedgehog to warn motorists to look out for them.
Top Tips To Attract Hedgehogs To Your Garden
- Make sure hedgehogs can get in – Hedges allow easy access for our spiny friends. Good hedging plants include birch, beech, dogwood and hawthorn. If you have a fence try to leave a 12cm opening to allow hedgehogs to pass through.
- Provide shelter – Piles of logs, twigs, compost heaps and special hedgehog nesting houses all provide a good home.
- Give them a drink – Don’t give them milk as it’s not good for them, but they’d love a bowl of water.
- Attract them with their favourite food – Leave out hedgehog food such as Hedgehog Bites(£7.99 at Squire’s) that are packed with vitamins and minerals. You could also provide a bug hotel so that they can munch on centipedes, woodlice and earwigs. Mulch beds with compost, or leave a patch of grass to grow or piles of leaves, which will attract earthworms, beetles, and woodlice.
Fansinating Hedgehog facts
- Newborn hoglets can weigh as little as 10g, which is less than a £2 coin!
- A hedgehog’s spines are made from keratin, the same protein that makes up our hair. An adult hedgehog has up to 7,000 spines.
- Hedgehogs have poor eyesight, but excellent senses of smell and hearing.
- Hedgehogs can travel surprisingly far – males can cover more than 3km per night when looking for a female!
- On average hedgehogs live for 2-5 years in the wild, but some have lived up to 10 years!