How do you encourage hedgehogs in your garden.

I haven’t used hay up to now, although some was supplied with the ‘house’. The house is in the top corner of my garden, under and beyond bushes, so they just seem to be happy dragging dead leaves inside.

I bought some Purina kitten food today: the lady at the pet shop said it’s what someone comes in to buy for her hedgehogs .

Hedgehogs should have mealworms only occasionally. Too many they develop metabolic bone disease which affects their mobility.

We are lucky to have a hedgehog visiting our garden. We’ve captured it on a trail camera. Only seen one this year on the camera (though it might not be the same one, perhaps another visits at a different time of the night). Last year, the camera picked up two at the same time.
It’s quite easy for the hogs to move freely between all our gardens, as there are plenty of gaps between the various gardens for them to get through. Our neighbour puts out some dog food, but I just leave out plenty of water, and let them enjoy our numerous slugs and snails.
It’s such a pleasure knowing they’re about.

We don't see hedgehogs either, too many badgers.

Grammaretto

Badgers are hedgehogs only predators.
Shinamae

What's a safe house for a hedgehog look like
Maybee?

Ofcourse there could be hedgehogs living here but I just haven't seen them as they are nocturnal.

By safe I mean making it so that a badger can’t turn it over when the hedgehog is hibernating. Also I’ve read that those twig like hedgehog houses are dangerous as the hedgehogs prickles can get stuck in them.

midgey

Apparently you shouldn’t give hedgehogs mealworms, I had thought that this was okay. Hopefully the blackbird had eaten them before the hedgehog appeared!

There is a different type of dried worm which are suitable for hedgehogs. They sell them in garden centres.

Badgers are hedgehogs only predators.
Shinamae

What's a safe house for a hedgehog look like
Maybee?

Ofcourse there could be hedgehogs living here but I just haven't seen them as they are nocturnal.

Mealworms aren't good for hedgehogs. Dried kitten food is best, preferably chicken. Sainsburys is good and not too expensive.

Grammaretto

I am jealous of all those with hedgehogs.
I haven't seen one in my garden for years and then I disturbed a hibernating one (I was tidying a corner)
There are foxes and badgers here so perhaps that's why. I'm told badgers skin hedgehogs.

Skin hedgehogs?!! 😫

Important to provide them with a house that a badger can’t topple over.

I am jealous of all those with hedgehogs.
I haven't seen one in my garden for years and then I disturbed a hibernating one (I was tidying a corner)
There are foxes and badgers here so perhaps that's why. I'm told badgers skin hedgehogs.

Shinamae

A lady who runs a hedgehog rescue centre, told me that the hedgehogs really like Tesco chicken kitten biscuits…

I bought a packet of these but some of them contain milk. Would it be ok to just separate the purely chicken bits? I’m loathe to open the packet because, if I don’t I can at least donate it to someone with a kitten!

Farmor15

Our hedgehog last year - likes cat food!

Aww lovely

Our hedgehog last year - likes cat food!

Lovely picture Georgesgran.
We don't see hedgehogs every year but I think like you I'll buy a hedgehog house for hibernation. Do you put hay in it?

I'm thrilled to say we have 'Mrs Tiggy-Winkle' as we call the visiting hedgehog in our garden.
She comes down to our back door. I leave out water and give her hedgehog pellets I buy from Tesco.
Watch for babies as I read they give birth during June and July.

It's very encouraging to learn how many GNetters have visiting hedgehogs. It is vital to leave a hole in fences or to dig a hole big enough for one to squeeze through as they can wander up to 2 miles a night. We also see them occasionally and my DD has mum and babies in her garden - which, by the way, is quite overgrown. We should definitely not be too tidy in our gardens.

We back onto woodland, I haven’t actively encouraged hedgehogs, they just appeared 😊 Our new fencing has hedgehog holes in two places, there’s an enormous compost heap that they can bury into and plenty of fallen branches too.
I make sure they have fresh water, they have plenty of slugs and snails 🐌 to munch!

Thank you for your responses. I don't think I will put out food unless I see him(?) more regularly. He was very large I thought for a hedgehog and he moved fairly quickly. I suspect he probably has a good home somewhere near but I will keep an eye out for him.

I'm so envious of those of you with hedgehog visitors. They are such wonderful creatures and sadly too many are lost each year to bonfires, strimmers and over enthusiastic tidy-upperers.

I'm sure hedgehogs are in the woods and surrounding areas to our garden, but unfortunately I can't leave even tiny gaps in our fence for them to come in. The whole fence has partly sunken concrete gravel boards and is fronted by beds and the tortoise often manages to get onto the beds even though they are slightly raised with sleepers. Even a hint of a gap and she would be digging her way out - tortoises are notorious climbers, diggers and escapers!!

We do get slow-worms though...

I’ve had varying numbers of hedgehogs visiting over the years. Sadly they never used the des res hog house I bought them. Despite trying it in 2 quiet areas of the garden with either hay or dry leaves for bedding. I live in hope and change the bedding now and again.
They eat fallen bird food but in the evening I put dry cat food
(Not fishy) and some bird nuts and dried mealworms in a covered bird ground feeder. If I don’t put it in the covered feeder my cat goes and eats it. I read that mealworms are ok for them in small quantities .

We have some though I haven't seen them this year - only evidence in the form of poo around the grass! I'm pretty sure it's from hedgehogs - looks like the images I Googled. We've a big, semi-wild garden in a rural area so it's a good environment for them.
To encourage any kind of wildlife, leaving some "untidy" areas in a garden should help. Good excuse not to have a well manicured garden!

A lady who runs a hedgehog rescue centre, told me that the hedgehogs really like Tesco chicken kitten biscuits…

On our allotments the council have strimmed, as a few overgrown plots.
I’ve now seen two dead baby hogs, with strimmer type injuries.

People who use slug pellets perhaps ought to think twice as I’m sure that if the hogs eat the slugs it can’t do them much good.

As others have said gaps in fencing, wild areas, a cut down tree chopped and left in a pile, leave water out daily.
I’ve got a big old frying pan minus its handle, sturdy low and won’t tip.