Them a hedge start
hedgehog from the wild and bring it home as it may have dependent young in a nest that will starve to death without it.
FOOD FAVOURITES
A single hedgehog can travel for more than a mile in a night to find food, so why not open your very own hedgehog cafe? They will certainly put in the legwork to find it.
Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant, so although they will eat dairy products it causes them tummy discomfort.
Chicken or turkey-based cat food is ideal, and you should buy the ones in jelly instead of gravy so that it is not too salty and dehydrating.
Hedgehogs will feast and fatten themselves up before going into hibernation in November, so this is when they are really searching for food.
Make sure the supply is reaching them instead of the neighbourhood cats. Hedgehog feeding stations are sized specifically to let hedgehogs access food and also keep it covered and out of the rain.
Don’t forget to provide an ample water supply. Water sources can be hard found, especially in winter, so I always put out a shallow water bowl that’s an inch or two deep and keep it topped up and refreshed daily.
SAFE AND COSY
At this time of year, it’s vital to keep checking for hedgehogs in piles of leaves or garden vegetation you intend to burn on the bonfire.
Avoid building a bonfire until the last possible moment and check it by lifting sections with a broom handle and listening for their snuffle sounds.
When the time comes to light it up, start one side first to allow them to escape out the other side if needed.
Take time to safety- proof your garden too. Cover drains and holes and discard netting, twine, string or elastic which might ensnare and injure them.
With ponds, I place a plank of wood into the water and staple bamboo canes on it horizontally for hedgehogs to grip on to when climbing out.
Hedgehogs have been around for 15 million years and we need to keep their numbers up. So keep them safe and they will repay you by keeping your garden growing.